Page 11

Chapter Eleven

Remi

My brain felt like it buzzed from the inside. As if my head was vibrating, but not in an uncomfortable way, more like a brain massage, whatever that meant. It was sort of… pleasant.

“You’re home!” A lady gushed happily somewhere close to me. I had no clue where I was, but I felt my body become more alert by the second. I tried to move my body, or even just open my eyes, but I felt too weak to do anything.

“Bring him outside!” A man ordered and then we moved. I could smell it was Juno holding me, which helped my rising panic. It truly wasn’t pleasant being awake but unable to see or move.

“Why?” That was Nix’s voice, which meant he was near, and the thought calmed me further. I trusted them both. My whole life had been upended when I saw Juno only a few days ago, but I trusted my own instincts and they trusted them, so.

“I knew he had magic,” a man said. I remembered the voice now. It was Juno’s dad.

“Lay him here, boys,” a woman said kindly and then I felt soft grass under me. The smells were comforting here, like freshly mowed grass and lavender.

“He’s glowing,” Juno whispered with a sort of awe in his tone. Just hearing his voice had my heart beating faster. Needing him close. Wanting him closer.

“Magic.” Multiple people said in unison, their voices filled with emotion. The good kind.

I felt my body warm up from the inside and just when I thought I couldn’t take the heat anymore, the warmth faded, like it left my body and seeped out of me. I opened my eyes and saw Juno, Nix, and five others, all staring with wide eyes. Some even had tears trailing down their cheeks.

“Did I die?” I asked Juno. No one seemed inclined to offer me any information, so I better start asking around myself.

“No,” he chuckled softly. “You just got your magic.”

“Huh,” I replied lamely. “Cool.” What does one say in this sort of situation? Also, who were those people watching us? And why were some of them crying?

Juno offered me his hand and I took it, pleased to touch my mate and letting him help me stand. “I want to introduce you to my dad,” he said, gesturing to one of the criers.

“Oh,” I stuck my hand out and waited for his father to shake it. He shook his head and I was then engulfed in a hug with Juno and his dad.

“Dad, no tears,” Juno said, but his choked-up voice told me he was crying too.

I had one hundred percent died, and somehow revived myself. I had no other explanation for all these tears.

“Welcome to the family, Remi,” Juno’s dad said, finally letting us go and looking over us both fondly. It felt weird, but also amazing to be welcomed so easily into Juno’s family.

“Thank you,” I replied, feeling my eyes start to water. Maybe it was the air here? Tear inducing air? Was that a thing?

“Can I return?” Nix asked Juno, looking uncomfortable.

Juno rushed to his side. “You feel different coming back?”

“I feel horrible. Itchy and yeah, like I’m not supposed to be here.” Nix’s words didn’t make sense to me, but Juno seemed to understand him perfectly.

“Go home, Nix. I appreciate your help here, but you’re needed elsewhere.” Nix smiled at him and after a quick hug, he ran through an opening in the wall, like a black hole but with smoke and a blue color instead of blackness. He yelled out a “Byyyyye!” and then he was gone. The rulers didn’t seem to mind his quick exit, so I figured I shouldn’t question what’d happened either.

“He got a mate too?” Juno’s dad asked.

“We think so, they haven’t met yet, but he’s just as drawn to their world as I am,” Juno explained.

“What’s your name?” I asked Juno’s dad, knowing I interrupted them, but my mind needed a name other than Juno’s dad.

He grinned. “I’m Alec, but please call me Dad.”

“Okay,” I grinned back. Then the others introduced themselves as the rulers of their world. Henriette was my favorite, she was gushing and seemed genuinely excited to learn more about my world. It wasn’t that different to be honest. It looked the same. The only difference was the magic part. Magic that I apparently had now, too.

I was still reeling over that last part. I only had books and movies from my own world as a reference when it came to magic, but now I had it myself, and yet I still had no idea what true magic was. What could I even do now? Create food out of thin air? Fly? I really hoped I could fly!

“How long should we stay for?” Juno asked the rulers. “We still have school we need to attend.”

“We know, but with his magic being all new to him, maybe two days and then we’ll see?” Trise answered, looking at the other rulers for their opinion. They nodded in agreement.

“Okay,” Juno shrugged. “We’ll be back here tomorrow, the rest of the day we won’t be disturbed.” It was a warning mostly aimed at his father, who chuckled warmly as we waved our goodbyes.

“They won’t be mad we’ve left?” I asked once we were far enough away from them, walking out of the huge property and onto a somewhat busy street.

“Nah, they know new mates need time alone.” I blushed, realizing we would be together from now on. Or at least I hoped we would.

“Where are we going?” I looked back at what had to be either a palace or a castle. I had no idea what the difference between the two were, but it was a big building with several towers connected to it.

“To my house,” Juno replied, then quickly corrected himself. “ Our house.”

“You, I mean, we have a house?”

“We do, and I think we should keep it, even if we move permanently to your world,” he said casually, like we truly were connected now.

“You’d want that?” I asked, surprised. It was one of the few things I worried about, not that I’d had long to worry about our future, everything including Juno had happened so quickly. I didn’t care about my parents; I could do with being worlds apart from them for a while. But leaving the world I’d always known felt weird. But I guessed just being with Juno mattered the most.

“I honestly don’t care where we live,” Juno shrugged and took my hand in his as we walked down a paved street. “I just need to live with you, then I’m happy.”

He was perfect. “I feel the same way. Maybe we can have a place in both worlds?” There was just the issue with money and jobs, but we’d figure that out eventually.

“We can see with time where we both prefer to live, but for now you need to learn your magic. You already gave the earth some of your magic when we brought you here. Like newborn babies do when they have enough to give.”

“Really?” Maybe that was what I’d felt before I could open my eyes.

“It was the only reason we travelled to your world. Our magic is dying out and fewer babies have enough magic to share so our world isn’t sustainable anymore. We didn’t know mates were possible until I found you. And now that you have magic, and what looked like a lot, we finally have a chance of helping our world again.”

“That’s a lot,” I admitted, feeling tired and honestly a bit overwhelmed. I was in another world. Holy… that thought hadn’t even occurred to me before now, not truly. I was walking on pavement that wasn’t from my world. I’d travelled through a portal. I had magic.

I…

“I need to sit down,” I slumped down and ignored the curious glances from the people around us. They were dressed differently, more boring and plain, but otherwise they looked the same as humans did.

Juno didn’t seem to mind that I needed a breather. Sitting down next to me, he offered me his hand again and I took it, grateful to be touching him again.

“How long until we’re home?” I asked, loving how saying home meant wherever Juno lived.

“Only three minutes,” he assured me. That had me gathering the strength to stand again. Three minutes until I was finally alone with Juno. I quickened my pace and let Juno lead me home.

“And this is our room,” Juno said, opening the bedroom door. It was tidy and clean, a big bed with soft blue colors on the bedding. It looked like a fancy hotel room.

“Is it rude that I’m surprised by the cleanliness?” I teased.

“I cleaned before I left. I was very optimistic about not returning that day,” he grinned.

“So, finding a mate truly wasn’t on your mind?” I smiled innocently. It was a rush to be looked at with pure devotion, something Juno always did.

He shook his head. “Our portal makers were too busy trying to find a world similar to ours. Survival was our main concern and since your world is a mirror world to ours, it was mostly about finding the small differences so we could adapt to your world if ours got uninhabitable.”

Huh. “Is it not safe here?”

“Oh, it’s safe right now. I would never put you in any danger, Remi. I hope you know that.”

I did. I couldn’t say that though, too busy blushing and having trouble meeting his eyes. I nodded, hoping that would be answer enough.

I felt him move closer as I determinately stared at the floor, still not brave enough to face him with red cheeks. A soft touch on my chin had my face moving towards his. He kissed me. It was careful. Tender. Slow. Grabbing his shirt, I allowed myself to get lost in the feel of his lips. My mate’s lips. I still had many questions, but they could wait. My body needed Juno.

Juno’s phone made a bell sound, breaking the moment between us. He held his wrist out and looked at a wristband of sorts, not a watch, it was bigger than that. Then a young woman’s face appeared in the air above it.