Page 27 of One Last Wish (The Elder World)
Darce
(The day after Nyx saw Alora in Earth Veil.)
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“Y OU ARE A FOOLISH PRICK !” Nyx glared at me from across the table. “Mrak, tell him!” Nyx and Mrak were my closest friends, and two of the best warriors I had ever known aside from me.
Mrak currently had his feet on the table and was chewing on a chicken bone. The sheer size of him scared most people; he was a powerhouse of strength. Nyx was so cunning, though, that in the early days, she always won when she sparred with him. We had all formed quite a bond in those first years on the battlefield.
“I know better than to interfere in matters that concern Alora, ” Mrak bellowed, reaching for more food.
“You should leave her where she is safe !” Nyx glared at me. “The fire twins can bind her again. Maybe they have a spell to make her fall for that human boy. The war is too unstable for her to awaken right now. Xavier is goading you.” I didn’t want to watch another lifetime of her being happy with someone else. Even in human form, it was excruciating.
“We might be past all that. I have a suspicion her powers may be awakening.” Pinching the bridge of my nose, I looked at my friends. “You’ve carried this burden with me for so long. I cannot thank you enough.”
“Darce, you will always have our loyalty,” Mrak smirked. “Even if I thought your choice of female was poor. A Dylin princess is still a better choice than some Guardian races.”
“She was never a choice . Alora became embedded in my dark heart the moment I first laid eyes on her.”
“Almost two thousand years and he is still this pathetic when things concern her!” Nyx snorted, pouring herself some wine. “I almost feel sorry that you have to keep your dick in your pants in case she remembers too quickly.”
“How blue are your balls?” Mrak snorted in my direction. Knowing I had to be careful with physical touch of any kind was a sore point for me. The Fire Twins had explained that once Alora and I had intercourse, all her binds would break and she would remember everything within a few days. This had to be taken seriously and given the time it needed. If Alora and I rushed anything, her human form could take over and I could lose her for good.
Everything I had done so far was for Alora, from trying to keep my distance when she began to call to me, to trying to act indifferent around her when we met in New York.
Of course, I had no willpower when it came to her. I would happily let Alora suck the last breath from my lungs if it meant she would live.
Maybe Nyx was right, and I should let the Fire Twins bind her again. It gave me another human lifetime to try and find a way for us to be together.
Watching her with Theo would be pretty exhausting, though. Fourteen lifetimes, and it never got easier. The number of times I wanted to portal myself down there and pretend I was a mere human boy to be with her were infinite. Oh, the irony of wanting to be one of the weakest races created. That was why we picked Earth Veil. No one would even think to look there. Alora’s father believed his daughter to be under my power, that I’d tricked her somehow. Dylin and Noxlin were still at war because of it a thousand years later. That was typical Dylin style, blaming the evil, rancid Noxlin for every disaster that had ever happened to them. If they looked to their own lands they might have seen the poison within.
It was too late now. Afterlight Veil was forever altered. Eallarim was more than equipped to fight off any attack Dallethas threw our way. We were growing in numbers, and if it came to taking sides, I knew where Alora would stand in all of this; right beside me.
We had been on the brink of another large battle these last hundred years. Once Alora awakened, I had no doubt that the battle would commence.
Picking a side would be more difficult this time. We had both races to try and protect. I had played a part in Alora’s mother’s death. Duska was never meant to be on the battlefield that day. I took no pleasure in discovering that I had killed a defenceless Queen who had been drained of her power because of a miracle child she had birthed five hundred years prior. Any other time in history, Duska could have shielded herself, but when I rained those shadows down that were hiding fire rocks inside, she didn’t stand a chance. Most on that battlefield didn’t. I have no idea how many Dylin I killed that day, but it was nothing to the Noxlin that we lost when Zohar attacked our second city.
As much as I wanted to fully defend my homeland and race, my heart had other plans. I needed to make amends for the pain and suffering that I had caused Alora as a child. My loyalty from that day forth would always be for my love.
“My balls are fine. Thank you.” Glaring at Mrak, I made a wisp of shadow move his feet from my table. “And keep your feet off my table!”
“Oh, you need to get some.” Mrak laughed out loud. “A thousand years is a long time to go without. Do you knock one out while thinking about her?”
“I wouldn’t goad him, Mrak,” Nyx chimed in, patting him on the shoulder. “I showed myself to her in Earth Veil the other day and Darce almost bit my head off.”
“I told you to keep your distance !” I snapped, annoyed once again at her actions. “I know you wanted to see her, but this is all about timing .”
“Do you really think her powers are finally surfacing?” Nyx asked with hope in her eyes.
“I can feel and sense her more. Something is different in this lifetime than all the others.” Mrak and Nyx watched me thoughtfully. “Don’t look so scared. I know what I’m doing.”
“We are allowed to be worried about you. When Alora awakens, there is no guarantee she will fall into your waiting arms, especially once she remembers everything. It’s been a long time . ” Nyx was testing my patience.
“The Fire Twins have assured me that once Alora awakens, she will be fine within days. You forget, Alora allowed herself to be bound in human form because of her love for me.”
“I’m not doubting the love you have for each other. I’m scared it will get you both killed. What happens to Afterlight Veil then?”
“Nyx, two Guardians can’t have that much pull on a Veil. Afterlight would still go on without us . ”
That was the saddest part about Afterlight. Our races were never going to change. The hatred was too deeply rooted.
Dylin and Noxlin would still be at war even if Alora and I faded into insignificance. Not that I would ever want that outcome for us. There was one thing I knew with certainty since being back in her life: I would never be able to keep my distance again. Whatever happened now, our fates were intertwined.
I simply had to give Alora time to remember everything; to allow her mind to remember the first time we met and what happened after.
Smiling to myself, I pictured that fateful day. That first glimpse of her...fuck! Her beauty took the breath from my lungs.
There was no other destiny for me.
She was the light that balanced my darkness. She was my Starshine .
The Elder World series continues in......
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