Page 9 of Rising Out of the Darkness (Divine Guardians Duology #1)

Every one of my limbs felt numb as I drifted into the deepest meditative state I have ever been in. I barely registered Bri’s words as she left. The door closed behind me. I was alone. My eyes remained closed as the world around me faded away.

D arkness enveloped me, pressure building within my chest. Waving my arms in the abyss surrounding me, I stumbled to find my bearings.

The more I stood in nothingness, the more my palms began to sweat. The rapid pants of my breath were the only sound that filled my ears.

Fear prickled over me. My thoughts spiraled inside the silence. Perhaps the gods had deemed me unworthy of dynamis, and I would awaken a failure. If anything was consistent about me, it was the fact that at one point or another I always failed. Why would my Ascension prove to be any different?

Just before my panic fully possessed me, violet swirls of light flooded into my vision. They beckoned me with their glow as they danced about, illuminating a path.

They circled around me and I felt an overwhelming sense of being safe and protected. Surrendering to the pull, I let them guide me forward. The darkness melted away, revealing thousands of sparkling stars all around me.

Gasping in awe, I extended my arms out to the shimmering spheres of light. They wove in and out of my fingertips, gliding over my hands like the ripples of water in a pond.

Something about the night sky had always mesmerized me. Every time I looked up at the stars, it made me feel like each of them was listening to me, watching over me as I made my way in this realm.

As I continued to follow the lights, it started to get much brighter ahead of me. The closer I walked the more I had to shield my eyes from the brightness. After walking for what seemed an eternity, I heard the crunch of something beneath my footsteps. My body froze.

No longer was I in the darkness. Luscious green grass surrounded me as far as my eyes could see. The orbs of light I had followed were much smaller now and danced about like tiny fireflies. The sky was hooded in stars. I took a moment to bask in its beauty.

I took a deep breath. My body suddenly became very aware of a presence approaching me. Warmth, happiness, serenity—these feelings spilled into me, almost like they were being purposefully projected into my body. It was like the feeling of Bri’s Empath dynamis when she would use it to calm me.

I came face to face with what I hoped to be the goddess.

It was hard to make out her face, as her body was bathed in golden light. Her ethereal hair whirled around her body like she had her own personal breeze that surrounded her.

My eyes narrowed as a sense of familiarity began to bloom in my mind.

How could someone I had never met feel so intensely like an old acquaintance?

Also, I know I’ve heard that voice before, but no matter how hard I tried to remember, I couldn’t.

Palming my tight chest, I rubbed the throb in my heart as it awakened again.

“Welcome, Elena.” She paused, her eyes lingering on me for a moment longer, like she too found familiarity in me. “Take a seat and rest. I have much to show you, and even more to give you.”

A log appeared on my right as my eyes widened. The goddess glided towards me until she was right in front of me. As she placed her palm against my chest, the heaviness of every emotion hit me all at once. I swallowed deeply trying to control it all.

“Your fate is calling to me. Let me see who you are.”

Every part of me trembled. Terror built, the fear of finding out what I was fated to overwhelming me. The more I fought against it, the more my body ached.

“Have faith, Elena, trust me and stop resisting.”

The pressure was intense, and I couldn’t fight it any longer. As soon as I released my hold, a swell of light washed over me. The burst of light blinded me for mere moments before it vanished in a blink, leaving the goddess and I right back in the middle of the prairie.

Air flooded back into my lungs as a grin blossomed on the goddess’ face. “When I first laid eyes on you, I knew you’d be an Empath.”

“I can’t be.” The words escaped my lips without thought.

Her lips twitched with mirth as she shook her head. “You can, and that’s exactly who you are meant to be, Elena.”

“M-m-my mother was a Healer, my father a Tempest.” The words stumbled out between my ragged breaths. “Empaths are calm, collected…they don’t—” Panic was clouding my thoughts, making it much more difficult to deliver my words. “They don’t fail, they don’t let people d?—”

“STOP!” The boom of her voice made the prairie quake around us, and my lips sealed shut. “I know exactly who you are, Elena Morrigan. Rise.”

On trembling legs, I struggled to stand.

She wrapped her hands around my biceps lifting me upwards.

She tapped my forehead with her pointer finger.

“You live too much in here.” She lowered her finger, tapping where my heart dwelled.

“This is where you should reside, this is your path to transformation. My advice is you start listening to it.”

“How?” I asked. “How am I an Empath?”

The goddess’ face softened. “It’s precisely because of reasons like this.

You don’t even know the depths of your compassion, the care you hold for everyone other than yourself.

You feel deeply, and when you feel responsible for the emotions or actions of other you brand yourself a failure. Am I right?”

Nodding my head, I bit my lip.

“You are an Empath because you were meant to enlighten this world. They need your care, they need your strength. They also need you to be something a little more, and as an Empath, only you can handle this task.”

The significance of her words filled my body, locking me in place.

“Elena.” The golden goddess’ voice was smooth as silk.

“We have been watching you for a very long time. There is a strength in you that not many people possess. It’s unyielding, just like your spirit.

No matter what this life has thrown in your path, you take it with grace and compassion.

You have given yourself fully to help others, even to those who are not always worthy of it.

We know that some small part of you believes that you were meant for more.

That you are meant to find a way to help those who struggle and suffer around you. ”

The ache in my heart stirred once more, evidence that every word she said was true.

“Elena, we know that you feel like you are never enough. My dear, that is the farthest thing from the truth. You have always been enough, and we want you to step into this new chapter in your life allowing these words to resonate as truth within you. Do you feel that in your heart?”

I pressed my palm against my heart and dipped my head in agreement. Tears of shame streamed down my cheeks. I’d always known these truths but had always let my fear and anxiety fill me with doubt. I’d lived my entire life afraid of the unknown, always assuming the worst outcomes.

The goddess lifted her hand and placed her palm over mine, which was still pressed against my chest. “Elena, it’s time for you to illuminate your inner strength and shine bright with your glorious light.

Whether you believe us or not, you are a very powerful woman.

We are confident you will use this extraordinary dynamis with compassion and grace. ”

Fear curled in circles around my stomach. Though I heard what she said, my mind struggled to grasp why they’d chosen me. Why would they give me a power that was meant to be controlled when I was unable to control my own emotions?

All at once an immense burning feeling seared over my body.

When I glanced down, light radiated from my body, pulsing as it rippled underneath my skin.

As she continued to pour more dynamis into me, her radiant glow made it difficult to fully see her, but I saw what looked like a faint upturn of her lips.

It felt as though the dynamis that was flooding into me was embracing me tightly, wrapping me in the essence of love itself.

When she was finished, she took a few steps back as my vision started to blur and everything around me grew hazy. Panic bristled inside my chest. I still had so many unanswered questions.

“Lena, along with this power, I must also share with you another truth. Your future path will not be easy. Hold on to all you have found here today. Promise me that you will have trust in who you are.”

I hesitantly whispered as I felt my body floating further and further away, “I promise.”

“Remember, Elena, even when faced with darkness, you can always find your way back to the light. Never stop searching.”

As she spoke her final words, her body shimmered away into the abyss. Squeezing my eyes shut, I sent a prayer to the heavens, hoping that I would be able to live up to the fate that I’d just been handed.

“ W ake, Elena! Wake!”

A rush of energy flooded my body as I was jolted back into awareness. I opened my eyes, and the air fled out of my lungs in a gasp.

The ground around me had been scorched, the clay pots of flowers shattered to pieces.

Stray petals were tossed about the room, the cream candles charred and melted in odd shapes.

The only parts of the scene in front of me that didn’t leave me filled with terror were little remnants of glowing light that fluttered around the room.

When I tried to move, every muscle in my body cried out in protest. The shuffling of boots and armor made me aware of the presence of others behind me.

“Oh, gods, Elena! Are you alright?”

Turning, I winced at the pain that radiated through me. My gaze landed on Bri’s flustered face. Then, it traveled to the gaping mouth of one of her assistants, and the deep scowl of the Royal Guard from earlier.

He gripped the hilt of his sword, taking one step towards me. Instinctually, I flinched backwards. He paused, his lips shifting into a thin line.

Bri looked disheveled, her hair falling out of her pristine braid, almost like she had been tugging and pulling at it for hours. All their eyes were wide, faces stricken with terror. All directed towards me.

“Of course I’m alright, Bri.” My raspy voice made me pause. My throat ached.

“Elena, you were screaming!” Bri exclaimed.

“You were screaming so loud, it felt like the walls were rattling inside the temple. I’ve never heard you make a sound like that before.

It sounded as if someone was trying to hurt you.

” Bri fidgeted with her hands as her eyes shifted towards the other guards now gaping at me in the doorway.

“The guards saw me running. They followed me in as I opened the door. That’s when … that’s when?—”

“That’s when what, Bri?”

She spoke calmly, like she did when she was trying to ease me out of a panic attack. “That’s when we saw you were—are —glowing .”

My eyes widened and my breathing became erratic. Looking down, I was indeed glowing. Every inch of my body was enveloped in a warm, golden glow.

Alarm bells rang inside my head. I was acutely aware an attack of panic was approaching.

As pressure built inside my chest, a flicker of light on the back of my hand caught my eye. My newly acquired tattoo shimmered with light, as if shouting for my attention. Inside the triangle were millions of stars in all shapes and sizes. A delicate feather floated on top of them.

The space between my brows creased. Etched permanently into my skin was a mark I knew all too well. Only one other had ever borne it, and she had died to give our kingdom a chance for peace.

The Light Phoenix.

Overwhelmed with a combination of shock and fear, my view became hazy. When was the last time I’d taken a breath?

The lack of oxygen finally caught up to me. I caught Bri’s distraught eyes one last time. The ground inched closer as my body gave into its pull. She lunged forward to catch me as I collapsed.