Page 18 of Walking in Darkness

Chapter Five

Aria—Tearsith

She lay wrapped in Pax’s arms, and her Nol held her close as they drifted to sleep, curled on the motel bed.

Their souls hovered and danced in the nothingness. In that bare space that always held them before they were taken to where they were destined.

Lights flickered and flashed in that glimmery second before they flew.

Carried away to the otherworld.

Aria emerged on Tearsith’s boundary first.

Their sanctuary was surrounded by dense woods, the foliage lush and the air cool. Green grass and red vingas covered the ground, and her ears were filled with the gentle babbling of the brook that cut through the middle of the meadow.

Off to the side was the great tree she and Pax had played on as children, its massive arms coiled and twisted. A canopy of peace.

Previously, she hadn’t given much consideration as to why there were no children there now, playing beneath its protection. Why she was the youngest of their Laven family. But now it struck her as wrong.

Ominous.

She didn’t have much time to contemplate it, because one moment later, Pax manifested at her side. He didn’t hesitate to thread his fingers through hers.

Energy erupted, stronger than it’d ever been.

It was as if a new force had been bred between them once they’d joined.

When their barriers had been stripped away and there was nothing left to separate them.

When they’d become one.

They shared a fleeting glance before they turned their attention to their Laven family, who had gathered near the stream at their great teacher’s feet.

Ellis was giving them words to bolster their spirits. A reminder of their calling. The way he did every night before they descended.

But there was something in the air that left her unbalanced, something that felt off as they stepped out from the fringes and into the clearing.

Ellis immediately quieted when he noticed them.

“Aria and Pax. You have arrived.” Aria had thought relief would shine bright in his expression. It’d been only the previous night that they’d defeated the Ghorl, and Ellis wouldn’t know of the new world Aria had stumbled into afterward.

But no.

It was sorrow that twisted through his aged features. The weathered lines carved on his face deepening to ravines.

Aria’s attention rushed to take in the faces of the rest of their family.

Grief.

She felt it fiercely. She felt it distinctly.

And she somehow knew it wasn’t about her or her situation.

“What has happened?” she whispered hoarsely.

Ellis’s expression dimmed further. “We’ve received news that Nathan has passed into eternity.”

Shock speared through Aria. Nathan wasn’t that much older than she was, only by four or five years. Aria and Pax had often played with him during their childhood growing up here in Tearsith.