Lightning and Fire, page 26
“Now that everything is ready, what date is the wedding?” asks Jamal.
“Tomorrow.”
“Perfect.”
When I return to Kollosnia, I tell Kyle everything, and we ponder what it all could mean.
“Well we know he’s lying to us, just not about what?”
“So, do we go on with the wedding?” I ask.
“We must. If we cancel, it puts us in a dangerous position.”
“So we pretend like nothing has happened?”
“Nothing, as happened, yet.”
*
In the morning, we head back to Asca. The plan was to stay over, but that was no longer an option after what I saw. I’m placed in a guest room to get ready.
Kyle leaves, and I wait for helpers to come by with my dress and prepare for my wedding.
I hear footsteps coming, and I expect to see the six women from Asca. Camilla, Mil, Es, and the other three. Instead, I see the girls from Kollosnia coming in with my dress. Lola comes up behind them, and I’m happy to see her. I give Lola a hug, and I consider giving the other girls a hug too, but since our last encounter, they probably don’t want to be that close to me. Still, they smile and fain happiness.
Lola helps me with my bath, and then they all work on fixing my hair. They put my hair in an updo and created a bun. The style brings out my jawline and shows out my eyes. The dress is perfect, just as I described it.
The dress was long, with a light, comfortable fabric without the train.
“You’ll eat breakfast before you get dressed,” says Lola.
After breakfast, I get dressed, and we set out to the chapel when it’s time. The door is closed, and everyone is already there. When the door opens at the end of a long red carpet, Kyle stands at the altar, looking very dashing.
They dressed Kyle in a navy-blue suit, and across from him are my ladies-in-waiting. On the other side, a group of men to be matched with them. The girls are dressed in light yellow gowns, and I feel Jamal had something to do with this.
The music plays, and Lola walks before me, dropping flower petals. I stand behind her. Before I can step off, Jamal appears next to me and wraps his elbow around mine.
“You didn’t think I was going to let you walk down the aisle alone, did you?” says Jamal.
“Yes, I absolutely did.”
“Well, that’s too bad. I’m glad you’re not offended by me not showing you my room.”
The music plays, and Jamal pulls me to the other end of the aisle. My body is stiff as I walk towards Kyle. I get to the end, and I now notice that the people are standing and the entire place is full; when I get to him, they sit.
My life’s madness overcomes my senses, and my eyes can’t see fast enough. My mind can’t take in or process all the information.
The priest steps up before us. “Who gives this woman away?” he asks.
“I do,” says Jamal.
Removing my elbow from Jamal’s grip, I walk up to the platform to stand in front of Kyle. I hold Kyle’s hands and they feel so cold. They are as cold as mine. I look into his eyes. The suit that Kyle is wearing brings out the green in his eyes, which look so gentle yet piercing.
“We gather here today,” says the priest. “To join these two in holy matrimony.”
The priest continues his ceremony; it’s time for our vows. Kyle speaks first.
“We met in the most unlikely of situations. It feels strange saying it now, after all that we’ve been through, that I was commissioned to kill you.”
The crowd gasps.
“Duty has no place when it comes to love. Love is life, and that is what you are for me. That is what you mean to me. I can never think of life and a world that would be okay without you. It pains me now that I’ve ever thought otherwise, but seeing your face and smile fills me with love every time. I wouldn’t ask for a better friend, and I couldn’t ask for a better person to be my wife. You are strong and embody the person I truly want to be.”
The people in the audience clap, and my eyes fill with tears, hearing him speak so sincerely. It makes me happy.
It’s my time to speak, and I clear my throat. “Kyle, when I first met you, you came off incredibly annoying.”
The crowd laughs.
“I came to find out later that it wasn’t all you, and it wasn’t all real. Then I got to know the real you. The good times and the happy times were the best part. I feel the love we have now is strong—I knew it would be. We faced the challenge of admitting it and choosing to love over hate. If it comes down to choosing you over everything else. I will always choose you.”
The crowd claps and they sigh a happy sigh at our vows. We put our rings on. I put on Kyle’s ring first, and then slowly, he puts mine on my finger. The priest asks if anyone objects to our marriage, and the chapel is silent. Not one pin drops.
When there were no objections. “You may now kiss the bride,” says the priest.
Kyle holds my face in both his hands, and I wrap my arms around his neck. He kisses me long and hard. The crowd cheers and claps, and when I pull away again, my eyes are only on him.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Calina
We run from the mob of people trying to kill us, run from the burning house, from the flames that rage on behind us. I don’t know why everyone is out for us, out for me. I thought they liked me. Do they not know that I’m the savior? They don’t, because if they did, they would have acted differently. This is for sure Anorvia’s doing. Why does she hate me so much? Yes, I understand how she feels, but this is not how to go about it. I don’t want the throne. Can’t she see that? If I did, I would have already gone for it. Anorvia sees me as a threat when she doesn’t need to.
I do everything in my power not to cry because I can’t break down now; I have to focus on running and getting away. My grandfather is dead. He’s dead because of me. I wanted to see him, just to see him for a moment, to see his face and know who he was. That’s gone now. Ever since the day I came here, all I know is loss. I don’t think I can lose anything else. I don’t want to lose anyone else.
We head down an alley and mix into a market group. Skyler and I walk ahead, and Alana and Aiden is behind us. Aiden saved me today; I owe him my life. Today someone had my life in their hands.
We go around a corner, and I stop short. I look up to the side of a brick wall, some sort of official building. I didn’t know there were brick buildings here other than the ones in the palace. Maybe this one was made by the King long ago. It isn’t a new building; the walls are worn but still standing. It’s not the wall itself that stops me. That’s not what I find fascinating. There must be a hundred posters on the wall—and they’re all of me.
The posters read. ‘Wanted. For crimes against the crown and the nation of Kollosnia. A reward is given if found, dead or alive.’
“Are you seeing this?” I say. Skyler and Alana answer, but not Aiden. “Aiden?” I turn around to see where he is, and he’s nowhere in sight. “Crap, where’s Aiden?”
We all must have thought the same thing. Aiden must be in trouble. We race back, pushing our way through the market to find him. I feel like Anorvia would prefer if I were more dead than alive. Aiden isn’t far, and we see him cornered in the market by a mob of people.
We stay out of sight, watching as Aiden takes down two men, but more keep coming. The mob is seething with anger, and it doesn’t matter how good Aiden is at fighting. He won’t be able to hold them off much longer.
“Alana, can you do your thing and get him out of there?” I ask.
“No, not yet,” says Alana.
“I think I can beam now, but maybe once. Someone needs to do something,” says Skyler, her voice rising. “Calina?”
Technically, I owe him one. Nothing happens when I try to harness my powers. I feel heavy; I try to breathe, but my throat is dry. The crowd circles around him and gets closer and closer. There is a pang in my heart, and adrenaline rushes through me. I take a deep breath, then hail falls from the sky.
I know people say that the weather can affect their emotions, but this is different. I can control it. When I was in a sober or reflective mood, it rained. When I’m happy, it’s sunny. This must be why I can’t beam half the time—my powers are all out of sorts. Whenever I was unknowingly controlling the weather, it was draining me of my strength.
As hail knocks the crowd in the head, they reel back, surprised at what’s happening. People look up and around them, no doubt sure they were under attack, wondering where it was coming from.
They then notice that the weather has changed and ice balls are falling from the sky. They marvel at it. For a moment, they forget about Aiden, and he makes a mad dash for us.
The sudden movement of Aiden running brings some people back to the matter at hand, and they chase after him.
Aiden barely got a head start, but he’s making the most of it, stretching his limbs as far as they could go. But the mob is close behind.
Me, Skyler, and Alana scream, as if cheering on a teammate in a racing competition, except the prize for this one is life or death. The crowd gains in on Aiden, but before any one of them can grab him, Skyler reaches out her hand, and Aiden grabs hold of it. We all rest a hand on Skyler, and she beams us back to the Savior’s Haven.
“So, how many powers do you have now?” asks Skyler.
“I don’t even know. Weather, lightning blast, beam.”
“You spoke to that animal,” says Aiden, wiping away blood from a cut on his forearm and wrapping it with a piece of torn cloth.
“I don’t think that’s one,” I say.
“You can heal,” says Skyler.
“Honestly, I’m kind of losing track,” I say. “I hope that’s it. I can’t keep this up.”
“Some people just have it all,” says Alana in a jealous tone.
We all laugh.
“You can be powerful,” says Cosmo. “You are.”
“Powers that I don’t need. Plus, there is a consequence to having all these powers.”
“Just one, which we can take care of. If our powers drain us, we just have to be careful,” says Aiden.
“And what if there’s something else?” I say.
“I doubt it. What else could there be?” asks Aiden.
“I think the possibility of dying because your powers suck your body dry is enough,” says Ric.
“There is always something else,” I say. “I guess there’s only one thing to do now.”
“Go home. Pack your bags and let’s go,” says Ric. “Wait, you don’t have any bags either. Open the portal, and let’s go.” She’s edgy, jumping from one foot to the other.
“What’s wrong with you?” I ask Ric.
“Love this place and all. What’s not to love? But I don’t want to be murdered, and if I stay here, I probably will. So, let’s go now.”
Ric is right; it’s time for me to go. I have no leads and no hope right now. Everything that could have connected me to my birth family went up in flames.
“Yea, you’re right. It is time for us to go home,” I say.
I say goodbye to everyone and thank them for their help and for being there for me when I needed them. After I eat and I rest and vent. I open the portal, and we go.
Part Four
Chapter Fifty-Three
Aiden
Calina leaves after saying her goodbyes. I’m not even sure how to feel. I knew she would go; It’s what she’s wanted to do this whole time. I wish she stayed here, but none of that matters now.
I sit in the living area of the Savior’s Haven feeling empty, and I consider what to do next; with my life. What move do I now have?
Skyler comes over and sits next to me. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asks.
“Talk about what?”
“Anything. Calina leaving.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Why not?”
“Thought I talk about her too much.”
“I shouldn’t have said that. I was frustrated, but it’s also true. Either way, it will make you feel better.”
“What do you want me to say, Skyler?”
“How are you feeling?”
“Like a failure, in so many ways. Calina…”
“Calina has made her choice. You can’t beat yourself up about it,” says Skyler.
“Everyone was right, though. I was selfish. All I cared about was what I felt and believed—I was stubborn. I could have told Calina everything from the start, not just the parts I was comfortable with. I could have made everything clear.”
“You mean before the war, before she died, or after?” Skyler asks.
“All of the above,” I say. “I had every opportunity, to be honest. Instead, I was hot and cold, blurred the lines, and skirted in the shadows of vagueness. You know, for a moment, I believed if I admitted nothing, if I wasn’t clear about my intentions, whatever happened, it couldn’t be my fault.”
“Well, when actions aren’t clear, we need words to define them.”
“Still, I thought she would have forgiven me. She knows who I am, she knows my heart.”
“Maybe she doesn’t.”
“After everything we’ve been through?”
“You want Calina to believe you’re kind and caring.”
“I am kind and caring.”
“But your actions when you met her didn’t show that. You were hard on her.”
“I’m hard on everyone.”
“Still, she did give you a chance to show her, who you were. Despite your actions, she decided you were more than she could see; more than the story your actions told. She made that choice. Then you went and lied to her repeatedly. This time, she didn’t have a choice. At that point, it was evidence—a fact.”
“Now, I can’t change how she sees me.”
“Aiden, people are not just what they do, but also what they say. Then there’s another layer: how you show up each day. That’s what she has to see. Not that side you hide when you’re afraid. Not being kind when you want her to like you and being mean whenever it suits you, with no care for anyone else. She has to see the real you, as you are.”
“Maybe that is who I am. That’s the person I was every day. It’s there inside of me.”
“That could be true, too. Maybe there are a lot of things inside all of us, and we are only who we choose to be every day.”
“I’ve already messed up.”
Choose who you want to be now, for yourself. Maybe one day she’ll see that.”
Skyler is about to get up when Cosmo comes running into the room. “People have been saying there are islands in the sea,” says Cosmo.
“What do you mean?” I ask, confused.
Cosmo takes a deep breath. “In the middle of the sea, where there was only water as far as the eyes could see. There are now groups of lands, islands, with people living on them.”
“What? That makes no sense. How?”
“Don’t know how. This is something I’ve never seen or heard of before.”
“The Regiomari?” I ask.
“Yes, all over it.”
“Where did they come from?” asks Sky.
“They just appeared. Some people say they came out of the sea. Others say they materialized out of thin air. Maybe it’s both,” says Cosmo.
“I need to see,” says Sky.
“Let’s go,” I say. Cosmo and I cling to Sky, and we beam.
We get to one part of the Regiomari, some place no one can see us. On the other side of Kollosnia, where the sea begins, we stand and look out towards the new worlds. I can see them, and it’s thrilling but scary.
“What should we make of it?” asks Sky.
“Everything we thought we knew and believed about our lives was a lie,” I says.
“Did you know there were more people out there, Cosmo?” Sky asks.
“When I was a boy, I thought I heard it once, or maybe that was a dream—a fantasy of mine,” says Cosmo.
“So, what does this mean now?” I ask. “Are they friends, or are they foes?”
“That is the question,” says Sky.
“Should we check out these places?” asks Cosmo.
“We should leave it alone. It’s not our problem anymore, is it?” says Sky.
“So, we are just going to ignore the fact that there are people over there that we don’t know?” I say.
“There is someone on the throne, Anorvia. We should hang low, survive and move on with our lives,” says Sky.
Sky’s right. It isn’t our place anymore to intervene with anything political. It would likely cause more trouble than we need right now.
“But wouldn’t you want to see? We could hide and look around, see what’s up with these places,” I say.
“And you want me to carry you,” says Sky glaring at me.
“If you can,” I say. “Please,” I hold Sky’s hands.
“I’m exhausted. I don’t think I can carry both of you.”
“Well, you two go. Bring back information. I will go around and see if anyone knows anything,” says Cosmo.
“Be careful; remember we are all wanted right now,” I say.
“I didn’t see my face on any posters,” says Cosmo, laughing.
“Well, now that Cosmo has reminded us that we’re wanted, I think it would be a good idea to have a little more strength. Let’s go back to the haven, and rest up first, then we can go check it out,” I say.
Skyler agrees and beams us back to the haven. Cosmo heads out to do what he does best; finding information. Murdo is back in Undas, and Alana is back in the Conlis.
“It feels so strange being here, with no one and no purpose,” says Sky.
“We’ll always have a purpose.”
“Are we going to allow Anorvia to rule Kollosnia?” asks Sky.
“It’s not a battle worth fighting right now,” I say.
Sky and I rest and eat. It’s more for her to get her strength back. After we finish resting, Sky is ready to go, and she tries to beam.
Nothing happens. Skyler tries again. Still, nothing.
“I don’t know where to go,” says Skyler.
