"Orion, wait," I whispered, tugging at his hand to signal him to stop. He paused, looking over his shoulder to meet my hesitant gaze.
"What's wrong Celestia?" He kept his voice low for the sake of not giving away our location. I took two steps forward to stand in front of him, my hand still in his.
Today was Monday, the day of the last trial. As we suspected, I was again one of the chosen participants to participate, along with Orion. The trial was called “Lost and Found,” which made no sense to either of us as we walked to the portal which led somewhere in the forests of New Aslan.
The others were pissed I had been selected again, especially Finn, who had gone off to get Magnor and Faelia, stating there must have been something going on and this was our chance to catch the culprit. We had no choice, however, but to start the trial, hoping the others would figure things out, or at least get us a clue of what was going on.
"I feel something coming our way. A bit far out, but the ground is trembling slightly," I pointed out.
Orion frowned, closing his eyes for a moment. "You're right. You sure you're okay to fight?"
I grinned, nodding my head and pointing to the blades on my back. "Of course. I'm ready to get this over with." I hummed and he smiled, pulling me into an embrace and lowering his lips to mine.
The weekend had been spent resting and enjoying time with all my guys. The rest of them ended up at Magnor's house Saturday morning. Finn explained what happened to his family and the guys each gave their condolences. We ended up going deep in the forest, and found a perfect spot to make a memorial of all the pixies lost that day.
It may not have been much, but it was a place Finn could go and mourn his lost family, surrounded by the peacefulness of nature.
Once this trial was over we'd leave for a month long break, all of us agreeing to go to different dimensions in search of finding more about unicorns and other mythological creatures. Having such information could potentially help us search for allies across the realms to fight together against the Forsaken that seemed to be growing in numbers at an exponential rate.
We broke the kiss when we heard a twig snap. We both went into a battle stance, my hands reaching back to pull out my dual blades while Orion manifested a wand that reminded me of a unicorn horn.
We began to move, walking slowly while scanning the area with our eyes. We reached a clearing and lowered our weapons when we saw nothing. I lifted my eyes up to the large clear wall a few feet away, focusing on the little strips of rainbow light that flickered on and off.
"The barrier?" I asked, sliding my swords back into their scabbards on my back. Orion returned to my side, slipping his hand into mine as we began to walk closer to the barrier which was so tall, it disappeared into the cloudy night sky.
"Yes. It's really beautiful for a barrier. It must be sustained with light magic. I wonder how they keep it up continuously," Orion questioned. I nodded, wondering the same thing.
We had almost reached the wall, when we heard a crack. We both looked back to see a black deer with red eyes.
"Um...Orion? What is that?" I asked.
"That doesn't look like a normal deer," Orion whispered, gripping my hand tightly before positioning himself in front of me with his wand in his left hand.
The deer just stared at us, and I focused on his red eyes that blinked. He's...sad?
"Orion. It's sad," I revealed.
"It's cloaked in darkness, Celestia," Orion countered.
"But it's not evil," I insisted.
He turned his head to meet my gaze, those beautiful purple eyes locked on my mismatched ones. He was silent for several seconds before he sighed. "I'm not going to bother trying to convince you. So stubborn."
"I didn't even tell you my plan yet." I grumbled.
"You don't have to, Blessed Love. Your eyes give you away. Be careful, and if it does anything, and I mean ANYTHING that can hurt you, I will kill it,” he warned. I nodded, giving him a wide smile at his belief in me. I slowly began to approach the deer that stayed in place, eyeing me carefully. I finally reached it, presenting my hand out to it.
The deer lowered its head, nudging its nose to my hand. "Hey there," I greeted, my voice low and gentle. It seemed to relax and I moved my hand to stroke its head. I could feel the darkness that cloaked its body, but it looked like it hadn’t taken over yet. I closed my eyes and smiled.
"You’re fighting to protect your unborn baby, huh?" I whispered, opening my eyes to see the deer blink its red eyes before nodding. I gave a nod of understanding, closing my eyes again and letting my magic flow to my hands. My mind told me I could heal her. I could save her and her unborn fawn.
I heard Orion gasp but I didn't let myself get distracted. I focused on letting the magic flow out my fingertips, the warmth of my magic fluttering through me and making me smile at the soothing feeling. When I felt like the deed was done, I opened my eyes and smiled as the deer moved closer to me and began licking my cheek.
"Go somewhere safe and live," I whispered, wrapping my arms around her neck as I bid her farewell. I could feel her happiness and that was enough for me. I pulled away and she looked between Orion and I before she went on her knees and bowed her head. Orion and I exchanged looks, unsure what she meant by her bowing gesture, but then she got up and ran away, straight into the nearest set of trees and out of sight.
My shoulders sank and I sighed, feeling really tired. Orion was at my side in two seconds, his hands on my shoulders to steady me. "You okay?" he asked.
I grinned, lifting my head to look up into his worried eyes. "That was amazing, Orion. I healed her," I expressed in disbelief and he smiled, lowering his lips to mine.
When he pulled back, his eyes were filled with pride. "Yes you did, Celestia. That was beautiful,” he whispered.
"You think I could do that to those who change into Forsaken?" I questioned.
"Maybe, but it would put yourself at risk if healing the deer made you this tired," Orion pointed out.
"Hmm. True." I looked down at the palm of my hands that still tingled with magic. Orion followed my gaze, placing his left hand on mine and brushing the blessed mark on my wrist. I shivered at the touch and he lifted it up to kiss the area. I moaned quietly, closing my eyes to savor the pleasurable feeling and onset of energy.
When he lowered my hand, the marking was glowing brightly and I no longer felt tired at all.
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Just gave you a little energy boost,” he replied with a grin.
"Thank you."
He nodded, placing his hand in mine and giving it a light squeeze. "Let's figure this out so we can go home. We still have time?" he asked. I nodded, lifting my free hand to look at the magic display, 50:49 and counting down.
"Oka-"
"GRAAAEEEEEEEEEE"
Oh for fuck sakes, not again. We both turned to look behind us. There was the largest Rhinroy I'd ever seen. It was huge, reminding me of the Forsaken that first attacked us back at Omako Forest. It didn't give us time to think, charging at us with full force.
"Run!" Orion shouted. I let go of his hand to dash forward, but noticed another Rhinroy of the same size charging from our right, seconds away from tackling Orion. FUCK!
"Orion!" I screamed, shoving him to the ground, out of the way of the Rhinroy’s attack, before pulling my dual swords out to get into a defensive stance.
"GRAEEEEEE!!!!!"
"SHIELDALA!" I countered. The gold magic circle appeared before me, making a shield in time for the Rhinroy’s impact, but the shield only protected me from the attack. It couldn't prevent my body from flying into the air. A scream escaped me as I felt my body go through something hot before entering a completely different environment.
My body began to fall, and I tried to think of another spell to cushion my fall but my mind was so distraught, clouded with fear as I held my breath. The air was cold and it was hard to breathe. Within seconds, my body crashed into the ground, the impact so hard it knocked me right out.
~ORION~
"CELESTIA!" I screamed, watching her body fly like a ragdoll through the air, straight towards the barrier. No, no, NO!
She hit it and a scream escaped her, but instead of falling forward towards the ground below, she went right through the barrier, her scream disappearing when she did. FUCK!
Panic pulsed through me as I charged forward, not caring about the Rhinroy that was tailing me. I didn't care about the fucking exam when Celestia was now on the other side of the barrier and at risk of getting attacked by a multitude of Forsaken waiting to devour her.
I charged directly at the barrier, bracing myself just in case it didn't let me through. But I ran straight through it, skidding to a stop at the sudden climate change. There was a loud bang behind me, and I heard the muffled cries of the Rhinroy as it tried to get through the barrier, but couldn’t.
I didn't have to think about them or the fact we were able to go past the barrier with no issues. I quickly scanned the frigid area, noticing the puffs of cold air that escaped as I tried to catch my breath. I noticed a small purple glow a few feet away, the light was a shining beacon in this otherwise dark environment.
My body moved before I could even think. Within seconds, my eyes landed on Celestia's body. She'd fallen on her back which must have knocked her right out, considering the height she must have fallen from. I quickly dropped to my knees, pressing my fingers against her neck to find a pulse.
I sighed in relief when I felt it and immediately began checking for any open wounds. She had a gash on the right side of her head, blood dripping from the wound and falling to the dark green grass that looked almost frozen. Other than that, she didn't look too beat up, but it looked like she might be unconscious for a while.
I made sure she didn't have any spinal injuries before I scooped her up to rest in my lap, positioning her head against my chest as I used my right arm to hold her and my left to begin healing her wound.
"Well, well, well. Look what we have here."
I frowned, taking a deep breath at the chilling voice before lifting my head to look in front of me.
A man walked out of the fog that cloaked the forest, his black cape fluttering behind him as he approached. I held Celestia a little tighter as if he might rip her out of my hands if I didn't hold her close. I couldn't let him have her. She wasn't his and I knew he wouldn't dare share her.
"You can't have her," I declared, narrowing my angry eyes at him.
The man stood at 6’2”, with no weapons in sight. His long black hair surpassed his shoulders, every strand perfectly in place. He wore black pants, a white dress shirt, and black shoes. He wore a silver necklace in the shape of a crescent moon, and his pale complexion and pure white eyes looked both beautiful and deadly at the same time. He had a slim build but I suspected he hid muscle underneath his clothes. His lips curled up into a smile as he stared at my analyzing gaze.
"Now, after all this time, I would have thought you'd learned how to share by now,” he hummed in glee and I gritted my teeth as I tried to remain calm. I wouldn't lose to him. I just couldn't.
He smiled, pulling his left hand out from his pocket, gliding his hand through his black tresses before a wand appeared, the shape and design almost identical to my own.
He took a deep breath and his white eyes twinkled with delight.
"I think it's time we have a chat, little brother."