Petrified

Chapter Fourteen

     I stood in the boat, looking down into the water below. Alric had said we needed to go to the center of the river—beneath Atlantis. The place where the lands met and nothing was divided.

     “Here,” the elf said, lifting his staff from the water. “Place her here. This is the place.”

     I paused, holding her close.

     “Tell me,” I said slowly. “What is this about her? They said she was different. I want to know how.”

     The elf sighed. It was a deep, body filled sigh that came with the weight of a thousand lives worth of knowledge. I almost regretted asking.

     “Prince,” he began, pausing. “This girl you’ve taken a liking to. She is not human or fey. She is not even a body. You see…she is our great river, embodied. She was not born as you were. She was not given life in the way you would expect. Her existence is one that requires much effort to continue on.”

     He wrung the staff impatiently, reluctant almost. It was strange to see him acting in such a way.

     “Elves began traversing the river many years ago and we were chosen to guard over it. Even we have our limits and can only protect her to a certain length for she was crafted by Tobias and her power far exceeds our own. As you know, all fey go to the river when their time has ended. Our Lady cares for the souls she brings to her heart and womb and continues to flow.

     “When the tear began, we knew that our Lady was in danger. As a defense, she created the woman you now hold in your arms. Without the knowledge of who she is, she is powerless. I was to return her to the river when the necessary pieces were acquired but your mother found her…and then she fled.”

     The elf frowned leaning into the staff.

     I knew what had happened after that. This explained everything about her. How she had managed to survive on the planet for so long without returning home. Why she had the unbreakable need to return to the lands—she had been seeking the river. As she had grown, it made sense that her body would naturally seek out her origins.

     “What happens when I put her back?”

     The elf said nothing but I knew. She would become one with the river. Undoubtedly, the tears in the world would heal. The passage between our world and the human would close and we would be left with the separation between us.

     “Your thoughts are wrong, Prince,” the elf said suddenly. The nasty thing had read my mind, it seemed. “She will become whole and capable of sealing the minor tears. She will have to stay on one side of the larger tear while you and the others are on the other.”

     “She will be left behind.” My voice was hollow as the words fell from my lips, pain searing through my heart.

     There was nothing I could do. Either way I would lose her. Sometime, through it all, she had become precious to me. She had come to mean the world to me and there would be nothing I could do to get her back.

     “Yes,” he whispered. “She will be left there until she dies and returns to the river.”

     And she would be fine with that. I could only wonder as to how she would think about it but I did know that she would do anything to keep her loved ones safe. The tear violating our two worlds…healing that wound and protecting everyone would give her peace.

     I hugged her close. There was only one thing I could do.

     Slowly, carefully, I crouched low. Her head touched the water, black and red waves soaking before I slid the rest of her body deep within the river. She stayed hear the top, floating just under the water.

     “How long does she have to stay here?”

     The elf touched my shoulder. A kind gesture that was strange for him.

     “She will leave when another is sacrificed,” the elf said. “Prince, you’ve served your purpose here. They will understand.”

     His bony hand dug into my arm, shoving my over and I gasped as the water, cold and unforgiving, dragged me into its embrace.

     I struggled, gasping for air as I fell deeper and deeper into the darkness, reaching for the light above the water—reaching for Reign.

     Her form grew smaller and smaller and I reached for her, drug down by the spirits of those long past—spirits whose voices in my head begged for me to join them.

     I couldn’t hold my breath much longer. I was already growing weak and my powers and control over water wouldn’t work—but this was not normal water. This was a spiritual water. I had no control over such a thing.

     My head spun, lungs burning as I started fading quickly.

     Was this it? Was I to die in the river? Those who went in, never came back out. Not if they were of a normal fey. I wasn’t like Reitna. When she had been Clarity she’d dived into the water more than once and emerged. But she was the creator’s wife.

     I? I was just another fey.

     Something wrapped around my waist, pulling me close and I felt the slightest movement in the water. It took nearly all of my power to open my eyes and peer through the murkiness that surrounded me.

     Red and blue eyes watched me, the person’s face close to mind as their hair swept around us, brushing my skin and face. Their hands cupped my jaw, lifting from my waist and their bright light shone on the darkness that held me down—my darkness.

     I could feel the evils deep within me as they wrapped around me, holding beneath the waves.

     Hatred for Tobias and Reitna—for what they had done to me. Envy for what they had. Angry that I would never be enough. Furious with myself for not having control. Guilty over my mother and sister’s deaths. Weakness at not having been able to save them. Sorrowful for what I had done to everyone. Confusion of not knowing who I really was—or who I would be.

     As soft hand slid down my jaw and warm arms encircled me, it all faded away. Those things were a part of me. A part that I couldn’t ignore.

     My hands clung to the body, the familiar touch warm and I met Reign’s gaze as she held me. Even underwater I could tell—she was crying. Crying for me. Crying for how lost in the darkness I was without even realizing it for so long.

     She pulled away gently, hair swirling around her and I knew that I would never have the change again.

     I broke away from my past. From the hatred, guilt, envy and sorrow and pushed up, my lips brushing hers.

     Her fingers dug in my shirt as she hugged me to her body, lips slanting over mine in an intense kiss. Her body fitted close, hands holding tightly to me as I kissed her. With a free hand I cupped her neck, aching to have her closer still.

     It was bliss. Our lips meeting again and again. Our tongues tangling as our heart beat as one. It was a feeling that I had been searching for without ever knowing that I’d been seeking it.

     Then it was done. She pulled away, hands holding mine before she raised them up. I rose to the surface, unbidden, as I reached for her. I wasn’t ready to let go yet. I couldn’t—not when I had realized so much. Not when I had come so far and finally accepted the truth.

     My arms stretched, trying to cling to the water—cling to her—but I rose faster and faster. I couldn’t stop and no matter how hard I fought against the river, it only took me higher. My hands reached for her, aching to feel her touch once more.

     She only smiled.