Fated-The Cristalline Chronicles Book I

XXVIII.The Blue Moon

Gasping as I resurfaced, I noticed that the surroundings had grown warmer and the nearby frost had melted. I could still feel the ghost of those cold fingers wrapped around my neck. I feared that I might be pulled back into the water any moment for another drowning attempt; I needed to get out. Looking around; I saw Damien resurfacing near the shore to my right, so I quickly swam to my left and laid on the floor, closing my eyes.

The moment I closed them, I could see the past few minutes replaying in front of me and they felt too realistic to be comfortable.

" Ari? Did you get it ? " I opened my eyes to find my brother leaning on me with hopeful eyes, the water from his wet hair dripping on my forehead, annoying me.

Passing him a weak smile, I raised my hand which held the Fire. Awed, he took it from me, his eyes running over it as it shinned, still a bit warmer from earlier.

" That explains why it got so warm suddenly. " Oliver smiled at me.

By now, everyone had encircled the fire, eager to have a look. All but one.

" Kiara, where is your brother? " I asked, drawing her attention back to me.

" I have no idea. " She frowned when she couldn't spot him.

" See? I told you so! You got the fire. " Blair smiled at me, earning one of my own.

We were interrupted when Damien walked back, his hood still covering his face, and body stiff. Stopping few meters away from me, he said,

" The dusk has already fallen. Let's go our separate ways for the last token. " All the while I could feel his eyes on my neck which was completely healed from the bruises inflicted on it a few minutes ago.

With a murmur of agreements everyone decided to go with their partners.

" Happy Birthday in advance, Aria! It's sad, I won't be able to wish you at midnight. " Kia hugged me and left with Veronica.

Stark and my guardians came and squeezed me to death with birthday wishes.

" Happy Birthday, sis. Love you not! " Kissing my cheek, Luke vanished into the dark with Stark after handing me back the Fire with a cheeky grin. The rest followed soon after.

" So, I guess, we'll be celebrating our birthday together. " Liam sighed, sitting next to me.

" Guess so. " I whispered, looking at the darkening sky.

What happened in there had drained me. All I wanted was to lay down and gaze at the sky. It had cleared from its usual grey clouds. It was bound to, after all, our birthday lied on a blue moon. Liam didn't object when I made no move to get up. Instead, he understandingly laid on my left, silently accompanying me.

" What is your best birthday memory? " I asked him, making a smile appear on his face.

" My 9th birthday. I was grounded because I and Veronica had opened the water gates of the castle, filling the entire cloud which formed the base of the Guarding Palace in an attempt to make it rain. " He chuckled.

" Did it? " I asked, grinning at him.

" Oh, it did all right. I pulled the stunt a week before my birthday and the castle still shook with thunder as I blew candles on my birthday cake. It was hilarious, really. Being grounded meant no celebrations, but Jupiter and Zeus have always been the rulebreakers. They sneaked into the castle and charmed the ladies of the kitchen to let them help in preparing me a feast; always the mischievous ones. It's safe to say that the feast was 2 hours delayed and mother found Jupiter chasing the chicken, destroying everything in his path; Zeus smiled at her sheepishly, bathed in flour, standing on top of the kitchen shelf munching an apple and balancing an egg on the head chef's head. That birthday was the most memorable one, I was afraid that they would set the kitchen on fire. " He had a huge grin plastered on his face as he recited the entire incident.

" Good thing they are old now. " I sat up, wrapping my arms around my knees, my right hand holding the Fire, gazing at him.

" Old " He snorted," Yeah, right. If that's even a word in their dictionary. They are the pranksters. "

" Why would you say that ?" I laughed at how dramatically he was behaving.

" Why, you say? Tell me, Ari, do you really think that Zachary has blue hair? " He raised his eye brows at me.

" I mean... he is a merman, isn't he? " I trailed uncertainly.

" Yeah, he is, but his original hair are sea-green, not blue. The twins mixed hair dye in his pond back home, just before we were about to come to Cristalline. Now each and every hair on his body is blue and no one believes him that he belongs to the royal merfamily because they have sea-green hair not blue; credits the twins. " Liam smirked at the thought. " You should have seen him when he stepped out of the pond; even his skin was blue. "

After a slight pause, he asked me, " What's your favourite birthday memory? "

The question was an innocent one, but had managed to crush the little upliftment in my mood. It reminded me of him and his betrayal. My favourite birthday memory was now marred, tears welled in my eyes as the betrayal and hurt finally struck home. So many questions running through my mind, I didn't have the answers to but I knew one thing. I won't let him off. He's going to pay for betraying me and everyone, for hurting me. We had just started building trust and a friendly relationship and he shattered everything.

" Ari? " Liam drew me out of my thoughts.

" Oh! Sorry, it's just that all my birthdays have been special in their own way. Can't really name one. " Smiling apologetically at him, I shifted my gaze back to the sky. My eyes widened as I took in the magnificent blue moon. Unusually big; it was shining beautifully, lighting up the night sky. The snow and frost around us was bathed in silverish blue glow.

" It's midnight. " I whispered softly, trailing my eyes back at Liam who was already looking at my with a soft smile; he looked surreal. His platinum hair shining like the moonlight itself and his violet eyes twinkling like the stars. The Torch around his neck only made him appear more striking. Our eighteenth birthday had started, I could feel my body humming with energy and no doubt, the same was happening with Liam. The blue moon light was altering our appearances, making us look more appealing than the usual or maybe, we were actually turning more appealing, this birthday was supposed to come with a lot of changes, appearances could be one of them.

" Happy Birthday your Excellency. "

With a smile matching his own, I leaned down and pecked his cheek. " Happy Birthday to you too, your Highness. " His smile had turned into a full blown grin by now.

For a split second, I saw his eyes fall on my lips before he looked away sheepishly. Sitting up with big eyes,

" Look. " He pointed towards the lake.

The moon had grown bigger, coming closer. Its reflection on the lake was a beautiful sight, with the silvery snow covered cliffs surrounding it. But the mist was starting to creep around it; it had managed to cover some part of the lake as well.

" We need to get going. The mist isn't a good news. " I stated as I swiftly got up. Frowning at the mist, I headed to the cliff and started climbing up with Liam hot on my heels. We didn't exchange any words as we climbed.

After we had managed at reach the top of the cliff, we decided to split so as to cover more area in the search for the scythe. Liam decided go along the hill range, scaling them, while I was going to take the route of the river. The plan was to encircle the forest in between.

" See you soon, Ari. " Liam nodded at me with a smile.

" You too. " I nodded back.

He started towards the forest while I stared at his back. About 50 metres ahead, he turned back slightly and gave me an exaggerated goodbye wave, making me chuckle. After he had gone out of sight, my mood shifted, turning grim once more.

With a one last glance at the sparkling lake, I started moving along the river, in the direction of the moon.

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