Chapter 45
"That's the last box," Birdie said as she sat down the brown box on top of Ebony's new kitchen counter.
"Oh thank god," Ebony sighed. "I didn't think we had that much stuff. How did we even gather that much stuff in just a few months?"
"It happens," Birdie shrugged. "But now you have your own apartment! You can buy whatever you want!"
"I know," Ebony looked around and took in a deep breath. "It's mine. My home."
"Are your sister's happy?"
"I haven't told them yet," Ebony grinned. "I want to surprise them."
"They're going to love it," Birdie laughed. "I'm really happy for you, Ebony."
"Thank you," Ebony's eyes softened. "I....I still can't believe it. I'm free."
"You are," Birdie took a step forward and pulled the jinn into her arms. "You deserve this. All of this."
"I could never repay you, Birdie," Ebony shook her head. "Everything that you did for me. For all of us...without you, we would all still be in Pangea."
"I just wanted to come home," Birdie felt her heart skip a beat. She didn't want to think about Pangea. As much as she was glad to be back in her world, she knew a part of her was still back in the other world.
"I'm so excited!" Ebony squealed. Her eyes sparkled like a child on Christmas morning as she walked around the empty apartment and made plans for where she wanted everything.
"You need a TV," Birdie said.
"Oh yes!" Ebony nodded. "I love that thing! And the other thing that makes the bread warm."
"A Toaster?"
"Yes!" Ebony laughed. "I like the way it makes the bread taste."
"Consider it a house-warming present," Birdie bowed. "From me."
"No, no," Ebony shook her head. "I couldn't. You've already helped so much."
"It's not a big deal!"
As Birdie spoke, her eyes fell on Ebony's phone on the kitchen counter beside her. She immediately recognized the name on the screen and arched her brow.
Isaac Radacovick.
"Um..." Birdie picked up the cell phone. "My cousin is calling you."
Ebony turned around and paused. Her eyes watched Birdie as she stole glances towards her phone.
"Why is Isaac calling you?" Birdie stared at her friend.
Ebony shifted her weight from foot to foot, "He...he offered me a job."
"Oh?" Birdie arched her brow, feeling giddy as Ebony blushed. "So he's the nice young man from the palace who's been helping you."
Ebony nodded her head, "Yes."
"Do you like him?" Birdie gasped. "Oh my god. Are you and Isaac...?"
"He's a gentleman," Ebony's cheeks grew darker.
"He's a Radacovick," Birdie rolled her eyes. "Of course, he's a gentleman."
"I think he likes me..."
"He wouldn't be all up in your business if he didn't," Birdie laughed.
"But he's a Prince."
"And a werewolf," Birdie frowned. "Isaac hasn't found his mate yet. Things could get ba-"
Suddenly, Birdie paused and looked up at the jinn standing before her.
"What?" Ebony asked.
"Are you his mate?" Birdie asked.
"I...don't even know what that is," Ebony frowned. "He's not paying me to be with him or anything like that if that's what you're asking. I don't do that anymore."
"No, no," Birdie shook her head. "Please, Isaac would never do anything like that. But he would bend over backwards for his mate."
"I'm not sure what you mean," Ebony said.
"He hasn't told you anything?"
"He's very shy," Ebony giggled. "And he's very....formal."
"Yeah, that's Isaac," Birdie nodded. "And knowing how shy and quiet he is, he would definitely not tell you right away if he's your mate."
"What is a mate..." Ebony wondered.
"Well," Birdie sighed. "From what I've been told. They are the missing part of your soul. They are your home. Your umbrella in a rainstorm and your shade in a desert. Without them...you're incomplete...because whatever your hearts are made of, yours and his are the same."
"And nothing in this world ever prepares you for when you lose them," Birdie felt her throat tighten. "When they're gone...they take everything with them."
As Birdie finished, the apartment grew silent. Ebony stared at the silver haired girl and watched her try and hide the pain in her eyes.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "About Wren."
Birdie took in a deep breath and nodded. Her shoulders felt heavy and her knees weak. She wanted to go back home and slide back into bed. The hollowness inside of her was draining.
"Do you think he would have liked it here?" Ebony asked.
Birdie looked up, "I don't really want to talk about him."
"I understand," Ebony frowned.
"If you don't mind, I would like to head home," Birdie put down Ebony's phone on the counter.
"Of course," Ebony nodded. "Thank you again-"
A loud crash outside drowned out Ebony's words. Birdie looked up as someone outside in the streets screamed.
"What's going on?" Ebony ran towards the window.
Birdie was about to take a step forward when she suddenly looked down and saw the pale blue light below her skin.
"Oh my god," Ebony gasped as another woman screamed. "Birdie..."
Birdie couldn't look away from her forearms. She was glowing...
"Birdie, are you seeing this..." Ebony asked from the window, her head tilted upwards towards the sky. "My god..."
With trembling hands, Birdie looked up. She pulled the sleeves down and held them in place between her fingers and palm as she made her way over to the window. Every step she took, her body felt as if it was seconds from lifting off the ground and floating away. She was beginning to grow lightheaded and nauseous.
Birdie, where are you? Hayden asked her through the mind-link.
With Ebony, Birdie replied.
Are you seeing this outside?
Birdie finally made it to the window and looked outside. The people in the street were all frozen in shock as they watched the sky. A few hurried inside while some pulled out their cell phones and began recording.
"What is that?" Ebony asked as Birdie's eyes looked to the sky.
Like a reflection on the surface of a calm lake, the city in the sky stared back at the people standing in the streets. It was as if the sky was replaced by a giant dome mirror, showing what was on the ground below. But the city visible in the sky wasn't the city in the ground....
"Have you ever seen anything like that?" Ebony asked, her eyes taking in the glass structures and twinkling lights.
"No..." Birdie said, amazed by what she was seeing. "I've never seen anything like that."
"Is that Olympus?" Ebony asked. "Isaac told me where the gods live."
"That's not Olympus," Birdie shook her head. Her heart was beginning to skip several beats.
Hayden, what's going on? What is that in the sky? Birdie asked her brother before opening her mind-link to her father. Baba? What's going on?
Stay where you are, Heyder said at once. We don't know what this is. But don't try anything.
Mom? Birdie called her mother. What is this?
Grandpa is with the Vikings right now, baby, Maya responded. There's been a rip in the time veil.
Shit, Birdie looked up again. Please tell me that's just a reflection and not another dimension crashing down on us...
That's what we're trying to figure out right now, Maya said. Where are you?
I'm with Ebony in her new apartment.
I'm sending someone to come get you, Maya informed her.
I can't come on my ow-
No, Maya said sternly. We can't open too many portals right now. The time veil is very sensitive at the moment. One wrong move and it could cause a big disaster.
What do we do? Birdie asked.
Isaac is on his way.
But mo- Birdie didn't get a chance to finish as her mother shut off the mind-link.
"What's going on?" Ebony waited for her friend.
"Isaac's on his way to pick us up," Birdie said. "We need to leave now."
"But what is that thing in the sky?"
"I don't know!" Birdie moved away from the window.
"Shouldn't we be out there?" Ebony asked. "Those people look terrified. Some of them are hurt."
"We need to first figure out what that is," Birdie pointed to the sky.
"Is it all over or just here?" Ebony wondered. "I have to get my sisters."
"Isaac is on his way," Birdie said once more. "He will help."
_________________________
The city was falling apart.
Power had shut off. The roads were a disaster. Police sirens could be heard all over urging people to stay inside and clear the streets of emergency vehicles. Families, couples, children all hurried around as they watched the frightening image in the sky. Birdie too couldn't take her eyes off of it.
As soon as Isaac drove into the place grounds, Birdie prepared to jump out and take a better look.
"Isaac," Ebony reached for the prince's hand as he ushered them into the palace. "My sisters are in school."
"Someone is picking them up," Isaac said. "I promise they will be fine."
"Fine?" Ebony grew angry. "The city is in chaos. The power is shutting off. I can't reach the school."
"No one is going to stop a palace car, Ebony," Isaac assured her. "Please, just stay in here until we figure out what's going on. The guards said they're already on their way here now with the girls."
"Where is everyone?" Birdie asked, tearing her eyes away from the sky. She began to march ahead, in a rush to get answers.
"This way," Isaac said as he led the girls towards Maksim's large office. "You guys go in. I have to go help my brother."
Nodding, Birdie took Ebony's hand and pulled her away.
"I know you're worried," she said. "But trust me, Isaac won't let anything happen to your sisters."
"What the hell is going on here, Birdie?" Ebony asked. "What's going on in the city?"
"I don't know," Birdie looked over the girl's shoulder at the busy crowd inside the place. No one was standing still. Everyone was moving. Running around, shouting orders, moving furniture out of the way to make space for the King's Guards.
"Let's go inside..." Birdie tugged on Ebony's arm. "Come on."
As the girls stepped into Maksim's office, they were greeted with the same chaos. Hayden and Nora were trying to bring the power back to the city as Exton, Maya, Heyder and Maksim all huddled around the conference table with the Vikings. Somewhere else in the room Gemma and Mavi instructed Owen and the rest of the King's guards on how to get everyone to safety around the city. They needed the streets cleared and the citizens secured.
"Any news from Ares and Clare?" Ella asked as she turned away from where she was standing with a team of her own.
"No," Maksim shook his head. "The sky above is clear. Apollo says everything looks normal up there."
"How can that be?" Nora frowned. "We can practically smell the sewers of the city and he sees nothing?"
"How are things in the veil, Heyder?" Ella looked towards Heyder.
"Ali is fuckin' losing his mind," Heyder announced.
"What's going on?" Birdie stepped forward. "Is he okay? Does he need help?"
"The boundary we put up failed," Heyder said. "And a new mountain appeared right outside of the court."
"What?" Birdie's brows furrowed. "A mountain?"
"That's what I thought until he sent me a picture," Heyder said. "The thing is massive!"
"Everything is shifting," one of the Vikings looked up. His eyes were filled with worry as the deep wrinkles around them seemed to double within seconds. "Timelines, dimensions and worlds are colliding."
"How is that possible?" Birdie felt her heart lodge into her throat. The air in her lungs vanished as her eyes flickered towards her grandfather.
"Something shredded through the time veils," Exton announced. "There's nothing separating our universe from whatever is up there right now."
"How did this happen?" Ebony asked.
"We're trying to figure that out right now," Maya said. "But until we do, everyone needs to be on high alert. We have no idea who that city belongs to, who they are or what they want."
"It belongs to me."
Birdie's heart stopped.
Like a jolt of electricity, she felt a spark run up her spine at the speed of light. It spread like wildfire all over her body, lighting up every nerve and every cell. The back of her neck warmed as every hair on her body stood on its end. When she gathered up the strength to whirl around, a pair of navy blue eyes greeted her from the fireplace.
"And I am looking for my little bird," Wren said, the corner of his mouth curving up ever so slightly with a dark and wicked glint in his eyes.
Boom.
There.
Happy?
LOL he's back!!
I know it's a short chapter but it had to be this way. I wanted it to feel rushed. Hope you liked it.