21.
Crossroads
Reyna had been standing outside Dante’s closed door for almost two minutes. Verden’s completed renovations meant they each had their own room—for now—and Verden was back in his old quarters. That, however, was the problem.
It had been easy to talk to Dante when Reyna was forced to bunk with him, but now that they were separated, it had turned difficult. She wasn’t sure why but walking the short steps to his room was always a challenging feat. Each step took her closer to Dante, meaning she had to make up an excuse to talk to him because she always found herself in front of his door for no reason because she had started walking to his room because she felt like she had to.
Reyna shook her head, thinking how stupid her logic was, yet here she stood again trying to figure out something to say to him—an excuse for knocking on his door. She could always turn back and forget about it, but Reyna was already there. It had nothing to do with the urge to see him.
She inhaled, held her breath to the count of three, and exhaled.
“Hey Reyna. Been standing there a while.”
She flinched and turned around to see Diorela standing at the entrance of the new staircase. The teen grinned at her.
“How long have you been there?” Reyna asked.
Diorela’s smile widened. “Oh. You know. Just a bit.”
Reyna crossed her arms. “What are you even doing up here?”
“Nooooothing. Just passing by. Let me know how it goes.” The teen giggled and went down the stairs, two at a time.
Reyna rolled her eyes. Diorela was fascinated by the stairs. When Verden declared them safe to venture, she ran up and down a dozen times and went back for a dozen more that same evening.
She’s going to fall down the steps one of these days and then they won’t be her favorite anymore.
Reyna turned back to the beige door in front of her. Crap.
Her knuckles scraped against the wood and she tilted her head closer as if that would cause the noise in the room to enhance in volume. Reyna heard nothing though. She raised her hand again, hesitated, and knocked louder. This time, there was a rustle and creak of a mattress as if someone was getting out from bed. The door opened.
Dante stood dressed in only black pajama pants. He squinted at her, blinded by the hallway light. His bed hair and stubble only enhanced his sleepy look.
“Reyna?” he mumbled and yawned. “What’s wrong?”
“Uh, I, um,” she stuttered and avoided staring at his bare chest; however, she found herself tracing the red lines of his bed sheet imprints on his skin. They looked like the scratch marks she used to leave him when they—
“I didn’t catch that. What?” Dante said and leaned closer to her.
She blushed and looked down. “I just wanted to say hi.”
Oh god. That was so lame!
He chuckled. “You’re always saying hi nowadays.”
She looked up at him. “I’m sorry. I’m also sorry for waking you up. I’ll let you go back to sleep.”
“It’s okay. I needed to wake up anyways. Come in.” He opened the door wider for her to enter.
“Okay.”
Dante turned on the lights in his room and closed the door behind them. His room was generic, like everything else in House Verden, but Dante was marking it as his own. The shirt he had on earlier was on the floor next to the side of the bed where he had been napping. Dresser drawers were half open, one had a towel draped on it. Posters of his favorite rock bands that were now long gone decorated his walls.
Reyna remembered when Verden gifted them to Dante. He had also given some to Reyna that featured her favorite action movies. The half demon apparently had a collection of various magazines, including some that sold posters. By duplicating the advertised pictures and dimensions, Verden recreated the posters. He had given them to Reyna and Dante with the sincerest of smiles.
“Reyna?” Dante called to her.
She blinked. “Yeah?”
“You can sit now. If you want.” He mentioned towards his hastily made bed with his hand that held the shirt he had picked up.
“Oh. Yeah. Thanks,” she said and sat on it, hands on her lap.
She watched as he threw his shirt in his closet along with the jeans that had one leg on the bathroom tiles and the other on the room’s carpet. He entered the bathroom and Reyna heard the faucet turn on followed by the brushing of teeth. She took that extra minute of time to think of something to talk to with Dante.
It didn’t used to be this hard.
“So why’d you decide to wake me up from my nap?” Dante asked her as he came out of the bathroom and sat next to her.
She felt her cheeks heat up. “I already said I was sorry about that.”
He grinned but it quickly fell from his lips. “Are you okay, Reyna?”
For some reason, his question made her jump. “What? Um. Yeah.” She tucked her hair behind her ears, briefly thinking how long it had gotten; it was almost past her neck.
“Because of stuff like that. You just flinched at my question,” Dante said and tucked one leg under him while the other supported him, planted on the ground. “You’ve been a little weird lately. Is something wrong?”
Reyna looked at him. “I’m not sure.” She was surprised how true her response was. “I’m not sure,” she repeated like those words would give way to the answer.
Dante frowned. “You’re not feeling sick are you? Can you even get sick anymore with your weird Healer power?”
“That’s actually a good question, but no. I’m not getting sick. I…I don’t know, Dante. I feel like something is different, I guess?” She shook her head.
“Is it ‘cause we’re here with Verden?”
“No. It can’t be. I love it here, but lately, I’ve been feeling like something has been melting away.”
He scratched his head. “In a good way?”
She found herself smiling. “Yeah. It is in a good way”
He gave a staccato laugh. “Well then that’s good.”
Reyna looked at him. He’s so cute when he laughs. He is also pretty adorable when he smiles.
Her nervous hand tucked more stands of hair behind her ears. I really need to cut it.
“You should probably let your hair grow out again,” Dante said as if reading her thoughts. “It’s the first time in a while you haven’t trimmed it back.”
She placed her hand down. “You think so?”
He blushed. “I didn’t mean you don’t look good or anything. I mean you look cute with your hair short, but I always thought you looked really pretty with it long.”
“Okay. I can do that for you.”
His eyebrows went up. “You’ll grow your hair out for me?”
Reyna’s entire face went red. “I was thinking about growing it out too. I mean.”
Dante leaned his face inches from hers. Reyna wanted to pull back but she enjoyed the sight of his eyes. His jaw and lips appeared enticing as well.
“What is it you want to tell me?” he asked.
“Whuh—what?” she squeaked.
He smirked and Reyna felt like he was seeing through her. “You’ve been coming to my room a lot,” he said.
“I can’t come to talk to you?”
“You do talk, but you never say anything.”
She looked down. “I just want to talk…”
She felt his touch on her chin, urging her to look at him. As soon as she did, Dante kissed her. Cravings within her woke up. Reyna’s arms shot around him as she shifted closer to him. Her fingers stroked over his muscular back, relishing his warmth.
They parted, gazing at each other.
“You let me kiss you this time,” he said with a grin.
She recoiled, eyes wide like she had been told she shot someone.
Dante’s face fell. “I’m sorry. I thought you felt…I’m sorry.”
She stood from the bed. “No! I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have. I’m just gonna go.”
“Wait!” Dante grasped her wrist before she could leave. “Reyna?”
She didn’t turn around, hand balling into a fist. I’m an idiot. I don’t even know what I want.
“Please, Reyna?”
She closed her eyes. How many times has he pleaded to me? How many times have I hurt him? How many times did he just nod and said he was okay just to make me feel better about myself? And yet through it all…
“You stayed,” she whispered.
Dante let her go. “What?”
She still refused to face him. “I need to be alone.”
Reyna exited his room and was walking towards her own but instead her feet took her down the stairs. She immediately regretted it when she ran into Verden. He was thumbing through an advertisement from a forgotten video game store. New generation—there weren’t going to be anymore—gaming platforms were featured on the first page with hit game titles pictured over bolded prices.
“I think I understand what they are, but I don’t understand how it all works. Do you know anything about these video games, Reyna?” Verden said, his sight on flyer in his hand. He looked at her when she didn’t answer.
“Reyna, are you alright?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said.
“You don’t look it.”
“Oh. Really?”
She thought she had done a good job at hiding her distress.
Verden folded the colorful papers and pocketed them. He smiled at her. It was warm and genuine and never failed to soften his grey eyes to a hazy blue hue. It always brought ease to Reyna because it was the smile of a friend.
“Would you like to take a walk with me? I am sure you would enjoy a time out of the house. I can extend my camouflage seal to the outskirts,” he said.
Reyna shook her head. “No, you don’t have to do that for me.”
“But I want to and there are too many ears in this house sometimes, right, Diorela?”
Reyna turned to find the young girl a few feet away from them. She half waved with a smile that pleaded them not to be angry.
I didn’t even sense her. I’m more out of it than I thought.
“I just wanted to know how it went,” Diorela said.
Reyna glared at her. “How what went? I don’t know what you think was going to happen, but I’ll deal with you later.” She faced Verden. “I’ll take you up on your offer, Verden.”
“Wait. Where are you guys going?” Diorela came up to them. “Can I come?”
“No,” Reyna said, crossed her arms, and started walking towards the front door. She heard Verden tell the teen not to worry about something and then joined her as they both stepped outside.
They walked in silence for a few minutes, but it was soothing. Reyna felt like in stepping out of the house, she stepped out of her emotions. Her only focus was on how soft the soil was under her feet and how vibrant and lush the grass appeared.. Reyna found herself wishing to lay down on it.
“My intentions to bring you out here weren’t entirely for your benefit. I was hoping for your help on something,” Verden said, “and I wanted to ask you privately.”
Reyna looked up at him. He kept staring ahead like he was contemplating something. When his hair hid his eyes, she felt like she might have been walking next to Mundus. Reyna wasn’t sure how she felt about that. The flashes of Mundus she would see on Verden’s face since her arrival in her new home always caught her by surprise.
“Sure. What is it?” she said, turning her attention back to the beautiful grass below her feet.
“You know how I hide and seal our house with my Magika, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I at times also move it if I feel the need to. I eventually return to this spot because of the portal that is located here. You see, I made it.”
Reyna stopped walking and looked at Verden with wide eyes. “You made this portal? I thought they were all made long ago or something. I didn’t think anyone could make them.”
He faced her. “Usually demons can’t but for some reason, humans are able to do it easier than us. In fact, most of the portals between the two worlds were made by humans attempting to lead a regime into the Demon World. But that is another story. I was able to create that portal on my own. Being a human with Dark Blood powers made it easier for me than most.”
“How do you know that?”
He gave half a smile. “She told me before she forgot.”
“She?” Reyna tilted her head. Does he mean Ayame? Why do they always refer to her as “she”? She has a name! But then does that mean—
“I want to teach you,” Verden said. “With the escalation of this war, who knows what may happen. It’ll be good information for you to know.”
“I hope you’re not insisting you may die soon.”
He chuckled. “I hope not, but I believe it won’t hurt you to know it nonetheless. As a Summoner you should be able to achieve this since it is those with that power that can not only open them but also create them. It obviously takes a lot of energy and work though.
“I plan on moving away from this area and sealing up this portal. You will create the new one on our other location. I will guide you through the process.”
“Wow,” Reyna exhaled. “I will only be able to open them, right? I can’t seal them back up?”
He nodded. “Correct. Only those with See Magika can do that.”
“That’s still cool though. To have the power to open a pathway to another realm.”
Reyna felt a surge of energized happiness. To have the power to go home whenever I want. Even if it is mostly rubble. But to see a blue sky. To see the ocean.
“So,” Verden said, drawing out the word, “how have you been?”
She smiled, thoughts of earth filling her head. “Great now.”
“Ah. Then you and Dante are finally…” His hand went up as if presenting an invisible tray, grinning.
“Finally what?” Reyna crossed her arms.
“Well you haven’t been trying to kiss me lately, pretending to see my younger brother in me.” His grin morphed into a teasing smirk.
“That’s not funny, Verden!” She punched his shoulder, face a crimson blanket.
He roared with laughter.
“You have no idea how awkward I felt afterwards!”
“You felt awkward? How do you think I felt meeting a girl for the first time and then having her almost kiss me a few hours later?”
Reyna bared her teeth at him while he fell into another lapse of laughter. The two then simultaneously turned back to the house that was a good distance from them, both of them sensing the same thing.
“Anna,” they said.
“That girl is always trying to sneak out. When will she learn?” Reyna smiled.
“I’ll get her,” Verden said. “You take your time out here. I know living in the conditions you do now can be a little overwhelming. You can always ask me if you need a breather and I’ll extend the containment seal for you. Dante has.”
Her eyebrows perked up. “He has?”
“Yeah.” He smiled the way Reyna thought a brother would to his sister even though she didn’t have much experience in that department.
With Verden gone, Reyna took the opportunity to follow her urge to sit on the grass. The spongy ground cradled her as she fell back to look up at the sky. The entire scene was familiar. She had been in the same position multiple times and all of them were when she was talking to Dante. Reyna turned to her left and saw only grass. She laid a hand on the empty area and sighed.
She shouldn’t have run away from him. She did have something to talk about with him. She always had; she just never said it.
Reyna bolted up. Her heart raced so fast she could feel the blood flowing through her veins with the rushing force of river rapids. She could hear an annoying scratchy sound that would increase then decrease, increase and decrease. Reyna held her breathe only to realize it was that which was causing the noise. She sighed at her own stupidity, but that wasn’t on what she should have been concentrating.
Mundus was here.
She couldn’t physically see him, but she sensed him nearby. Reyna knew the seal hid her from him, but she still refused to move.
I should get Verden and tell him. I should just go inside.
Instead, she stayed rooted and mentally chased his movements, waiting for him to leave. To just go.
He did.
Reyna took a hesitant step forward, eyeing the empty landscape. It had been too abrupt. His essence had simply vanished as if plucked from the earth by an invisible, celestial hand.
Go back inside. Find Verden.
She took another step forward followed by another until she found herself walking towards the spot where Mundus disappeared. She passed the seal’s barrier. If Mundus’ presence hadn’t caught Verden’s attention, that definitely would.
Reyna broke into a run. She could see something in the same area where Mundus vanished. It looked like a huge, floating smudge, as if that section of the world had never been colored in.
She stared at it. Thin, white lines began to trace through the greyness, drawn by an invisible paint brush. They pushed the grey away like window blinds opening to let in sunlight. Reyna could see hazy waves of color brimming through the gaps.
“What is this?” she whispered and placed a hesitant hand on it. It phased through.
She gasped and pulled away, but she couldn’t. Something on the other side had latched onto her hand and drew her in.
“Hey!” Reyna closed her eyes as she passed through the oversized smudge.
Whatever had a hold of her let go but had given her body enough momentum that she tumbled forward and onto something sturdy but warm. She opened her eyes to look up into a pair of black eyes hovering over a familiar smirk.
“At last you arrive, Reyna,” Mundus said placing an arm around her waist.
*******************
Author's Note: Please don't yell at me for stopping here. Please just accept my thanks for supporting my story and reading it.
Dedicated to newlymadetwilightfan. Thanks for all your votes, comments, and support! ^-^