-43
CALEB’S POV
It had been six months since I saw Aurora. On a whim I texted her to meet me near the bar. I didn’t know if she would come but I couldn’t stop myself from waiting for her.
I paced up and down the sidewalk waiting for her. Ten minutes passed then twenty. When she didn’t come even after an hour’s wait, I decided to leave.
I had just turned to walk away when Aurora materialized before me. Startled, I took a few steps backward.
Smiling at me, she said, “Sorry for the delay, Caleb. Tyson insisted that I should wait till you start leaving just to make sure… you know how paranoid he is…”
“I am surprised that he even let you come to meet me.”
She snorted and said, “I am not his slave. I don’t need his permission.”
“Alright… alright… by the way where is our little angel?”
“I left her with Aslan and Zarina.”
“What the bloody hell, Aurora! How could you leave your baby with Zarina when she tried to kill Tiara!”
“Zarina, Tyson, Aslan are all burdened with decades of grief and anger, Caleb. They deserve a chance to start over.”
“How did Tyson let Zarina come near Tiara? He is the greatest paranoid I know…”
“I might have come up with a very interesting solution…”
“Which is?”
She crossed her arms and huffed. “Why should I tell you?”
I raised my eyebrows and said shrugging my shoulders, “Fine! I won’t tell you my secret either.”
Aurora shifted uncomfortably and said, “I have bound Tiara’s life to all four of us; Tyson, Aslan, Zarina, and me. She dies, we die. This way we can trust each other and Tiara will get a complete family…”
“Whoah! I should have expected this from the Great Witch Queen.” I said with a mock bow.
“Now tell me your secret quickly.”
I opened my mouth to speak but I noticed a movement in distance. “Aurora, I will tell you when I meet you next time.”
“But…”
“Trust me, leave,” I said grasping her hands. She vanished, leaving my hand empty.
The next moment, the hair on my back stood up and that sickly, evil voice sounded. “Liaising with the enemy, are we.”
I was thrown against the thrown wall. I screamed as pain shot through my back. “Believe me. I called her to help us in our mission.”
He released me and I fell to the ground.
“If I don’t find any useful information tonight… you know what will happen.”
I sent a mental apology to Aurora and told the Dark Lord about their lives being bound to Tiara.
“I am impressed by your loyalty. I will release Meredith but you will have to help me wage a war against the Dragons.”
What option did I have other than accepting his proposal? My only consolation was that I could see Meredith again.
TYSON’S POV
“F***!” Aslan cursed as he paced up and down the room. This was the hundredth time he had repeated this pattern.
I grasped his shoulder to stop him midway and demanded, “Are you going to say what has happened or do you plan to irritate me to death?”
He shifted from one foot to another and said, “I don’t know how true this is but our spies have noticed some unusual movements among the werewolves. There is something brewing between them which we are not aware of.”
“He is right, Tyson. Something is going on. I have sensed a change in the energy field. A large number of witches traveling to Nexus.” Zarina said walking in.
“Aslan, we should check the footage from the Sanctuary.”
“Raina is already there. She will send it to us if something is interesting.”
“See Teetee, everyone is here, say hi,” Aurora said crawling in behind Tiara.
I watched her with adoration as he crawled and grabbed my leg. I picked her up in my arms and twirled her around. Her giggles were like music to my ears. I could spend an eternity listening to them.
The screen lit up with an image, drawing my attention to it. I rested Tiara against my chest and looked at the strange vehicle in front of me. I had never seen anything like this before.
“Whoah! This spaceship is so cool. It seems to be a new and improvised version.” Aurora said, gazing at it in admiration.
It did look like a spaceship on closer observation.
“Why do the werewolves need spaceships?”
“To go into space duh!”
Aslan’s face turned pale and he said in a horrified voice. “Or to fly to a place they can’t go otherwise.”
Aurora’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.“Sorry, am I missing something?”
“There have been some questionable movements lately and we are afraid that the werewolves and witches are planning something.”
“Thank God! We are far away from Earth. I just don’t have the energy to get stuck in something again.” Aurora said taking Tiara from my lap.
What I did not tell Aurora was that these plans seemed to be targeted at Typhoon. I didn’t want to worry her… not at least till it was confirmed.
“Say, bye… we will go and do splashy splashy…” Aurora cooed and took her inside.
“Aslan, Zarina instruct all our spies to be extra alert. If there is anything unusual, report to me.”
“Don’t worry, brother. We will protect our family at all costs.” Aslan said and left.
“I am teleporting to Zeste Club,” Zarina informed before disappearing. It was much like a normal nightclub, just that it was frequented by witches. If anyone wanted to know about any new gossip. It was the best place to go.
After warning Aurora to be extra careful, I went to my sanctuary to activate the emergency defense mechanisms.
AURORA’S POV
The Palace seemed so lonely without the others. There were numerous servants but they were trained to mind their own business. They spoke to me only if they had some work.
I was strolling in the garden with Tiara when the water sparkled and a piece of paper fell out of it. Adjusting Tiara’s weight on one arm, I picked up the paper.
It was a message from Caleb. He wanted to meet me to give me some secret information.
Pacing up and down the garden, I contemplated the situation I was in. There was no one at home. So, I couldn’t leave Tiara, and taking her with me was risky.
I had a very bad feeling about this. Something was eating my insides but I couldn’t figure out the source.
In the end, I decided that Tiara’s safety was more important and sent him a sorry note. Then, I went inside and put Tiara to sleep. I even added an extra layer of shield that is life to four other layers; earth, water, fire, the air before leaving the bedroom.
Aslan, Tyson, and Zarina looked very anxious when they returned.
“The Dark Lord is planning to attack Typhoon. He is going to use those vehicles to transport werewolves and witches who are siding with him to Typhoon.” Tyson said massaging his forehead.
“Typhoon is millions of miles away, Tyson. It would take them years to come here.”
“The Dark Lord is a master of great magic, Aurora. He must have something up his sleeve.” Zarina said in an anxious voice.
I knew it had to be something very serious if even Zarina was worried. Unlike her brothers, she didn’t get ruffled easily.
“We will have to be very careful now onwards especially about Tiara’s safety.”
“Don’t you think she should take her to the Sanctuary and stay there till everything is back to normal?”
“Zarina is right, Aurora. You should go to the Sanctuary right away.” Tyson said, placing his hand on my shoulder.
My heart started racing at the thought of going to the sanctuary. “But, Tyson… I feel that she would be safer here.”
“Please, Aurora; don’t be difficult. We can’t concentrate on countering the attack if we keep worrying about Teetee’s safety.” Aslan said in a pleading voice.
With everyone persuading me, I had to agree in the end.
Tyson took off his locket and placed it in my hand. “Wear it after you have picked up Tiara. I will join you in a while…”
The locket felt strange… something about it was amiss. I used magic to sense it but I couldn’t find anything wrong with it.
Maybe, I was just being paranoid. I picked Tiara up and put the locket around my neck. Soon, I was pulled into a vortex.
When I emerged in the Sanctuary, Tiara was not in my arms. My heart sank and I looked around frantically. Where was Tiara? How did she vanish from my arms?
.