DEVON
I walked into the bedroom and placed the tray containing Theo's breakfast on the night stand. He was still asleep, faint dark circles beneath his eyes. I brushed his hair away from his face and pressed a kiss to his temple. He stirred, long dark lashes fluttering subtly. I planted another kiss to the corner of his lips which curved into a smile. "It's time to wake up, sleeping beauty" I whispered. "Not yet" he rasped, pulling me down to lay on top of him. He flipped us both upside down, with him hovering over me. There he goes again with his superhuman strength.
His thumb slowly traced my lips and I smiled, gazing at his beautiful golden eyes. "Beautiful as always" he commented and I chuckled. "Not as beautiful as you are, though" I said, cupping the side of his face. He laughed. "I'm not starting an argument with you, this morning" he said, laying back down as he drew me into his arms with my head resting on his chest.
"How are you feeling now? How's your back?" I asked. "A little sore, but I'm okay now" he said.We remained silent for a while, basking in each other's arms as he stroked my hair gently.
"When you were in the tub... and you didn't want to go on.... I was scared, you know. Was it....was it really painful?" I asked.
He sighed..
"It was. I was already in pain and when Luke started to draw the tattoo on me, I felt horrible. You know, he wasn't just tattooing it on my skin, it was to be tattooed even through muscle. The worst part was that my demon side was fighting for control, he didn't want to be controlled. It was messing with my head and- you snapped me out of it. It wasn't supposed to hurt that much but something triggered it" he replied.
"I'm glad you're okay now" I said, tracing uneven shapes on his warm skin.There was a knock on the door. "Sorry for interrupting whatever it is you're doing-- Can I come in?" Luke said.
"Yeah, come in" I replied and he opened the door. Just before he stepped in, I said, "Close your eyes too" eliciting a groan from him. "Please tell me you guys are not wearing just sheets" Luke said and we laughed. "You're such a tease, princess" Luke said as he walked in, shutting the door behind him.
"Morning, Theo" he said."Morning, Luke" Theo replied, giving him a small smile. "Are you feeling better?" He asked and Theo nodded."Okay, that's good. Come on, let's see how nicely you're healing" Luke said, holding out a hand which Theo took and pushed himself to a sitting position. Luke placed one knee on the bed and moved Theo's hair to the side, exposing the wide expanse of creamy skin which was mostly covered by white bandage. Slowly and carefully, Luke started to peel off the the bandage from Theo's skin, whispering an apology at certain points when Theo hissed in pain. The tattoo was glowing, I noticed and it was healing really nicely. Beside it, there was a new tattoo in the shape of a flame. I'd seen it before, on Theo's back, three years ago, but I'd never understood it's significance.
"It doesn't look bad. In a few hours it'll heal completely"
"Luke?" I said."Yes, buttercup?"
"Did you draw the flame tattoo?" I asked. He shook his head
"It appeared on it's own as a confirmation that he's indeed the flame keeper of the four lands"
"Oh...."
"That's right. I have to see Amyra today, I have to go now. I'll see you guys later" he said and left our room. A few minutes later, Theo and I was stepping out of his room laughing particularly because of the joke he'd made. All of a sudden, he froze and turned to look towards the back door. "Theo? What's wrong?" I asked. He slowly stepped towards the door and unlocked it. The door swung open. There was no one there and I was starting to get worried. He looked too tense for comfort. He squatted in front of the door, his fingers making contact with the ground."Theo-- you're not saying anything. What's-"
"She was here" he said, brows furrowed slightly."Who?" I asked."The silver beast-- One part of the silver beast is a female and she was here last night" he said."How can you tell?" I asked. "Every creature leave a sort of signature....not in the human sense.... Like furs or mists. Sometimes, a tiny bit of their aura is left behind in the places where they carry out any activity" I stared at him, awed. He rose to his feet and gazed into my eyes. I felt my eyes burn a bit but then, the burn faded and I realized that all I could see at this point was a blur of colors. Theo moved behind me, his hands resting on my shoulders. "I enhanced your vision. All you need to do is concentrate" he whispered."There. Can you see it?" He asked, pointing at something on the ground. I could see it. It was like a bunch of silver fur but it looked like smoke at the same time. "I see it" I said, noticing the irregular pattern it was making.
"It doesn't make sense. Why would the silver beast come here?" I said when my vision had returned to normal."It attacked me yesterday" he said, his expression grim. I froze, turning to look at him. "What?"
"I thought it was just a mere illusion. It did injure me and I passed out. But when I'd awoken, the wound was gone, so was the thing that attacked me. Right after I gained consciousness, Lucy visited" he said. My eyes widened."How does she know where you live?" I asked."I don't know" he sighed."But, there was something off about her. I couldn't quite figure it out. It was as soon as she left that the pain hit me" he said and I narrowed my eyes. "What if she isn't human? What if she's the silver beast?" I said. Theo shook his head, pacing back and forth, pensively."Luke would've realized that she isn't human"
"Isn't there a way some creatures can hide their true forms?"
"There is. But, I don't think she's the silver beast. If she wanted to kill me, then she would have done so when I was all alone. There must be an explanation for this. Something is off about all this" he said. "I have an idea" I said. He halted, his gaze resting on me.
"Let's confront Lucy" I said. His eyes widened.
"We can't, Dev. How do we even go about that? What if we're wrong and she's just a mere human?" He asked. "What if we are right? The risk is worth it, Theo" I said, placing a hand on the side of his neck. let out a long sigh. "Okay, let's do this" he said and I nodded.
**************
THEO
In a few hours, Devon and I was standing in front of Lucy's front door. What could possibly go wrong?
I knocked on the door and slipped my hand into Devon's smaller one. She looked nervous."Relax, love" I said and she gave me a smile. She wasn't wearing any make up today and her beautiful hair was in a high ponytail. She looked stunning as always in a simple white blouse, a pair of blue skinny jeans and burgundy colored ankle boots with my pendant around her neck. The door opened and there stood Lucy wearing a pair of grey shorts and a baggy T-shirt. "Oh, it's you" she said, her cheeks turning pink. "Come in" she said and we both stepped in."What can I get you?" She asked. "Just water, thanks" Devon said and Lucy smiled."I'll be back in a jiffy" she said and left us alone.
'Are you getting anything? With the aura, I mean'
Devon's voice sliced right through my mind so suddenly, I was caught off guard. I'd totally forgotten about the mindlink. There was an aura in the house but it was nothing like humans or the one I'd seen at the house.
'She's definitely not human. She's not the silver beast, either' I replied, through the mindlink.
'Well, that's weird'
'Why are we using the mindlink, again?' I asked.
'Since she's not human, she might have super hearing, don't you think?' she said and I smiled.
My smart woman.
Lucy walked in with two glasses of water and placed them on the centre table.
She let out a sigh and took a seat on one of the couches.
"Theo, you can drop the glamour now" she said and I stiffened. Okay, I was totally not expecting that. "Don't be surprised, I know why you're here. I know you think that I'm the Afyrza" she said, her gaze meeting mine. Devon looked at me, her eyes mirroring the confusion I was feeling.
"Let's get this straight. You knew we were coming" Devon said and Lucy nodded. "So, what are you if you're not the silver beast?" Devon asked.
"My true name is Nali. I am a messenger of the Fates" she said and right before our eyes she transformed into a creature which was half bird, half human. It didn't change the fact that she was pretty. "The Fates sent me to make sure everything turned out perfectly fine. I was to make sure you got your memories at the right time, Theo" she said in a bird-like voice. I realized what she was. She was like the seers but she was a creature of the air which is known as the 'Narkin' in the fae kingdom. They were like the pets of the Fates and were basically messengers of Fate just as she'd said."You must be wondering why I showed up last night" She said, transforming back to her human form. "Of course, we need to know why you showed up last night" Devon said. She had a look of mistrust on her face. Clearly, she didn't trust Lucy. "I know you have your mistrust about me, Queen Yahini. You have to know that I'm not trying to steal your husband from you" she said and Devon's cheeks turned rosy pink. "Why are you calling me, Queen Yahini?" She asked. "That is your name. It is what you will be called" Devon opened her mouth to say something but decided against it.
"You see, I am not just here as Fates' Messenger. There is a very important role I must play in your friend's life" she said to me, a small smile playing on her lips."What important role? He has a soulmate already" I said. She shrugged.
"All will be known when the time is right. But for now, I'll tell you why I came to your house last night. You were at your most vulnerable state last night, Theo. The silver beast thought it was wise to kill you before you regained your powers. I stopped her from doing so. One thing you should know is that the silver beast can't stand fire. All I did was scare her with flames. I came in as a visitor to make sure you were okay, then I triggered your transformation because I knew that the sliver beast would stop at nothing to make sure you don't get your powers back" she said."If you have seen the silver beast, then you know who she is" Devon said.
"Of course I do but I am forbidden to tell you that. You are to figure it out yourselves"Devon was pissed, I could see it in her eyes. "Come on, Dev. Let's get going" I said and pulled her to her feet, worried that if we stayed there a minute longer, Devon would loose her cool. Just as we made it to the door, Lucy's voice stopped us. "Be careful, Queen Yahini. The beast is coming after you again. This time, Liam might not be there to save you"