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“
You have to, and even if I lose this fight, I’ll go to Pelhan’s and wait for you to finish what we’ve started. We will never be apart; I promise you. I need you to see it that way.”

“Landen.”

“Willow, listen to me: no one ever really dies; this is just a passage. Don’t let this monster kill you.”

I felt Dane and Marc’s frustration; they’d both turned at the sound of our voices and were staring at us. Landen waved his hands, urging them to turn away. He then cradled my face with his hands and forced me to look into his eyes.

“
I know you hate me telling you that there’s a reason for everything – but there is. I want you to think of Libby – our Libby – and think of Allie. I want Brady to know that we did everything in our power to keep her safe. Preston, his life has been tested already; he deserves a chance to fill his purpose. You have to put your thoughts there. This isn’t about who you love or how much you love them – this about a way of life for more people then we could ever imagine.”

As his words consumed me, I let out a breath that I’d been holding in. I then nodded as I set my intent to protect them, to protect their purpose at any cost. As he felt it, Landen smiled and pulled my face to his; he then let his lips rest gently on mine before he kissed me. I felt myself growing stronger in his embrace; he sent a calm through me that was hypnotic.

As he released me, he stared in my eyes, and I could see his Aura growing brighter, wider, and more powerful that it had been the entire time we’d been there.

“
How are you doing that?
“ I thought, smiling slightly.

“
Following Drake’s lead; calling on my memories of you and me,”
he thought.

My smile left; I was relieved that Landen was able to make himself stronger with a single thought, but I didn’t want to give Drake’s memories any reality.

“
They’re not of me,”
I thought quietly.

Landen tilted his head and looked at me curiously, then smiled slightly. “
You think you have a twin,”
he thought. I nodded. “
I do, too,”
he thought.

“
You believe the ‘bad soulmate’ story?”
I thought.

“
I don’t know. They believe it; there’s no doubt there. It’s just...that image you saw me with looked just like you
,” Landen thought.

“
I didn’t think so; I didn’t recognize her,”
I thought as the dark memories of Landen holding another girl the day we destroyed the looking glass came to me with a surge of jealousy.

“
To me, she did,”
Landen thought, sending a rush of his love through his arms, which were holding me close to him.

“
I want to find her – if you think she’s real,”
I thought.

“
When that wall falls, I’ll take you wherever you want to go,”
he thought.

I looked in Dane’s direction. I thought about going to the string anyway, but the memory of the screaming voices of my family hindered my desire.

“
I know they’re OK,”
Landen thought, sensing my uneasiness. “
And I know I can heal Drake – or myself. We’re going home, and we will beat this demon.”

“
I hear the truth in your words, and I feel your confidence, but I know that there’s still a chance...this is not a game...someone could lose their life.”
I let my fear show itself in my eyes.

“
Trust me, Willow.”

“
I want to talk to him; I want to see where they’re reading this,”
I thought.

Landen smiled slightly and nodded, then I climbed out of his arms and stood. Dane and Marc turned when they heard us move. Landen then took my hand and led me back to the study, with Dane and Marc following silently behind us.

Chapter Eleven

In the study, they were all standing around the table. Drake was in the center, and his arms were stretched out in front of the scroll; he looked like a king sending his army to battle. August and Alamos were at his side, and Perodine was pacing in front of them. As we walked in, Drake looked up. His eyes met Landen’s, then locked with mine; he was trying to read me, to see if they’d convinced me to kill him.

As I came to her side, Perodine halted and watched, I looked into her beautiful green eyes and felt the sympathy she had for me. She wanted to bear the burden; she blamed herself for all my troubles.

I stood across the table mirroring Drake. Landen was at my side Dane, and Marc flanked us. Perodine slowly walked to Alamos’ side, trying to gauge my mood.

“Show me,” I said, blankly looking down at the scrolls.

August cleared his throat and reached his hand for the center of the scroll, then pointed at the planet they thought was Venus. “This is Venus. The number nineteen is all over the image, a number that can be only divided by itself and one. This symbol,” August said, pointing to a figure of two eights in the shape of a cross, “means ‘inferior sister;’ in broken translation, we can interpret earth and Venus, the alignment, and the number nineteen. Below this in the script, it says, ‘It shall consume the blood of Jayda and subdue the power.’” August pointed above Venus; there, I could see the symbol of a fish with a hand and script. “This script says, ‘Only in flesh shall it die, with the blade of diamonds.’ I can’t find a way to debate this.”

“Does the nineteen mean more?” Dane asked.

August looked slowly up at Dane. “One and itself. Willow represents this number; she can only be divided by herself and one soul. It will have no choice but to leave one standing before her – to consume the soul and overtake her.”

“How do you know you’re reading the script right? What if you’re wrong? ” I argued.

Perodine sighed and closed her eyes. “We are more than sure,” she said, keeping her eyes closed, struggling to hide her frustration with me.

“You’re out of time; we’ve made the choice for you,” Alamos said sternly.

“You need to change your tone,” Dane said, looking sharply at Alamos. He then looked at Drake and said, “You may want to rethink your alliances; this one seems all too eager to see you die.” The sarcasm was heavy in his tone.

Alamos glared and Dane, then leaned forward and said, “Listen, child: you may think you’re all that right now - but in a matter of minutes, your energy will have no purpose...you’ll fall short just when you’re needed the most.”

Dane took a dominant step in Alamos’ direction - only to be stopped by Landen.

“Stop,” Landen said through his teeth, showing the room his frustration. He then pushed Dane back to my side and said, ”All of you need to calm down; I’m going to heal us.” His anger was apparent in his scarlet Aura. “It’s not going to matter if they’re right or wrong; we’re all more than ready to get this over with.”

The tension in the room was so heavy, I felt myself growing weak. Landen stepped protectively to me and wrapped his arms around me; he was having trouble finding the emotion to calm me simply because neither of us could see a way out of this hell in which we were trapped.

Landen raised his hand, and the chaos of the room was suspended. My eyes shifted between Landen and Drake, trying to conceive of the idea of Landen now having the power to stop time. He looked at me and smiled slightly, pushing down the thrill of the command he now had. Drake smiled and shook his head from side to side as he crossed his arms and stood up straight.

“Well done. You’re a fast learner – but I must warn you that time will catch itself when you lose your focus.” Drake turned to see Alamos frozen with his angry glare. “Alamos thinks we have the time wrong because I paused time yesterday; he’s really going to be mad at you.”

“It’s not his emotion that I care about,” Landen answered, looking into my eyes. He wanted to stop time forever, to stop the anguish that was suffocating me - but we both knew that the only way to defeat darkness was to face it. Landen looked at Drake; his anger told me that he was reading Drake’s stubborn content. “Willow wants to talk to you alone. You look into her eyes and tell her that you want her to end your life.”

Drake tightened his jaw and glared in my direction. He started to speak, but Landen reached out his hand to halt him. “You know what? It doesn’t matter. She wants me to heal you, and that’s what I’m going to do. I’m letting this moment go – you take her out there and say your peace,” he said, pointing to the observatory.

Drake hesitated, then pulled back his shoulders and nodded. As time resumed, Landen let out a deep breath. I blocked out the arguments and emotion around me and watched Drake walk around the table; I swear I could feel his hum before he ever touched me. As he gripped my arm and began to lead me to the observatory, I let a blissful breath escape. We’d reached the doorway before Dane had noticed; instinctively, he charged across the room at us.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he said, reaching for Drake’s shoulder. Drake hesitated, then looked across the room at Landen. Dane followed his gaze.

“He’s more than capable of protecting her. Let them go,” Landen said in a confident tone. Marc and Dane stood in shock.

Drake gripped my arm tighter, intensifying his mesmerizing touch, then guided me into the open observatory. The sun’s haze had turned the room a deep purple, and the placid pool of water sent a chill down my spine as the memory of images reaching from it came to me. Drake released my arm and stood in front of me, forcing me to lean against the cold stone wall.

“Why is it when I need you to love me, you refuse – and when I need you to hate me, you act like you care?” he asked with a stern look across his face.

“Is that why you want to die – because I won’t love you? That’s weak,” I said, offended by his words.

“Weak?” he gasped. “I’ve sat in that room with you for almost two days, watching you with him...I’d say that makes me the strongest man in the universe,” he said with agony in his voice.

As I caught the gaze of his dark eyes, I lost my will to be angry, and tears pooled in my eyes. “I can’t help it,” I whispered.

He let out a jagged breath. “That’s why I’m ready to move on. In a different life, you’ll see things clearly,” he whispered as his dark eyes softened.

“Dying is not moving on,” I said, looking away and trying to hide the weakness of my tears.

“It’s a way out of this hell. If I’m gone, then your challenge ends; I’m tired of putting you in harm’s way,” he said, turning my chin so I’d have to look at him.

“Don’t waste your energy, love. If I survive, that will be my purpose – to make you see that you’re wrong.” He took a deep breath and stepped closer. His eyes slowly searched every feature of my face, then he reached his hand to me and gently reached to cradled my cheek; his touch felt so perfect - and for the first time, I leaned in to feel it more intensely. “We’re nothing more than old souls, twisted in cruel fate – fighting for our right to heaven,” he whispered.

“Heaven?”

“To be complete, one with another – that’s my Heaven,” he answered. He pulled me to his chest and held me as close to him as he could, rushing my body with his hum; I closed my eyes as I took it in.

“Willow, you take my breath away every time I see you...you’re all I think about...it kills me that you’d rather believe a lie than me,” he whispered.

I leaned back to look at him, to deny his words. He looked down at me and furrowed his eyebrows. “They told you I wanted the power...that seeing is all I cared about. You never gave me the chance to prove that all I wanted was to love you, to be the man you needed me to be. I spend my nights dreaming of our past and my days dreaming of our future; it’s time for me to wake up and see things how they really are. I will
not
be the death of you; I love you too much - and my life is the price I’ll pay to prove that. The moment you see the darkness enter me, you’re going to strike my heart. You’ll kill us all if you don’t listen to me,” he said carefully.