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“How close do I need to be to him?” I heard Marc ask.

“You’re in the room; that should be enough,” Perodine answered.

“If I can shield Willow and me, what can they do – add to it?” Landen asked, moving us sideways so he could see the table behind him.

Perodine looked up. “Water is powerful; if he moves through their energy, he will grow weaker - and if I know him, he will wait for the nineteenth hour to use his force. They will not be able to protect you from that moment – but they should keep you safe until then,” Perodine said, looking to the shadows of the room.

“So in theory, any water sign would be able to protect us?” Landen asked. I knew he was looking for clarity that leaving Olivia behind was the right decision to make.

“Yes, but the ones who have been at your side your entire lives are old souls who have lived before, fought at your side,” Perodine clarified.

I looked over my shoulder at Dane; he was so calm. If I were him, I’d be nervous - and it wouldn’t matter if I’d been here before in another life. I turned back and looked up at Landen; Perodine’s answer didn’t give him any peace. I laid my head against his chest, then closed my eyes and let the memory of my family come to me. I was ready for this to be over...for me to be home again.

“Landen,” I heard Dane say. Feeling Landen’s lips on my forehead, I opened my eyes and looked at him.

“
Come on, we’ll find a place to rest,”
he thought as he stood and pulled me up with him.

While Dane stretched out on the couch he was sitting on, Marc continued to try and help August and Perodine. Landen and I walked to the doorway next to the fireplace; as we walked down the hall, he peeked in the first two doorways before deciding to enter the third. The room was vast: a full sitting room was on one side, a large bed with a canopy was to the other, and windows made up the back wall with beautiful ivory drapes framing them. In the distance, I could hear the workers building the wall. It was a dim reminder that we had more to worry about than Donalt; before long, a war would erupt, and the newfound innocence of Delen would be lost.

I walked to the bed and slid off my shoes; before laying down, Landen followed. Once by my side, he hooked his arm around my waist and pulled me to him so our eyes were just inches apart. He then reached up and gently outlined the frame of my cheek; his touch sent a peace through me that froze time and took away all my worries. We drifted and awoke next to our bodies, laying there with silent thoughts. Landen let his hand rest inside of mine. We knew that was as far as we could go here. I focused on the sensation there and let my thoughts leave me for the moment.

As the sun rose hours later, we woke and lay in silence for a while. We could feel the determination coming from Perodine, and the peace of sleep coming from August, Marc, and Dane. We were sure Perodine was still devouring the information on the scroll. If she was right, then tomorrow at seven nineteen we would face Donalt. When we faced the moon and Mercury I remembered wishing that time would freeze, that I’d be able just to live in the bliss of Landen’s love, but this time was different. We were away from our family, and they were making sacrifices to keep us safe. I would never want anyone to be frozen the way we were now; I just wanted it over.

“
What are you thinking?”
I asked Landen.

He rolled on his side so he could see into my eyes.
“That this will be over before we know it, and we’ll be home in Chara with the ones we love the most,”
he thought.

“
How can you be so confident?”
I asked, tracing his eyes.

He smiled. “
I don’t mean to be, at least not in a bad way. I don’t want to do any of this, but I have to realize that we managed to bring back your friend’s sight and hearing - that just a week ago, we relieved this city from the torment that they’d been under for millions of years...I just think we’ve come too far to lose now...we’ve been tested, and we’ve passed.”

I sighed and nodded. He was right; it was hard to think that there was anything that was impossible. I looked to the dark shadows of the room, then back to Landen.

“
I don’t see how him consuming you will bring him power. I cannot - I will not - live without your soul on this earth,”
I thought. As tears came to the corners of my eyes, he pulled me closer, and we both felt a grief - a grief we had to suppress before it consumed us both.

“
I don’t care what his plan is; he will not take me from you - I promise,”
Landen thought.

I knew he believed what he said, and I took shelter behind his words. When he kissed my forehead and rose, I knew his intent was to find our bags and shower for the day. I lay in the bed and looked to the window. The sound of the workers building throughout the night had never halted; the wall was close to three feet high now, and from where I lay it looked like it almost completely surrounded Delen. I could feel the sadness from a majority of the people in Delen; they weren’t sad that they were being built in, they were sad that the rest of the world was still held by a darkness, a darkness that made them forget who they were. I shared in their sadness; it just didn’t make any sense to suffer when there was so much life to live.

Landen came back into the room, with our bags, then took out his clothes and made his way to the doorway next to our bed.

Chapter Four

While I waited for my turn to shower, I daydreamed that I was home, celebrating the passing of another year, hearing the stories of every minute of mother’s labour, what she thought, how happy she was to have me as her own. I barely noticed when Landen opened the door ,now fully clothed in his black slacks and button down black shirt; though I’d grown weary of the all black attire months ago, I couldn’t help but love the way his dark locks of hair and crystal blue eyes complemented the shade.

“I’ll wait for you,” he said, pulling back my covers. “I want to explore today,” he said, handing me my bag.

I smiled and shook my head. I didn’t really care to. It was too eerie; even with every light burning on a sunny day, the shadows seemed to dominate the rooms.

The bathroom was very stunning; the tub, sinks, and showers were all made of beautiful marble. Three of the walls had mirrors that centered them, and they were framed with drapes. I tilted my head, questioning why they would do that; I mean, it looked good, but it just didn’t make any sense. I turned the water in the shower on as hot as it would go, then pulled out everything I needed before undressing.

As the water came over me, I felt a numbing calm ease through me, and I turned so every part of my body would be surrounded by the heat of the water. Then, suddenly my ring and necklace began to burn my skin. I turned the water down, but the heat in the metal intensified, I felt a rush of wind, and the water that was falling all around me turned to blood. I could smell it, and I felt it coursing over me. I screamed as loud as I could and charged out of the shower, noticing that the mirrors didn’t reflect me; instead, they showed Chara, my home, immersed in fire.

Landen busted through the door. “Willow - what? What’s wrong?!”

“BLOOD! BLOOD! It’s all over me!” I screamed, jumping in place and crying breathlessly.

“There is no blood Willow...Willow, look at me...there is no blood!” Landen yelled back at me, wrapping a large towel around me.

I opened my eyes and looked down; I was just wet; I looked in the shower: the water had no trace of blood. My eyes rushed back and forth, and my heart pounded in my chest; I shook my head from side-to-side, then I looked to the mirror; I could still see Chara burning...I could even feel the heat from the flames. Landen’s eyes followed mine, then I felt the horror come from him as well. People were rushing in every direction, then we saw Libby; she was running with the crowd. She saw us and reached for us, and Landen didn’t hesitate. He reached for her, and I watched as her arm came from the mirror and Landen grasped it.

At that moment, Perodine charged in the door. “NO!” she yelled at us. “It’s an illusion!” she said, pulling the drapes on all the mirrors.

“I can feel her,” Landen screamed, pulling Libby to us.

“Marc! Dane!” Perodine screamed.

I looked into Libby’s eyes, and I could see the fear and terror that I felt from her. I began to help Landen pull her by grabbing her other arm.

“It’s an illusion!” Perodine yelled again.

Dane and Marc crashed into the door, and the little girl we were pulling - the one we thought was Libby - turned demonic and began to pull us to her. Dane wrapped his arms around my waist, Marc did the same to Landen, and it took all of their force to pull us free. We landed in a pile on the floor, then Perodine tied the drapes that surrounded the mirror closed.

I fell apart; I couldn’t be strong anymore. I cried breathlessly, gripping my towel against my chest, trying to understand how, why. I pulled my knees to me and buried my head, trying to block the horror I’d just seen. Landen pulled himself free from Marc, scooped me up in his arms, and rocked me back and forth.

A roar filled the room, then we heard breaking glass on the other side of the drapes. In a whisper, we heard Libby’s voice say, “You left me,” over and over again. Landen gripped me tighter, feeling the pain of the words.

“Come, let’s leave this room,” Perodine said, walking calmly to the door.

Landen picked me up, and Dane grabbed my things. In the room where we’d slept, Marc and Dane turned, allowing me to dress. My hands trembled as I pulled my clothes together, so Perodine calmly helped Landen dress me. When I pulled my shirt over my head, I squinted with pain; the necklace had burned itself into my skin.

“Let me see,” Landen said, examining my neck.

He gently pulled my hand away to see what was hurting me. It looked like they’d melted into my skin; blood seeped from the sides of the metal, and I closed my eyes and looked away, blocking out the thought of the pain. I felt Landen’s hand on my chest, bringing with it a warm rush of energy, calming and peaceful. He reached for my hand, and the rush intensified. I opened my eyes to see him staring at me, and his eyes glowed as the healing energy left him. I looked down and saw that my wounds were gone; he’d healed me on his own. He wrapped his arms around me and held me as tight as he could.

“Look at me and tell me it was an illusion, that they’re safe,” I heard Landen say.

“It was an illusion; they’re safe,” Perodine repeated, we both heard the truth in her words.

I let go of Landen, then pulled my jeans up and put on my shoes. A shiver ran down my back as the smell of the blood came to my memory, and Landen’s hand was on my shoulder as soon as he felt the emotion. “I’ll be fine; don’t use all of your energy,” I whispered.

“We need to cover all the mirrors in the palace. We need help,” Perodine said, walking to the door that led back to room where they’d been working. When I focused, I could feel someone beyond August in there; I assumed it was the woman that had been shadowing Perodine since her return.

When we entered the large study, we saw August sleeping soundly on one of the couches; he had one of the books we’d brought open across his chest. Perodine was whispering to the young woman, and she looked up at us as we entered the room. “She’s going to ask the old staff to return and help us cover them all; it will take us a week if we try to do it on our own,” Perodine said, nodding for the silent girl to go.

I felt a rush of fear and looked to August; it was coming from him. He sat up straight, focused his eyes, then stood. “We have to cover the paintings,” he said into the room.

“You mean the mirrors,” Perodine corrected.

“That, too, yes - but the paintings, the paintings must be covered,” August said, walking to one of the walls to turn the portraits.

“Where did you read that?” Perodine asked, walking to the table to look at the scroll.

“I didn’t read it. I dreamed of Nyla; she said that Libby and Preston told her to tell me to cover the paintings,” he said, turning the next painting. Marc and Dane began to help him.

“Were they OK?” I asked in a shaky voice.

August hesitated when he heard me, then looked in my direction and nodded yes. “Are you?” he asked. I shook my head no and gripped Landen tighter. August looked at Landen for an explanation.

“We’ve already seen the worst illusion imaginable,” Landen answered.

I felt a shock come from Perodine. “They are right. How did I not see that? Venus rules art; he can use that as a passage...Willow do not sketch anything,” she said, still looking down at the scroll.

“I think you need to rest,” Landen said to Perodine.

She shook her head no. “I stopped sleeping a million years ago - I am not going to start now,” she answered, reaching for a pen to write down something she’d found.