Chapter Nine
Aiden
“Aiden! Wilder! Akira!” Roan shouts our names from across the camp, to which I turn, ready to fight. But the wicked smile that plays on his lips tells me I won’t have to. Elia and Meera walk on either side of him with their entourage following close behind, all of them smiling. I drop the apple that I was holding and hurry over to them, quickly followed by Wilder and Akira.
“What?” I ask impatiently. Roan pushes Elia forwards and turns to Wilder.
“Kiss her for me!” He says. Wilder tilts his head to the side and smiles.
“I mean, gladly.” He answers and pulls Elia close to his chest. “But why?”
“Your brilliant girlfriend figured out how to open the portal!” Meera exclaims, causing the supernaturals who gathered around us to erupt into applause. I turn to Elia who wears a shy smile and nods. Wilder lifts her and crushes a kiss to her lips. She visibly relaxes and I look away. Akira surprises me with a kiss, which just makes our audience applaud more. The relief that floods through me is pure bliss. I haven’t felt relieved in a long time. Between finding places for the six of us to go and then caring for all of the supernaturals that we freed, relief has been a missed presence. But if Elia is right, and she knows how to open the portal, that would be a game-changer. Akira breaks off the kiss and smiles at me. I smile back and take her hand before we both turn to face Elia.
“Ok, El.” I start. “What do we have to do?”
“It’s actually really obvious, and I kick myself for not figuring it out earlier.” She looks down. Wilder takes her hand and lifts her chin with his free hand.
“It’s ok, love.” He says gently. “You did figure it out, that’s what matters.” She smiles at him.
“Remember the prophecy? It was the main clue:
‘As an ancient wrong be righted,
The split folk shall be once again united,
One of each with boundless power,
The Hidden World shall empower,
Their world shall restart,
With pure of heart.’
An ancient wrong? Our ancestors dividing the species. We reunited the split folk. Each of us has stronger powers than normal. We will only get stronger once we enter the Hidden World. And we will restart the supernatural world with a homeland. I haven’t figured out the last line yet, though.”
“I think it’s clear though.” Roan says. Everyone but Elia nods, just proving our combined conclusion. “A pure heart? Look no further!” He points directly at Elia’s heart. A look of confusion spreads across her pale face.
“Out of all of us, you have the purest heart that we have ever seen.” I clear up. “And you were the one to solve the prophecy. Now, what exactly do we need to do?” She smiles shyly again. Just like she always does whenever anyone compliments her.
“I need to channel each of you and use our combined energies to open the portal.” Elia says as if it were super easy. The witches around us all nod. At least they understand.
“Clarify for the non-witches?” Akira asks.
“Of course! We need to stand in front of the portal, and then we will each cut our palm to expose our blood which will expose our energies. Then all I need to do is direct that at the portal and it will open!” An excited glitter shines in her fuschia eyes.
“Ok then.” I say after a few seconds of stunned silence. “Let’s head to the portal.” I turn to the supernaturals around us. “Gather whatever you may need. Hopefully, we won’t be coming back.”
Ten minutes later and we are standing in a clearing facing a supposed portal with all of the people that we saved standing behind us. I told them to gather whatever they needed but there wasn’t much to grab. Some berries that we had found, a few fish, and the children who had been playing. Hazarding a glance behind me, I catch a glimpse of all of the hope and happiness that is plastered on every face. They need this to work for. I turn back around and huddle with Roan, Meera, Wilder, Elia, and Akira.
“Are we ready for this?” I ask the group, to which everyone nods but Roan, who raises his hand.
“Do you guys feel that?” He asks and points over his shoulder in direction of the portal.
“Yes.” Elia says with a smile. “That is the portal and the hidden world calling us home. We are meant to be there, so we will feel stronger the second that we enter through the portal.”
“How does that even work?” Roan exclaims.
“Magic.” Elia says and shrugs. A chuckle escapes me at the stumped look on Roan’s face, followed by chuckles from all of us. Elia pulls a small dagger from her pocket and we sober in an instant. She looks each of us in the eyes. “Trust me?” She whispers.
“Always.” Wilder answers and places a kiss on her forehead. The rest of us nod our agreement. She takes a deep breath and holds out her hand, palm facing up. She takes the tip of the blade and drags it across her palm, making a shallow cut.
“Since not all of us have magic that can be expressed,” She hands Wilder the dagger and motions for him to do the same thing she did. “We need to expose our blood.” The dagger passes through the circle, our blood mixing on the blade. I take it from Akira and cut my palm, quick and easy. It smarts and stings as the blood starts to pool in my hand. Elia takes back the dagger and puts it back into her pocket. “Come with me.” She walks towards the portal with her hand outstretched. We follow her and line up on either side of her, copying her position. “We need to state who we are and then say the prophecy together. I’ll go first. Let’s go home.” She adds the last part with a smirk playing on her lips. “I am Elia Moon, Queen of the Witches. Feel the power in my blood.”
“I am Aiden Simmons, King of the Phoenixes. Feel the power in my blood.”
“I am Wilder Harris, King of the Werewolves. Feel the power in my blood.”
“I am Roan Wood, King of the Vampires. Feel the power in my blood.”
“I am Akira Ito, Queen of the Kitsunes. Feel the power in my blood.”
“I am Meera Song, Queen of the Sirens. Feel the power in my blood.” Light shines from our outstretched hands as Meera finishes her sentence. In one voice, we call out:
“As an ancient wrong be righted,
The split folk shall be once again united,
One of each with boundless power,
The Hidden World shall empower,
Their world shall restart,
With pure of heart.”