Out of the World

17. No Turning Back

Nina

“The police were here on Saturday searching for you!” Laura said in one breath.

“What?” I was beyond confused.

“They had an order to arrest you or something like that! I swayed the guard to tell me more. He said that it had to do with the striptease club. You were charged for physical assault, theft and attempt of something I can’t remember. You are so screwed. Good that you are now in… where are you now?”

“Gabrielle!” I almost screamed.

That was her doing. That day-old-clown-makeup-Pipecleaner-with eyes! I never took a thing from that place, but I knew well that she could coax/force the girls to say otherwise.

In a surge of rage, I did what every normal and matured person would do and threw my phone on the floor.

“I am sorry, Nina. This Pipecleaner seems very nasty!” Zorion said, his eyes angry-blue, sharing all my indignation. Wait, did I say the Pipecleaner part out loud?

“I can’t go back to Madrid now,” I sighed, burying my face into his chest.

“Yes, you can — to prove your innocence. I know that you wouldn’t ever do anything even close to that,” he replied, cradling me.

My body went stiff. Was this man for real? He said he wanted me here, but now he was telling me that I should go back there, to the Human World.

“I want you to be where you want, Nina. Hopefully here, for sure. But you shouldn’t be forced to leave your home because of these repulsive humans. I can’t tolerate this unfairness towards you!” he exclaimed, answering my unspoken question. Home? Madrid didn’t really feel like home, nowhere actually did. Of course I had plans and goals and I loved art school. But that was the only thing I loved about my life.

“It won’t be easy to prove my innocence. I know well how the officers treat the dancers. Although I am not a dancer, I don’t think they will care. I can’t go back there… at least not now. I have nowhere to go,” I sighed. Great! So, if — or better said, when — Zorion dropped me, I would be completely screwed, alone and magic-less in a magical world I knew nothing about.

So, now all I could do was to wait until his rejection came? I hated it! That was why I liked to be by myself, do my things on my own. Regardless of how bad they were, they were mine.

“Nina, you don’t have to go anywhere. Your home is by my side, and it always will be,” he reassured me, spinning me around and enveloping me in his arms. Now totally surrounded by his warmth, my heart had a little peace, but nothing could calm my racing mind down.

“I think I know what can cheer you up. Why don’t we go around the house, so I can show you the garden and games room?” he suggested, breaking the embrace to cup my face gently.

“I am not sure.” My nervous fingers fidgeted with my hair. I still didn’t know his parents, the many of them. Zorion’s family took the concept of meeting the in-laws to another level, it was a little… terrifying. Well, especially his real father, Avalon. What was I even thinking? They aren’t my in-laws… Zorion and I just kissed and … but hell if it wasn’t enough for me to lose all my sanity. Shaking my head, I tried to snap back from this haze. I had to be sane Nina again!

“No one is around right now, only Vina. You remember her, right? She is the lady who brought us breakfast yesterday. Besides that, we can go to the library and the gallery as well,” he told me with a smile. That was a better argument; book and paintings would make me feel better.

“Fine.” A smile formed on my lips at only imagining what I would find. I put the very long loose green dress on and went with him. This dress must be Lola’s, she was even thinner than me, but much taller. So it was a bit funky for me, but it was beautiful without being over-the-top. She had a great sense of style.

The library was much bigger and more magical than I expected, vines wrapped around the books and there was a tree in the middle of the room! I couldn’t stop gasping as I looked around.

“We should have some human literature here too. Please, Sofos, show me where they are,” he asked. My brows furrowed in confusion, did he have an invisible maid? With whom was he talking? To my shock and wonder, the tree trunk moved slightly, its wood texture wrinkled like the forehead of a contemplative person and, after a few seconds, one of its large branches moved, pointing to a shelf on the bottom right. The vines around the books on these shelves moved away, revealing the covers of many books. My amazed eyes roamed around the covers, familiar titles such as ‘Lord of the Rings’ and other ones in languages I couldn’t even read were offered by the vines.

“Holy Moly!” I squealed like a little kid at the candy shop — not the ‘50 Cent’ one, of course. That was incredible!

“Nina, you can always ask Sofos for anything you want,” Zorion squeezed my hand, bringing my amazed self back to reality.

“Zorion, I love this place!” I told him as we walked closer to the ‘human bookshelves’. He chuckled, happiness obviously crystalline in his green eyes as he wrapped his hands around my waist and kissed my face tenderly.

“That’s how I want to see you, Honey. Happy,” he gushed and I melted a little. Stay still and strong my heart, we have to resist his magical charms, I chastised myself. But damn, it was so hard!

“Show me your favourites, Nina. I want to read them too. I can also show you what I like most, the Origin of the Six Realms Species, by Charles Drauger; Tales of the Old world, is amazing, and it was written by the Gods themselves!” he smiled, as excited as me. Sitting on the comfy armchairs, we read the books that the one chose. I picked … for him, while I read the Gods’ book. It was insane, the letters were made of light! Who would say/imagine that the Gods would write in verses? Flipping the pages, one of the titles attracted me: the Tower of Dawn and the Lost Lovers.

The tower stood tall between the Realms, uniting skies and underworld like a fragile link, always about to break, but forever resisting every storm. It was a tale about the forbidden love between an Angel and a benevolent Deamon. The angel tried to fall, and sacrifice her very wings to be with her beloved, but she was cursed for disobeying her Archangel orders and condemned to live alone forever. She could only see her beloved Demon for a few seconds every day when the first light of Dawn touched the tower. The Demon on the other side, spent eternity living in the tower, guarding it in the hope to see the fallen Angel he loved.

“Are these stories real?” my voice wasn’t louder than a murmur.

“No, the Gods get bored easily, so they like fiction, mainly tragedies and the stories of those who can’t have what they want. It’s a contrast to their divine existence, since they can always have everything,” he explained, squeezing my hand with his much warmer one.

“Are you reading The Tower of Dawn? It used to be Lola’s favourite story when we were little, but now she can’t even hear about it…” he was about to tell me something when his eyes went blurry and he seemed far away.

My worried hand shook his slightly, was he okay? Oh jeez! Standing up with a startle, I let the book fall from my lap and cupped his face with my free hand, calling his name, “Zorion, please.”

His hand responded to my nervous squeeze after a few minutes, and he tucked me into his arms, “Honey, don’t worry. I was mind-linking my mother. It’s something like telepathy and normally our eyes become cloudy when we do so,” he explained and the breath stuck in my throat could finally be exhaled as my body relaxed.

“I have to go for a while, help Mum and Dad with a little Realm issue, but I will be back in about half an hour. You can stay here with Sofos; no one will disturb you,” he said, running his fingers through my hair and brushing his lips against mine in a kiss that started tenderly but exploded in such a passion that the tree must have blushed. Well, if she did it, besides wrinkling her truck.

Nodding, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him again.

Zorion really did know how to make me feel better. Maybe we had more things in common than what I imagined at first. After one more kiss, Zorion disappeared in a flash of light. Going back to my chair, I collected the book from the floor and started reading a tale written by the Moon Goddess.

I was so engrossed in her words about lost and found love, that the noise of the door opening made me jump off my chair.

“Nina, sorry! I didn’t want to startle you. I see that you are a book-eating dragon like Zo,” Lola smiled, sitting beside me.

“Is Zorion a bookworm? I couldn’t imagine that, at least not before today,” I told her, putting my book down.

“He is! You humans have funny expressions, worms don’t read like Dragons do!” Lola chuckled softly, “I am a book-eating Dragon too, but Zo is even more than me. Lena is the one who only likes outdoors, sports and sparing. Well, I like the outdoors too, but sparring and running around aren’t for me. Zo is like in the middle, he likes all of those things,” she told me, her eyes brightening as she talked about them.

“I am more like you too! I wouldn’t ever spar and I am not good at sports,” I told her, shaking my head. I could definitely imagine Zorion sparing, the sweat glistening on his chiselled muscles. When I caught myself, I was fanning my face with the book, and Lola was laughing.

“I won’t even ask what you were thinking about,” she chuckled more, “By the way, Zo told me about what happened in your Realm... I am so sorry, Nina. This is so unfair and revolting.” Squeezing my hand, she gave me a look of sympathy.

“I know! Now I have nowhere to go back to when things are over,” I sighed, the words leaving my lips before I could even think. Lola’s presence made me feel comfortable, it was almost as warm as Zorion’s embrace. He was a guy and I couldn’t trust him, but she was different and she exhaled some sort of wholesomeness, I didn’t know how else to call it.

“Over? What do you mean?” she asked, knitting her brows in confusion.

“Relationships don’t last forever. Once he moves on, I will be in a world I don’t know, in which I am different from everyone else.”

“Oh, no. Some people have relationships with those who aren’t their fated mates and, sometimes, these are over like you said. It’s definitely not the same with fated mates! Nina, this is not the same as dating a pretty boy like in the human movies. Mates share a soul, they were made for each other. You didn’t grow up hearing about the mate bond and witnessing the adoration and devotion between mates, so it’s normal that you don’t understand. But this love is deeper than anything else, you long for your mate, urge to be in his arms lulled by the sound of his beating heart, look deeply into his eyes and feel something inside you come to life. It’s so much more than the joining of bodies: it’s the encounter of souls.

Not even our friends and family, people who love us can understand us fully, know the deep truth of our hearts, feel our emptiness and the solitude that spreads through our dreams. Souls are incommunicable. Unless you find your mate, the one who can listen and even sing the song of your soul.

His love will fill all the empty fragments in your soul, heal pains so deep that you didn’t even know they exist. Only he can understand your heart, body and soul and give you all you need,” her eyes were glowing with longing and glistening with unshed tears as she said those words. Did she lose her mate? My heart clenched for her and now it was my time to squeeze her hand in reassurance, “His eyes shine with affection and devotion as he looks at you, Nina. You are his moon and stars. Zorion wants you, longs for you, he is here with you. This is a blessing, don't take it for granted. Don't let go of it.”

“I…” I stayed there with my mouth open like an i.diot, not even knowing what to say.

“Zorion waited for you, saved himself for you. He longed for you so much, and spent the last two years on the Human Realm only to find you, Nina,” she added and now my gaping mouth opened completely, I was completely shocked. He spent two years looking for me? And he never had se.x because he was waiting for me? How? It wasn’t possible! He seemed to know exactly what he was doing last night.

“Saving himself? You mean he never…?” I asked, trying to understand things. Of course he wasn’t a virgin. He was a hot guy, come on! There were surely lots of beautiful magic girls jumping at him as if he were the last drop of cold water in a desert.

“Yes, he did. He had a girlfriend before, when he was sixteen, but they never did those things. One day, something snapped inside his heart and he knew he couldn’t be with her or anyone else, anyone but you. Maybe he felt your presence, I don’t really understand; the connection between soulmates carries so many beautiful mysteries. He broke up with his girlfriend and since then, he never even looked at another girl. Zorion knew what he wanted, what to wait for.” Lola explained, and my heart started beating faster as if it were pumping light inside my body. Was it the mate bond too? I didn’t know, I didn’t care, but I loved this sensation. It felt warm inside.

Lola looked at her watch and her pink eyes opened wide, “It’s already late. We should go now. Mum said that we are going to have dinner in aunt Lea’s house; we are so excited for the whole family to meet you!” A huge smile lit up Lola’s face as she stood up, taking me by the hand. Half an hour had passed and Zorion wasn’t back, but I shouldn’t worry, right? He would come back, it was his house after all, duh. Besides that, the soulmate thing wasn’t like the flashy relationships Laura had. It was more, much more.

The whole family? That seemed a lot, especially if they were as huge and as magic as everyone in this house.

“Don’t be nervous! They will love you!” Lola reassured me, guiding me back to my room. Too late; I was already a little nervous.