Out of the World

32. Is love staying ?

Nina

“Nina, step forward. We need to talk,” he told me. The look in his eyes wasn’t as harsh as the first time we met, but it was harsh enough.

At least he wanted to talk instead of only frowning and staring. Well, by the way that shiver after shiver jolted down my spine, I wasn’t sure if there was any kind of improvement.

Zorion’s dad had planned this meeting; he took my mate away and attracted me to this balcony. This couldn’t be something good. Yet, I knew how to deal with big bullies such as him, I wouldn’t show any fear. Sucking some air in, I walked closer to him, “What do you want to talk about?”

“About my son Zorion,” he replied, his gaze moving between me and the completely dark sky.

Of course it was about Zorion. My nervous gaze moved to the sky, I could hardly see a single cloud or even a star – the whole thing was completely pitch-black.

“Do you care about Zorion?” Avalon’s question surprised me, and I had to contain the silly gasp that threatened to leave my lips.

“Of course I do. You might not believe it, King Avalon. In fact, I have no clue what you believe, but I love your son,” my voice was laced with both conviction and indignation. How dared he? Of course, I loved Zorion. I might have not told Zorion that yet, but I could feel it in every inch of my body and every beat of my heart.

“Very well, so you will do what I say,” he started, turning to look at me. There was something more in his grey eyes than austerity, maybe some sort of worry.

“You are a mortal, Nina, and even if you have some magic in you as I’ve heard Mama Schawn mentioned, you won’t live long. Hence, you aren’t fit to be the mate of an immortal. Mating isn’t like the relationships you humans establish, it is forever. So, when one of the beings isn’t able to live forever and the other does, the mating won’t ever work. You know what happens to someone when they lose their mated and marked pair?” Avalon asked, and all I could do was shake my head like a startled child. I didn’t expect to hear those words from him, but rather something in the lines of 'You are no queen material or magical, human.'

“Most of those who lose their mates die, and only a few survive without either losing their minds forever or sinking in depression or darkness. I am not talking about a symbolic darkness, but of some sort of magical effect. Death itself will grow inside the person, devouring their hopes, liveness, willingness to live and their very soul. They would pray to die, but no God would listen or care for their misery. It is a pain that I don’t wish upon my enemies, let alone my son.”

My whole body trembled at his words, and I gulped hard as tears cascaded down my petrified face. Damn, I wasn’t even able to blink, only cry.

“That’s why you won’t ever bring any good to him. All the sweet moments and words of love will be converted into bitterness and pain as soon as you die. Besides that, it’s very likely that Zorion would also have to go through the inevitable death of the mortal children you’d eventually bear. He would lose everything. Insisting on being with him is condemning Zorion to pain beyond words since you can’t ever be anything more than his ruin, a divine mistake.” His words swirled inside my mind as I tried to breathe once again.

My vision was blurred by tears, my mind numb and my body so dizzy that I had to hold on to the balcony railings not to fall.

“Besides all of that, you are likely already making my son weaker by syphoning his magic like a leech. If you care about him and want him to live to something else than eternal misery, you will leave him. If you stay with him any longer, your connection will only grow, uniting your souls and making everything harder for him, until it’s impossible and both his soul and his future are lost. Break up with him and stay away. I can give you the money, and even the magical artefacts you might need to restart your life in your world, the place you belong to,” he told me, taking a step closer.

My legs moved back and I met the solid surface of the wall, and for a moment, I couldn’t say anything. I could hardly think, my body and soul were both about to collapse while I felt a searing pain radiating from my chest to my whole body.

My disoriented and blurry gaze wandered around as I tried to get my bearings. As soon as my eyes met Avalon’s grey ones, my pain snapped into something else.

He was right; I couldn’t cause Zorion any suffering. I couldn’t be the cause of his ruin and misery. I would rather die. Well, the dying thing seemed to be the problem. So, I better leave.

Taking a lungful of air, I was able to form words once again, “No.”

“Don’t be selfish, human girl,” Avalon exhaled deeply.

Filling my suffocating lungs with more air, I was able to continue my sentence, “No. I don’t want your money or anything from you. Just give me the means to leave this place – the magic stone or whatever, and I will leave.”

I could feel my heart breaking inside me as the light seemed to leave both my body and my soul. But if it was what it took to make sure Zorion would be alright, I would do it without a second thought.

Avalon took something from his pocket, and to my surprise, he offered me a kerchief, but I didn’t take it. I didn't want anything from him! Not at all! He could shove it in his proverbial backside!

“That’s a wise choice, Nina. You are doing the right thing. Break up with him, and I will ask one of my servants to provide you with what you need to go back to your world. Now, wash your face and get back to the dance floor. He shouldn’t know about our talk. It’s something exclusively for his benefit, yet the magic of the mate bond is strong and it will blind him. That’s why you have to be the strong one. He would surely sacrifice his life for living a few years with you, but you know that he deserves better than that,” Avalon told me, before walking away from the balcony and leaving me alone with the darkest of the nights.

My back slid down the wall until my bvtt met the floor, supporting my weight on the marble surface. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply between all the sobs and tears.

Hell, I think I’d never cried that much in my life.

All I could see behind the curtain of my closed eyes was his face, his smile, his beautiful eyes. He was my happiness — the only happiness I’ve ever experienced. He gave me everything and I couldn’t take his life or his sanity away from him. I loved him too much for that.

He would be okay without me; he had a loving family, the girls, the magic, the throne.

I wasn’t good for him. I was better gone.

Maybe love sometimes means leaving rather than staying.