THEO
"You doing okay?" Devon said to me with her hand resting on my knee. We were in the car and we were heading towards the park.
"I'm okay" I replied and she smiled. "We're here" she announced and we both got out of the car. She placed a blue scarf around my neck and slipped her gloved hand in mine. I gave her a smile as we both sat down on the cold bench.
"Thank you for doing this, Dev" I said and she grinned.
"You've spent a lot of time in your room. I figured you needed fresh air" she said.
"Yeah, I needed this" I agreed.
We remained silent, staring at the trees and dying grasses that was covered with snow.
"Why are you so fascinated with winter?" She asked and I smiled.
"The fae kingdom is divided into four. Each kingdom represent a season. There's Hammok, it represents summer because it's always in summer all year round. Then, there's Bisok. It represents Autumn. There's Fyradok and Grymlok. They represent Spring and winter respectively."
"Wow, that's awesome" Devon breathed, her eyes lighting up like a thousand stars. "Each of the kingdoms has their own king. But at the same time, there's a general king that governs all other kings. My father was the general king, also known as the flame keeper. The castle was located in the middle of the four lands, so you can easily get a view of the four lands. When I was a kid I was mostly fascinated with the snow. I wanted to go to the fourth land, the ice nation. But, my father didn't let me"
"Why?"
"The Grymlok's are ruthless. They love war and blood shed. They are mostly violent and dangerous. My father couldn't risk it"
"Well, now you can see what the winter is like" she said, turning to look at me. Her cheeks were flushed pink and she was pale. She was clearly cold. I placed my arm around her and kissed her head. "You're amazing" I whispered. She chuckled.
"So are you"
"Are you warm now?" I asked and she nodded.
"Have you ever skated on ice?" She asked.
"No. I haven't. Why?"
" 'Cause we're going skating right now" she said and my eyes widened.
"I don't know if I can do that....." I said and she tilted her head.
"Is your knee aching now?" She asked.
Technically, it wasn't aching.
"It isn't"
"Good, because you're coming with me"
I chuckled and rose to my feet. I started to follow her but then she stopped and turned to look at me. She pressed her lips to mine, her hands cupping my face. I moaned, my hands resting on her waist. My eyes slipped close, her fingers grazing my scalp.
When we pulled away for air, she had a smirk on her face.
"Seriously?" I said, amused.
"That's two things on my bucket list, crossed out" she said. I raised a brow.
"Kissing me is in your bucket list?"
"No. A stolen kiss" she said, grinning from ear to ear.
"I wasn't expecting that" I said, laughing.
"Yeah, that's why it's called a stolen kiss"
"What's the second one?"
"Kissing you when it's snowing" she said, wriggling her brows.
"You're something else, Dev" I laughed as we got into the car.
...
"Shit, I can't do this" I said as Dev and I walked into the skating rink with our skates on.
"Yes, you can" she said to me. "I can't even stand uprightly" I groaned.
"Give me your hands" she said, chuckling. I placed my hands in hers as we began to move on the very slippery ice. I slowly lost myself in the moment. I felt peaceful as I gazed into Devon's ocean blue eyes. My mind was clear and I could breathe with ease. I didn't even notice when Devon stopped holding my hands.
"Wow! Look, you're a natural" she said and I realized that I was indeed skating on my own.
I smiled and took her in my arms. She gazed into my eyes as my thumb stroked her cheek. She was so beautiful and she's mine.
"I love you" I whispered, gazing into her beautiful eyes. "I love you too....so much" she whispered and my heart fluttered. I kissed her, basking in her warmth.
"Let's go home" she whispered. Few minutes later, we were in the car.
"Can a mortal enter the fae kingdom?" She asked.
"Yes but you'll have to be very careful. The fae folks can be very mischievous and tricky" I said.
"Is it really true that faeries can't lie?" She asked and I smirked.
"You've been doing some reading, I see"
Her cheeks turned pink and I laughed.
"We can't lie... that's very true. But, you should also know that faeries can be manipulative when they want to be" I said.
"Right" she said, avoiding my eyes. Gosh, she's so hilarious.
"What? Afraid that I'm going to manipulate you into doing what you don't want to do?"
Her cheeks burned a bright pink. "N-no"
"Don't be scared, love. I'm not very evil"
She laughed and turned on the ignition.
When we got to my house, Rachel had made lunch.
"You look so much brighter. What's the secret?" Rachel asked, winking at me.
"Oh, I know. They probably had several sessions of PDA" Luke said, a smirk on his face. "What if you're wrong?" I said.
"You know I'm not wrong. Devon's cheeks are telling the truth"
The door bell rang and Rachel went to get the door.
Amyra walked into the dinning room and took a piece of steak from Luke's plate.
"Hey! Hands off my steak!" He grumbled.
"No can do" Amyra said and grabbed another piece of steak from Luke's plate before sitting on the empty chair beside Devon.
***
DEVON
I discreetly watched Theo as he ate. He looked so much better than the previous day, and I was glad that he was able to tell me what was going on with him. His eyes were brighter and he looked happier, compared to the previous day.
'Enjoying the view?' Theo said through the mindlink.
'Yes, I am. It's nice to see you going back to your old self' I replied.
He smiled.
'It's all because of you, love'
I grinned.
"Okay.... save the whole lovey dovey talk for the bedroom. Right now, we're in the dinning room" Luke said, narrowing his eyes.
"You're just jealous" I said and he rolled his eyes.
"Of course, I'm not!"
"You are"
"I'm not!"
"You are!"
"Am not!"
"Cut it out, Luke" Theo said.
"Come here, you whiny baby" Amyra said, taking Luke's hand and led him towards his bedroom.
"Make sure you use protection!" Rachel yelled and we all laughed.
***
Rachel and I was having a conversation an hour later, when Luke and Amyra stepped out of the room. Amyra's face was pink.
She gave him a kiss and waved at me before she left.
"How was it?" I asked him, wriggling my brows.
"Shut up" he said, his cheeks turning pink.
Rachel laughed.
"Where's Theo?" Luke asked.
I looked at the couch opposite us and frowned when I realized he wasn't there. "I'll go check on him" I said and went upstairs. The door of his room was half-opened.
"Theo?" I said as I walked in. He wasn't in his room.
'Oh, no' I thought, trying not to feel too alarmed.
"I'm in here" Theo said from the bathroom. The door was open slightly.
"You okay in there?" I asked.
He didn't say anything and my heart sank.
"Theo?"
He stepped out, with one hand resting on the wall.
I gasped when I noticed that his nose was bleeding and he was swaying slightly.
"Sit down" I said, moving him towards the bed. He sat down, lowering his gaze.
"What the hell happened to your nose?" I asked.
"Nothing.... I-"
"Tell me what happened" I said as I tipped his head backwards.
"While I was in the sitting room, I zoned out.....The voices returned. It was so intense... I had to leave the sitting room. My nose started to bleed because I was trying to ignore the voices in my head"
My heart sank.
I began to wipe his nose with a tissue paper.
"Can you still hear them now?" I asked.
He shook his head, a slight frown on his face.
"When I heard you call my name, I snapped out of it and the voices disappeared" he said. I cupped his face, brushing his hair away from his face. "We need to get help, something is awfully wrong somewhere" I said and he nodded.
"I don't even know what's wrong with me" he sighed.
"Do you think it has to do with the dragon blade?" I asked.
"Maybe, maybe not. But all I do know is that, it started right after I gained consciousness" he said, rubbing his temples.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in" I said and Luke walked in.
"Did something happen?" Luke asked, taking in our wary expressions.
....
"Wait, you said you've been hearing voices in your head?" Luke said, his eyes wide.
"Yeah"
"That's really bad, Theo"
Theo rolled his eyes, leaning back on the wall.
"Tell me about it" he muttered.
"When we were still kids, my teacher told us something about voices that invade the mind"
"Wait, you went to school in the fae kingdom?" I asked.
"Yeah. I was training to be a guardian since it was arranged that I would be your boyfriend's guardian. Theo was attending the school for royalty, then"
Theo stared at his fingers, absentmindedly.
"Theo, snap out of it" I whispered, tucking his hair behind his pointed ear.
"Sorry....Luke what were you saying?" Theo said.
"If you're not possessed, it can only mean one thing"
Theo stiffened.
"And, what's that?" He asked
"It means, your demon side is fighting for control. The dragon blade rendered your vulnerable. It tore down your defenses and drained you"
"I don't get it, how's that even possible?" Theo said, looking very worried.
"Something must've triggered it. Dark energy.... it's the only thing that might've triggered it. You remember how you got the chimaera tattoo, right?"
Theo had gone impossibly pale.
"Theo, you fell ill because your defenses collapsed and your demon side was trying to take over. That's why you kept loosing control of your powers. Your demon side was trapped in your chimaera tattoo"
"I just remembered something" Theo said
"What is it?"
"The same day Devon and I went to the park, a girl bumped into me....She was probably the one who triggered it. I just didn't think much about it"
"That's really bad, Theo" Luke said, running a hand through his hair.
"What am I supposed to do now? This is exactly what the seers were afraid of. I might be turning dark" Theo said, his eyes wide and frantic.
"There's only one way to trap your demon side especially since you're still recovering. We need to find the red prism"
Theo's eyes widened by a fraction.
"Where can we find it?" I asked, cautiously.
"The fourth land, also know as Grymlok"
My breath caught in my throat and my gaze met Theo's bewildered ones.