Chapter 35
Random Town
Sofya
I yawned, mmm, that was a nice sleep. Well after I recovered from the nightmare, which had felt too real for comfort. I rolled over but crashed into something, my eyes flung open, meeting bright blue ones.
Oh, Ash had come over to comfort me. I guess he must have not have left. I decided I would take it day by day. So if it ends up we can't be together, then maybe it wouldn't hurt so bad since we were sort of together for a period of time. As long as he didn't give his heart to me and I didn't fall for him, we'd be fine. A casual relationship. I could handle that, right? I gave a small smile. He smiled back, then pressed a kiss to my forehead.
"I agree." He said. I raised an eyebrow. I was not absolutely sure I hadn't said anything out loud, sooo.
"Can you read my thoughts by any chance and didn't mention it to me?" I asked. He gave a sly smile.
"So you finally figured it out. I was constantly giving you some hints. It was funny to watch you think you said something out loud when you didn't, but I can only do it when I'm touching you." He said, grabbing my hands. My eyes went wide, and a blush filled my cheeks. There had been so many times when I was touching him, what had he heard? His grin widened.
"Nothing I didn't want to." I punched him lightly.
"Thoughts are private," I said, sitting up feeling a little bamboozled. He sat up as well.
"It's not always intentional, sometimes they just flow in." He said, cocking his head to the side. Somehow I was pretty sure he was lying.
"I'm going to get dressed," I said, heading towards the bathroom, grabbing some clothes. I shut the door, freshened up, then pulled on the blue jeans, black converse, and white shirt. I did my makeup and brushed my shortened hair, deciding to leave it down. Satisfied, I opened the door.
Ash was dressed in simple dark blue almost black jeans and a blue t-shirt that matched his eyes. It was strange not seeing him wear something black or leather. He looked normal, well almost normal, he was too ridiculously handsome to look normal. His eyes skimmed over my outfit, and he nodded in approval. I rolled my eyes.
"You ready." He asked. I nodded and we headed out the door. We stopped by Nico and Lucy's room and Maxon's room. They didn't answer when we knocked, so we left a note.
We stepped out of the lobby, it was bright and sunny out. What a perfect day. I stood, my head tilted up, my eyes closed, feeling the warm sun beating down on my face. I probably looked crazy, but I didn't care, there were only so many of these moments and I was going to relish them.
After a few seconds, I opened my eyes and glanced at Ash who was smirking at me, jerk. I started walking forward, searching for signs.
"We are looking for a green sign that says private library," Ash said, from beside me. I nodded. I finally found the sign, I was about to sprint forward, but then I remembered what Ash had said. Instead, I stayed by Ash's side. We entered the building, cool air greeting us. Up ahead, was a petite blonde lady sitting at a desk, she smiled at us brightly.
"Welcome, can you show me your passes?" She asked, I shot a confused glance at Ash. He smiled and held his hand up, a small blue flame erupting for the palm of his hand. The lady smiled. "Come on in." She must have meant magic.
We walked over to the green double door. I gasped at the sight as we walked in, there were books everywhere and the room was huge. I could have stayed in there forever. Ash turned to me.
"Ok, everything is labeled by topic and alphabetically titled, so let's split up, gather some books, and meet back over here." He said gesturing at the table next to the door. I nodded, then headed off to the hundreds of shelves.
Where to start? I looked at the sign labeling the sections. I finally found the one that said magical objects. I skimmed the shelves till I found one titled, Magical Necklaces, bracelets, and gemstones. I pulled the book off the shelf and a few others from other sections, then went over to our meeting spot. Ash was already there with a huge stack of books and his nose in one. I settled down next to him.
"Find anything?" I asked. He shook his head. I opened the book about magical objects and began searching. Welcome to the handbook of magical necklaces, bracelets, and gemstones. Where you will find everything you need to know about some of the most well-known magical objects, and even some of the rarer not as known ones.
I skimmed past the rest of the introduction, and began the section on necklaces, it went through a whole bunch of them, including a picture of it, and the description. There was nothing, well, some of it was interesting, but nothing about the gem on my neck.
I moved on to the next section, which was about gemstones. I took a look at the first picture, and my eyes widened. I squinted closer just to make sure, but it was the gem on my neck, a dark ruby red stone. My eyes drifted over to the description.
The Tupsimati Gemstone- The Tupismati stone, is a small blood-red ruby stone that was created thousands of years ago, by what is thought to be the first angels and demons, they created it together with the purpose of making something to vanquish all evil, but what they didn't realize was that it had a dark side all it's own. As it had taken the darkest parts of their souls along with the purest. The Tupismati stone holds the power of creation and destruction, it can just as easily save the worlds, as it can destroy them. I gasped. Ash looked over at me, a questioning look in his eyes.
"What did you find?" He asked, peering over my shoulder. I pointed at the paragraph.
"The stone, it's not evil, but it's not good, it's both," I said. Ash's eyes widened. "It has the power of creation and destruction," I said, running my hand along the worn page. "We should get back and tell the others," I said, standing up. This was just fantastic. If the stone got into the wrong hands I couldn't imagine what would happen. But I couldn't help but think it already was. I had no right to be wielding such an object when I had no control over myself.
Ash nodded, and picked up one of the books, holding it in the crook of his elbow. "What's that for?" I asked, eyeing the book.
"Just some spells and such." He said. My brow furrowed, it seemed like he was hiding something, but I wasn't sure what. I gritted my teeth, was he trying to get me to trust him even less than I already did? Because it was working. I cared about him and he saved my life on multiple occasions but that didn't mean anything if he kept hiding things from me. I followed Ash out of the library, wishing the librarian a good day.
When we got back to the hotel, we went over to Lucy, Maxon, and Nico's room, but found the doors wide open. I dashed inside, to find a crude note on the bed. I picked it up and paled. We have your friends if you want them back come to the kingdom of the Coralia to the city of Sireena. There is a map attached following it. I'm sorry S. - Enzo
I gaped at the letter and ripped the stapled map from the back of the note, I couldn't believe this, how could he? Enzo was supposed to be my best friend, how could he betray me like this? His apology couldn't make up for the fact he stole my friends. Tears slipped from my eyes. I faced Ash.
He noticed my expression and stepped closer. "What's wrong?" He asked. I held the note up.
"They're gone," I whispered hoarsely. Ash ripped the note from my hands, tearing it to shreds after reading it.
"I knew that guy was a two-timing bastard, I didn't like him from the moment I met him." I sank to the ground laughing. I remember Ash continuously glaring at Enzo the first time they had met. Apparently, it was for a good reason. Soon my hysterical laughter turned into sobs, as I thought of what was happening to Lucy, Nico, and Maxon. I hoped they weren't being tortured.
Ash wrapped his strong arms around me pulling me against his chest. "We'll find them, I promise," he said reassuringly. I pulled myself together and determination shot forward, and I wrenched myself out of his grip.
"We have to go now." I started, marched towards the door. Before I could walk out, I was yanked back. I turned around scowling. "What?" I asked, finding Ash holding my back a firm grip on my wrist.
"We're not leaving tonight." He said. Anger flashed through me.
"Yes, we are." Ash shook his head.
"No, it pitch black outside, and we need to form a plan. We can't go charging in there blindly. We would get killed. It's two against a whole kingdom, not good odds. Come, let's go to bed and figure it out in the morning. We will get them back." He said, pulling me towards him.
He picked me up with ease and plopped me on the bed, then laid down next to me. He turned toward me, his eyes pleading. "Please stay." He whispered. I nodded, tears brimming my eyes. He sighed in relief, then shut the light off. I closed my eyes and even my breathing out to feign sleep. "Night Sofya." He said, soon after his breaths evened out and he was fast asleep.
I lay awake, sleep void of me. I had to get them back, it was my fault after all. I still couldn't believe Enzo did this, why? Why had he betrayed me? I thought he was my friend, I loved him. Had it all been a ploy? He had known who I was, even before I did.
I turned and looked at Ash, he looked so serene asleep, younger. I brushed a soft lock of hair out of his face. I knew what I had to do. I had to go without him. It was my fault, and like he said it would be dangerous. Which was why I had to be alone. I couldn't have him risking his life for me anymore. I refused to let him die for me, to let anyone die for me. That was why I had wanted to stay away from him in the first place. Silently, I crawled out of bed, but before I left I placed a small kiss on his lips.
"I'll be back," I whispered before taking off. I slipped out the door and back to our room. I quickly changed into black leathers and gathered my best weapons securing them into their sheaths. I slid my combat boots on, putting daggers into the hidden pockets. I fastened a black cloak around me, then opened the window and shimmied down the drainpipe, till I hit the ground. Once I landed I broke into a sprint, running down the roads, staying in the shadows. Then proceeded into the dark forest.
After a few hours, I reached the coastline. I skidded to a halt once I reached the beach, collapsing onto the soft sand, desperately trying to catch my breath. I looked up, it was almost dawn. Ash would realize I took off. He wouldn't know where to go since I had the map and I hadn't shifted to he couldn't trace my magic scent. He would stay safe, hopefully.
I grabbed the map from my pocket, looking it over. I stood up and walked over to the edge, where land met water. I conjured up a shield and stepped into the ocean. Before I got far, I felt a warm wave of heat across my back. I whirled around and froze, finding myself face to face with violet eyes the same as my own.
"Mom?" I asked, looking at the woman who abandoned me. I fell to my knees, my shield dissolving and my pants getting soaked.
"My sweet child." Mom said, coming closer. I reached my hand out to her, but it passed right through her. Tears slipped from my eyes. I looked back at her eyes, was I hallucinating. Mom's expression softened, and she smiled warmly at me. "Child, this is no hallucination, I came to warn you. You must not let anyone get that stone under any circumstances. You are soon to be faced with difficult choices. Trust your instincts. I believe in you sweetheart, good luck." She said, blowing a kiss.
"I miss you, Mom," I said, my voice breaking. Why did they leave me? Why?
"I know, I miss you too sweetheart. Don't fret we will see each other once more, I love you." She said softly.
"Why did you abandon me?" I yelled as she vanished. Anger coursed through my veins. How dare she show up and provide no explanation for why they left me to die. She loved me? What a beautiful lie.
I pulled myself together, huling myself off the ground. What the hell had just happened? I wiped the tears from my cheeks, and put the shield back up, fully submerging myself under the water. I didn't have the time to mull it over. The past was in the past. Right now I had to save my friends.
Ghosts weren't real, right?