I closed my eyes and let Landen’s memories come to me. I could call them forth, but they were overshadowed by the last memory I had – which was of Landen loving another. I tried to reason with myself that this was all an illusion, but I was losing the battle; illusions couldn’t be felt by my gifts. I sighed deeply, holding back the scream that wanted to come out. I then began to argue with my sense of reason.
“You were going to allow me to die; I only had moments left. You don’t let someone that you love dance that close to the cliff.” My words were cruel.
As I felt his lips land tenderly on my forehead, all the tension left my body; he was taking my pain away once again, but I knew it was a mask...as soon as his touch left me, the pain would be there - and I’d rather suffer than live a lie.
“I would have brought you back; you know I would have been able to,” he said, moving his hands to my face.
I opened my eyes and placed my hands on his, then gently pulled them away from my face. “I wouldn’t have wanted you to,” I said in a voice slightly above a whisper.
He looked at me in utter disbelief. “You see him love another woman - and now you want to die? I tell you what: that might not be such a bad idea - but make sure you kill me first. I believe it’s my turn in the next life anyway; at least I won’t have to fight so hard to make you see who you truly belong with,” Drake said hoarsely.
“This isn’t a game. Your turn? Are you serious?” I said, appalled.
As Drake briskly grabbed my shoulders and turned me, the memories around us fell, and in the darkness my worst nightmare was in front of me: Landen and the beautiful woman. Drake wrapped his arms around me tightly, giving me no way out. “All those lives we lived together, those lives we loved each other – what do you think Landen was doing? Do you think he lived a life alone? He gave his heart away; the truth is in front of you.”
I closed my eyes; seeing Landen hold that woman was beyond any pain I’d ever experienced. Drake slowly turned me back to him and searched my face for understanding.
“He doesn’t want to see; he wants to live a life hidden from the power. You don’t have that option - you are the power, and whoever your give you heart to must acknowledge that and stand in front of billions.” I didn’t say anything. Drake’s eyes searched across my face, trying to read me. “If you love him, let him be happy - in love, alone. I love you more deeply than he does; let me show you...I will lead with you...I will keep you safe,” he said charismatically.
I looked down at the ground, then up at Drake; at that moment, I felt sure of myself, certain. I stepped back away from his touch, then turned and walked away.
“Where are you going?” Drake yelled after me.
“Home,” I said in a stern voice.
Drake pulled my energy to him, spinning me around. He then reached his arms around me and held me tight. “This is your home,” he said in disbelief.
“No, this was never my true home,” I said confidently.
“Love, this is the only home you have now,” he said, raising his eyebrows.
I looked past him at Landen and the woman; her head was lying on his chest as he held her tight. I bit my bottom lip, pushing down the pain, the rage.
“You love me,” Drake said.
I looked back up at him, then moved my eyes to Landen and stared. I felt the love he was giving that girl, and I didn’t want to get even - I wanted revenge. I looked back up at Drake and let my eyes search his face, his perfect features, then I settled in his eyes. I tried to see his soul, to feel something from him, anything that would tell me that I could trust him. I slowly reached my hands to his face and let my fingers run across the base of his eye. I then stood on my tiptoes and pulled him down to me, kissing him, feeling his release, taking in the relief from the pain that was coursing through me. Drake’s arms wrapped around me, and in that moment I felt empty, lost; not only could I never love him, I could never love another. I slowly moved my lips from his and lowered my hands.
“I told you before, I don’t want to hurt anyone,” I whispered. His faced mirrored the pain he knew I was about to deliver. “I can’t give you what isn’t mine,” I continued, tilting my head toward Landen. I then creased my eyebrows as the pain made itself known across my face. “Landen will carry it through eternity.”
As the pain in his face intensified, his grip on me loosened. I turned to leave again, struggling to find the strength to put one foot in front of another, the strength to leave Landen behind. Suddenly, a vibration swept through the room, taking my breath away.
“Willow,” I heard Landen say.
I slowly turned to see that Drake and the woman had vanished. Landen was just feet away, staring at me. I covered my mouth; even though the woman was gone, in my mind I could still see him holding her - and I turned away from him before the pain brought me to my knees. As I started to run to the passage, I could feel Landen’s fear and confusion; he was right behind me and caught me just feet from the passage.
He turned me around and put both his hands on my face. I kept my eyes closed tight; my whole body was tense.
“Willow, talk to me. What happened? Did he hurt you?” Landen screamed as rage came over him.
“Where is she?” I screamed.
“Willow, open your eyes. Look at me. Where is who?” Landen yelled back.
With his last words, I slowly opened my eyes and looked into his. “The woman you were holding...the one you love,” I said, afraid and hurt.
Landen’s anger was taken over by confusion, and his eyes danced wildly over my face. “That was you. I saw you in every life, at every age. I saw how our love was more powerful than we’d ever thought,” he said quickly.
I shook my head no over and over again. “I saw her, Landen. I saw you with her - that wasn’t me.”
Landen looked over his shoulder to where he was standing before, then back at me. “Our eyes were the enemy; he fooled us both,” he said breathlessly, pulling me to him and kissing me through my tears.
“Where is he, Willow?” Landen said as he let me go.
As my eyes raced back and forth, anger filled me as I realized that I’d played the part of a fool once again. The girl looked so real; the memories, the emotions...I saw them...I felt them.
“I don’t know. He vanished when the girl did,” I said, reaching my arms around Landen as I filled with relief. I had chosen again, and I chose who I always knew I would.
Landen looked back to the rings; they were still spinning. He let his hand fall down into mine, then pulled me slowly toward them as they spun wildly.
As we came closer, the rings began to slow and move forward along the water. The white lights parted, welcoming the passage, which was now just feet away. Suddenly, the rings stopped completely. In the center, suspended in thin air was a small star. Landen looked back at me, then to the star, and he let his hand slowly slip out of mine. He stepped forward confidently. Inside the rings, he reached for the star and grasped it in his hand. They slowly began to move. Landen then looked down and took a breath. At that moment, he felt the power; if he chose to look, the universe would follow his intent, not their own - something neither of us wanted. It would take all of his strength to step away from such a welcoming seduction of power. He smiled at himself, then stepped back out of the rotation of the rings.
He walked back to me. With one hand, he turned the charm on my neck; with the other, he placed the star behind the sun and the moon. The charm let out a breathtaking light, and the rings hummed. Landen then looked into my eyes through the light and leaned forward and kissed me tenderly.
A loud roar made us both jump. Behind Landen, the rings began to break apart and the calm sparks grew violent, causing an array of colors to come as the energy in the room shifted. As Landen put his arm around me and we ran for the passage, a heavy vibration soared through the room, pushing us.
We took each other’s hands and ran to the passage through which we’d passed through; on the other side, we could
still see the flicker of the massive fireplace. When we reached the threshold, we saw Donalt’s empty wheelchair; his body was lying beside it. Landen slowly walked to where he lie, griping my hand; both our hearts were racing.
Landen slowly reached down to Donalt’s wrist to feel for a heartbeat. “Nothing,” he thought.
A clap of thunder erupted, shaking the walls around us. Landen stood up slowly, and we watched as Donalt’s old, gray, frail body fell into ash. A gust of wind then came out of nowhere and swept his ashes into the large fireplace, and the flames erupted in every direction as they took in the remains of the once powerful ruler.
The room around us began to shake as the lighting and thunder crashed against the palace. We ran through the doorway, down the hallway, across the banister, and down the stairs. The doors we’d passed through before were still open.
Outside, we could see the ashes spinning wildly around in the violent wind. We looked at each other and held on tight, then began to run into the storm. In the center of the court, my willow tree remained untouched, glowing in the midst of turmoil. Passing it, we made our way to the gates of the courtyard.
There, our mouths dropped and our eyes widened: the wind on the streets was still, and there was a calm like no other. Above us, the gray sky was being pulled to the palace, and crystal blue skies were left in its wake. The sun beamed down on the once gloomy, gray streets, and the people, buildings. Everything gray around them moved to the sky to be taken by the current of the rapidly moving gray clouds. In the wake of the current, color was everywhere; the buildings turned white, and the people themselves seemed to be consumed by beautiful color, which brought life to their faces.
In this process, the world around us changed, and we saw our place in flashes; the place we’d always dreamed of, the place that had no sound - only pure beauty. I gasped, taking in its exquisiteness. As our hearts raced, Landen held me tight. That perfect place was what this dimension was supposed to be. We’d been given a gift, a glimpse of what our suffering would buy when all the trials had passed.
In a flash, we were back, standing at the breaking dawn of a new life for these people. Our family was standing in the center of the street. Staring behind them, we walked slowly to them. I embraced my parents’ soul, then my grandparents, reaching to hold Landen’s family and our friends. Then, I turned slowly to look back at the palace.
Surrounding the massive palace was a dark, swirling cloud, so dark that the palace itself couldn’t be seen. As thunder roared behind it, lightning flashed through; it was as if the darkness that this city once carried had become centered in one place, leaving freedom, love, and peace for the people that lived there.
Patrick walked slowly to me and Landen. Behind him was a mass of people; their faces bore pure shock, but in their eyes there was an awakening, a peace.
“You shall rule us now,” Patrick said to Landen.
The crowd erupted, sending a burst of energy through us. Smiling, Landen raised his hands to calm them. “I will not rule over you,” he said loudly, looking across at all of them.
The crowd began to rumble, and their fear and uncertainty came to them again.
“Who will, then?” Patrick asked for them all.
Landen smiled widely and looked at our family and me. A moment later, he let his eyes move across the people for whom he’d always held a deep remorse. “Within each of you there is soul that can rule, a soul that should only rule your own heart. You must forget the lies that were spoken over you; everyone is worthy of love and calm. In each moment, your thoughts lead your ambitions. This power will frighten you at first, but you must move past that. Understand that you are all connected. Everything that you want, want it for the universe, want it to bring yourself closer to the heavens. Willow and I, our family, will help guide you, but the days of following one man are over.”
I felt the pride coming from our family; it was hard to say who felt it more. Silence came over the crowd as they looked around at each other, questioning the words they’d just heard. In the center of the crowd, a small clap could be heard; there, a little boy smiled wildly and cheered. His parents then began to clap, and applause soon erupted from them all.
We took a deep breath and passed through them; as we did, we felt the souls of our dimension follow us. Once in the string, we found it calm, still; more still than it was near our home. I smiled, feeling the victory, and Landen and I all but ran home; we wanted to make sure Stella had recovered.
Chapter Twenty
When we passed through our gates, we saw Allie awake and lying in her carrier, smiling up at us; her Aura was so white. I reached down, gently picked her up, and felt a warm rush of unconditional love run through me. I kissed her forehead, sending the same love back to her tiny body.
Felicity’s eyes opened, then she rose. Brady was close behind her. I slowly handed the precious child back to her mother. As the others began to find their bodies, we passed through them, careful not to disturb the ones that were still. Once at our house, Landen and I rushed through the door. Marc and Stella were lying wrapped in one another’s arms, and for a moment I feared we hadn’t moved enough people to bring Stella’s energy back. I stepped closer and gently touched her shoulder, then watched her eyes move under her lids. As they slowly opened, I smiled through happy tears. Seconds later, Marc opened his eyes. I then pulled Stella up and held her tightly. Her joy filled the room; her beauty was remarkable. I extended my arms so I could look at her face.
“You’re home now...sister...you’re home,” I said, smiling.
Stella wrapped her arms around me again and began to jump up and down in place, unable to hold back her joy. Landen reached to help Marc up, hugging him and smiling proudly. Stella then looked at Landen and me. “Those are some blue eyes; it’s easy to see why you couldn’t forget them,” she said in awe.
Landen walked over to me, held my face, and smiled. I stared into him.
“I knew you never really let go of me there,” he thought, taking comfort in Stella’s words.
Our front door opened. I looked at Stella, who was still wrapped in Marc’s arms. “Are you ready to meet your family?” I asked her, full of excitement. She smiled as her Aura of pure yellow surfaced around her.
Chrispin and Olivia walked in first, and Marc reached out for Chrispin, hugging him tightly.
“I’m sorry, man. My head was somewhere else; I didn’t mean to be so harsh,” Marc said.
Chrispin looked at Stella, then back at Marc. “I knew that,” he said.
Olivia hugged Stella, then Chrispin. Ashten and Aubrey came in next, holding Preston’s hand. Preston ran into Marc’s arms.
Stella looked up at him and smiled. “I’ve heard a lot about you, little man,” she said, moving Preston’s long hair out of his face.
“I know,” Preston said, giggling.
As Stella embraced Aubrey and Ashten, August and Nyla came in, followed by my parents and Libby. Dane and Clarissa led Brady, Felicity, and our newest addition, Allie, in to where we were. Rose was behind them, and Karsten closed the front door, giving our family a moment with Stella.
Stella’s eyes settled on August; I could feel her disbelief and awe.
“You...you were the one my father admired so much...your words, the way you described this place, gave me strength every day,” she said, looking at August.
All of our eyes raced back and forth, realizing for the first time that Stella’s father was the one that August had tried to help so long ago; I’d heard both Landen and Felicity tell the story. Numb, I just stared, realizing that even in our greatest mistakes we can find victory. August smiled and looked back at Landen, then at Stella.
“When I was only a child, I was taught a very simple lesson: ‘There are no straight lines in nature.’ I never realized how true those words were until I saw Marc carry you home. I realized that there is a purpose for every moment we live. I had a simple conversation with an honest man years ago. When I saw what happened as a result,
I let the guilt carry me through time. It never occurred to me that you and your sister were the ones that needed to hear me speak, that my words would carry you until Marc could come for you,” August said, feeling the relief as his burden was lifted.
Stella hugged him tightly and whispered, “Thank you” in his ear.
Each person took their turn welcoming the one we had waited for Marc to bring home. Stella then looked at all of us. “For so long, it was just Evelyn and me; I’m overwhelmed with all of you. I’ve never felt more at home, more at peace than I do right now. I used to dream for my soulmate to come, and as time shifted, I dreamed of a time that Willow would come and take my anguish away. I never thought I’d be lucky enough for both of them to come and bring me home to so much more,” she said, smiling and crying, her disbelief coursing through her.
Rose stepped forward and put her hands on Stella’s shoulders. She then looked to Marc behind her and back to Stella again. “The best thing about dreams is, when they come true, they’re always better than you imagined.”
Everyone in the room clapped; each of us had lived in that moment, the moment that we’d found our soul, our purpose.
“There are more waiting to see you,” August said, nodding his head to the doorway. Marc looked at Landen curiously, only to see us both smiling, still in astonishment of the day we’d had. Landen held out his hand, telling Marc to walk.
“The sun is bright out there,” I cautioned Stella.
She looked at me with wide eyes and almost pulled Marc to the door. When it opened, a roar of applause erupted; the colors of the people and their Auras were breathtaking. Landen and I stayed back and looked on. As we slowly fell into one of the large chairs in our living room, we smiled as we felt the surge of energy coursing through us. I turned on Landen’s lap, wrapping my leg around him and staring at him; as I did, my memory was cruel to me: I saw him embracing that beautiful woman. I also saw myself willingly pull Drake to my lips, and a shiver ran through me. Landen pulled me closer, not understanding the shift in my emotions.