The Realm Protectors

Chapter 47 - Enya

Tranquil waters glimmer in the moonlight, the gentle sound of the waves hitting the beach filling my ears. My head feels like clouds as I rest on the perfectly soft sand of the Saari beach. The moon is bright in the sky above me, surrounded by twinkling stars. They glow with the different constellations: Fiero, the fire pit, in bright orange; Agua, the well, in blue; Spacio, the planet, in purple; Horu, the hourglass, in navy; Sulit, the sun, in gold; Dakaa, the shadow, in deep gray; Aero, the wind, in white; and Natura, the tree of life, in green. I once heard Carter tell Lyra that the stars here form completely different constellations than the ones in the Otherworld. I wonder if I'll ever get the chance to see them like this, highlighted and clear in the sky.

The sky is surprisingly bright. Sea-salt air brushes against my face, clearing some of the clouds in my head. A buzzing starts in my brain, deep and unnatural. There's a message behind it, thudding against my skull in time with my heartbeat: Get up, get up, get up.

Get up?

The air shimmers around me, turning foggy and light. Sparkles dance across my vision, tiny pinpricks of light.

Ah, a dream. Such a nice one, too. I hope I get to stay here for a while.

Wake up.

Why? It's just the beach and the stars.

Wake up.

It's so peaceful here.

Wake up.

A bright light flashes across my vision. I shoot up in bed, the folds of the tent coming into focus around me.

"What the Ever?" I curse under my breath. It's the middle of the night, and yet something brighter than a flash bomb just went off through the entire camp. Shaking my hair out, I toss aside the covers and stand up, stretching out my muscles. The flaps of the tent swish slightly as I step outside, looking around. Nile and Carter emerge from their tents, everyone else not long after.

"What the hell was that?"Avani groans, rubbing her eyes. I look up, millions of tiny pinpricks of yellow light dispersing over our heads. It looks like the remnants of a firework.

Faris whispers something under his breath, staring up at the sky above us. His face goes a scary shade of pale.

"What?" Nile asks. Faris looks at him with the most panicked expression on his face that I've ever seen.

"That's Ciana's ability," Faris repeats.

My blood goes cold.

"Where is she?" I ask. Avani and Nikolina sprint over to Ciana's tent. "Where is she?" They peel back the flaps and run inside.

Avani's expression matches Faris' as she comes back out. "She's not here." Nile grabs my hand.

"We need to find her. Fast. That wasn't any normal release of power," I say.

"That was a cry for help." Carter agrees. Faris takes off sprinting out of the campsite.

"Faris, wait!" Nile yells. "We need a plan!"

"I have a plan!" Faris shouts back. "Find Ciana!"

"That's not a plan! That's a wishlist!" Avani hollers. We all look at each other before taking off after Faris.

"Carter, Lyra, get Tucker and the other guards awake!" I yell behind me.

"Got it!" Carter replies. The sound of their feet fades as they change directions. The rest of us follow Faris as sirens start blaring throughout the camp.

"That's the gateway signal," Nile realizes, his face paling.

"What if she's over there?" Nik asks. "What if that's what she was trying to tell us?"