The Usurper's Throne

13

I stumbled back, barely stopping myself from screaming in panic. I clutched the desk behind me. "Oh, my gosh. Elijah?" I whipped my head around. "Where? Where did you come from?" I asked, heart beating frantically.

Elijah had a ghost smile on his face as well. He lifted a hand to me. "Let me show you," he said.

I eyed Roger who was nodding. I stepped forward shakily. "See this hesitation? This is me, protecting myself," I said to Roger.

"No," Roger said plainly. "This is cowardice."

Elijah shot him a glance, and Roger shrugged.

"I promised to never lie to you, Elijah. Should I not offer her the same courtesy?" Roger asked.

Elijah rolled his eyes and a real smile played over his lips. "C'mon, Naomi. This is safe. Trust me."

Damien was going to kill me. I took a deep breath. Damien wasn't going to kill me; he was my mate. I gently took Elijah's hand and I suddenly saw a huge black portal. "This, Naomi, is the dark realm."

"Should I... bring a flashlight?" I asked.

Roger laughed. "No, my dear. The dark realm is not dark, per se. Rather, all who are in it are invisible to the eye. It is the same world, but you cannot be seen. Nor can you interact without peeking out of the realm. Which makes it a perfect place to train, as you cannot accidentally break anything in there."

I blinked a few times, trying to process it.

Roger stepped into the portal and vanished. I let go of Elijah's hand and the portal vanished from my vision. Then, I grabbed his hand again and stepped inside before I could rationalize a better plan. I was not a coward.

Elijah followed shortly afterward. Everything around us was hazy and gray. Sounds were muffled. I whirled around, amazed by what I was seeing. I turned and saw Elijah and Roger clearly in full color.

"This is crazy," I said. "How...is this...an elemental power?" I asked. Roger nodded and smiled.

"It is. Both my nephew and I share it. It is quite useful for hearing what others would have you not. But, today, it will serve as a safe place for you to unleash your magic. Follow us outside."

We walked to the door leading outside and Roger stepped through the closed door. I blinked, trying to process what i just saw. Elijah turned to me and beckoned me to follow. I did, reaching out my hands first. I hit the door. I tried to pull it open, but it didn't budge.

Oh, crap. Were they going to leave me in the dark realm? There was no way for me to get out or for Damien to find me. My heartbeat increased and I slammed my hand against the door.

Suddenly, Elijah's head popped through, and I almost cried with relief. "Relax," he said. "You can't alter material here, but you can phase through it. Close your eyes. Stop thinking about the door," he said. I nodded and closed my eyes. Suddenly, his hand yanked my shoulder and I tumbled onto the ground. I was outside.

Elijah helped me up.

"You have to not think about it," he said. "It is a weird place," he said. "You can phase through items as long as you do not think about it. Places of extreme light, whether a lamp, streetlight, or midday sun acts as a portal. The realm is weakest at the brightest spots. For example, I cannot stay in the dark realm in direct sunlight in the middle of the day. If I wanted to, I need to stick to the shadows. As long as you can get outside on a sunny day, you will never be stuck," he explained. I nodded. "So, you can stop panicking."

I took a deep breath, realizing that I had, indeed, been on the edge of panicking.

"Can I fly in here?" I asked. Elijah glanced at his uncle.

"Any reason she wouldn't be able to fly?" Elijah asked.

"None," Roger said. He walked over to where we were. "This realm is the exact same; our relationship to it has changed, however. We are...visually adjacent," he said. "If sunlight makes you leave the realm, you can't get back in without us, though."

I shook out my wings when I noticed the strange looked Elijah and his uncle were giving me. "This is how my magic came out last time," I shrugged. "I was flying."

Elijah looked at Roger. "Your magic came out when you were flying?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I was with Damien, who was pretty adamant that I didn't go anywhere, but I needed to get energy out, so I just took off."

"And he let you go?" Elijah asked.

"Well, no," I said. "He chased after me. I outflew him pretty quickly, though. That was when the magic happened."

Elijah and Roger shared a glance.

"What?" I asked.

Roger turned to me. "The dark realm will be a perfect place for you to practice. I would imagine that whatever was...squelching your power should not be present here."

I nodded slowly, trying to interpret his words.

"So, you said you had magic at your fingertips?" Elijah asked. I nodded. "Were you saying any words?"

I shook my head.

Elijah cast a glance at Roger who nodded slowly. "Well, let's try to get the sparks back out. Your magic is like a muscle. It's never been used. Once you discover it, you will need to work on it."

"Like my wings," I said. "It took me a bit to realize that I could move them. Even then, it took time to build up strength to fly like I wanted."

Elijah nodded. "Close your eyes and focus on the breeze of your breath."

"The breeze?" I asked. Elijah nodded.

I sighed and did as he asked. I closed my eyes.  I could feel myself drifting off into sleep. I blinked a few times, suddenly self-conscious that Elijah was staring at me.

I glanced around. "Where did Roger go?" I asked.

"Meeting," Elijah said briskly. "Keep going," he said. I nodded and closed my eyes again. I was alone with Elijah. Would Damien be able to smell Elijah on me? What would he do if he found out? Would he kill Elijah? Damien had been so protective lately, it was smothering. How was it that I went from no one caring if I was alive or dead and now I had a mate who wanted to know where I was every second of ever day? "Naomi."

"What?" I asked, turning to Elijah.

"Are you focusing on the breeze of your breath?" he asked.

Nope.

I turned back and tried to focus. I took a deep breath and waited for the breeze to sweep across me. The air was still. A pang in my chest reminded me of how much I missed flying. I wanted to be flying right now.

Suddenly, a soft breeze fluttered over me. Heat flashed over me, and the breeze turned into a strong wind. Suddenly, I felt a sparkling at my fingers. I froze, keeping my eyes closed. I focused on the wind, urging it to increase. Faster, I urged.

It was like I was accelerating in a car. I wanted to go faster and faster.

Go.

Faster.