The Crystal Mines

37 Nik

Grass. There was fresh grass under me, poking softly into my cheek and the holes in my ratty clothes. Faolan crawled to me and flung his arm over my torso. Together, we cried from the depths of our souls, holding on tight to the horrors we had barely escaped.

"Nik?" someone sobbed on a whisper. "Oh gods, it actually worked!"

And then there was Taury kneeling next to me and flinging herself at me into an embrace. The sounds that came from us were nothing short of raw and primal. A keening based solely on the mourning of a horrible situation, finally resolved. When we finally got a hold of ourselves long enough, Taury helped us stand, taking in our condition. Garren walked up, tears in his eyes and they roamed across our bodies. I'm sure it wasn't a pretty sight.

In front of me stood Emyr and Syphor, hand in hand, crying along. Next to them, were a man and woman, beautiful beyond anything I could dream up. The man wore s robed shirt that went just beyond his waist with loose but warm loose trousers. The woman wore a similar outfit, but with scrolling gold and silver thread, making her look delicate and strong. At seeing the woman's red hair, I could only guess, were Emyr's parents. The man came forward and bowed slightly to us, bringing a gasp out of the small crowd around us.

"Welcome, Nik. I am King Hesper, and this is my wife, Queen Luxana. I take it you know our daughter very well. Welcome to the Kingdom of Ashburn." Emyr nodded proudly, tears wet on her face. "There are many people that are eager to see you, but first we must address the other that have come with you. We were only expecting you, your friend, and the prince."

Others? I turned around, seeing for the first time who had come through the portal with us. Beyond Faolan and Sorin, stood Reed and... Mohan. A Sibling had followed us through. How in the Hells did he notice when not even Erix did?

"Why?" I asked Mohan.

"Because you showed me something had been stollen from me. I wish to discover it." Mohan's silky voice said, clear and wholly his own.

My face fell. The otherworldly creature that I had dared to show a bit of myself to, had had his eyes opened. I walked to him and took his extremely pale hand and sent him all that I was feeling in that moment. Mohan stumbled, overcome by the rush of emotions. When he looked at me, I saw bright blue tears staining his face. Curious, he wiped at the wetness and looked at, stunned.

"Well, I've never seen that happen before," Reed said.

I faced the King and Queen of Ashburn. "This is Mohan. He was trapped there longer than any of us and is like a baby, discovering the world for the first time." I walked to Reed. "This is Reed. He was our guard, but we soon learned that he had been subject to Erix's abuse, same as we were."

"And who is that?" Taury pointed to Sorin.

I had forgotten no one else knew about him. It had been the plan for so long to take him with us, that I hadn't realized no one would no who he was. "This is Sorin," I grabbed his arm. He looked down at me, taller than I had been able to depict in the mines. His eyes golden and gleaming with emotion. "He is Ameer's brother."

The group was silent. And in the seconds, it took everyone to process the information I had just dropped, I dared to search for the one person I was hoping to see.

"He's not here, Nik," Taury said gently.

I tried not to start crying again. "Where is he?"

"They are coming. Everyone is. They were waiting on my dad's boat. They should be here by nightfall."

I nodded, heart pounding at the prospect of finally being able to hug him, touch him, see him, in the flesh. Nightfall seemed an eternity away.