A WAR AMONGST THE STARS

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The Dark One manifests into a thick cloud of tiny, sparkling purple crystals and the most ominous of shadows.

Floating upwards, he stops his ascent, hovering just at the height of The Star. And there, extending out of the darkness, a hand peeks through, followed by an arm and before I know it, the top half of his body is revealed, not one of which I knew last, but a new one. A dark purple, glimmering one just as profound as The Star's beautiful, glowing form that transcends before him.

Cur'rav moves in close to speak. "He touches that star, I bet you he will not live to—" The Star allows his hand to grace her cheek.

Tiny flakes of gold dust blow from her figure like the softest breaths of air, yet they do not fall but sparkle amongst the intruding shadows that extend towards her.

"I have been waiting for you," his unfamiliar, yet divine voice speaks to her.

"Well, what do you know? He lives," Emerlum states.

They stare, peering deeply, as if somehow seeing into the eyes of their very souls. Their gaze resembles that of an intimate longing, a reunion, and I do not know what to think. I do not know what to feel. How to—to feel about the... intimacy.

Neither speaks a word but takes one another's hands. A synchronized unity, they turn towards my direction and descend together, bright, holy, and otherworldly.

With a flawless manifestation into their original forms, as their former entities glittering energies fade and they surrender, Serena and The Dark One's bodies become visible. They become, them.

A shielding of material begins to materialize out of thin air, rising from their feet as they touch upon the ground with a grace of regal elegance. White and onyx. A matching look. A uniformed duo. There stands my mate dressed in an all-white suit of armor, her face hidden behind a wide, lowered hood. And him, the one next to her. Just the same, but opposite in color. Light and darkness. How symbolic. How—befitting.

Her head lifts and there, she pulls back her hood, her gaze finding mine in the thick sea of faces.

My mate... she smiles, a wide, beaming, beautiful smile.

"Serena," I gasp. I move in haste towards the one who holds my heart.

"Zurhen," my wide-eyed beauty speaks.

She leaves him, dropping his hand to sprint towards me.

As we race to be reunited, leaping over the dead, the remaining crowd divides, parting for our reunion. A collision. Our bodies collide like two mountains forged by a continental drift.

I immediately lift her, crashing my lips upon her own with a hunger not suitable for the public eye.

As I envelope her with a tight hold, her little arms and legs lock around my neck and waist.

With fingers laced through my long, thin locks, she grips my hair with a strong, delightful yank, grasping my strands with an aggressive, needy claim. "I heard you," she cries against my heavy pressed mouth. "I—I saw you." She stops, staring into my eyes with much sorrow. "Zurhen... I tried to come to you. I banged and banged on the door hoping someone would free me, and when I felt your fear—when I felt your pain, I blacked out and she—she escaped," she reveals. "How is such a thing possible? How was I able to sense you? How was I able to feel you? See you?"

I did not think of it before. How could I? It was long ago during my youth when I last studied the tale of heartmates. I had forgotten all about the bond and what it entails. Truth is, I did not pay much attention that day. Not when all I could think of, was how excited I was for mother to be bringing my younger sister into the world at that exact moment.