Deathless [ON HOLD]

Chapter 4

It's hard to wrap my mind around it. This morning I was struggling to decide whether to wear my hair up or down, and now I'm traveling through a portal, going past the boundaries of space and time.

"Welcome to 'The Abyss'," Ronan says. The first thing I see is his face, shrouded by the darkness of the night, though close enough that I can see him. He's grinning, prideful of his homeland.

Between the time that we stepped through the portal and the words Ronan spoke, only a second had passed. I blinked and, in one second, I had traveled from one world to the next.

I gape at my surroundings. The moon hangs in the night sky, reminding me of my own world, if not for its bloody hue. The moonlight bathes the rugged terrain, giving it a haunting yet entrancing air.

"It's beautiful," I breathe out. Ronan grins, pleased by my comment.

Occasionally, I see figures whistling through the air, too fast for the naked eye.

I can barely make out mountains kissing the sky, taller and more domineering than any mountains I've ever seen on Earth. Surrounding us is a forest of green, probably home to many dangerous creatures; even the trees seem sinister in appearance. I also notice a difference in air pressure – slightly heavier than my own world, but not enough to make breathing difficult.

This world is similar, but there's more to this place that I have yet to figure out.

This is Ronan's home. And I had lost my home.

"Identify yourself." A single, monotone voice snaps me out of my trance and I dart my eyes around in the dark. I identify the owner of the voice as a middle aged man in a dark robe, heavy armor over his clothes and a sword sheathed by his side. Several other guards dressed similarly line up behind him in rows, as still as a statue.

The portal we've stepped out of is much grander than the one Ronan made at a whim. Although I'm not sure how this world works, those guards seem to control who comes in and out of this world, and they don't seem too thrilled to see us.

Ronan lays a hand on my lower back and urges me closer. He bends his head to whisper, "Stay close to me," brushing his lip on the tip of my ear in the process. I almost jerk back, his breath ticklish against my skin.

"Alright," I whisper into his arm, grateful that the darkness would hide my embarrassment.

Out of thin air, a badge appears next to Ronan and floats towards the middle aged man. Nodding, the man steps out of the way and lets us pass.

Blade against wind. There's something about that grating, high pitched noise that fills you with a sense of crisis. It is with this sense of crisis that I turn around just in time to see a sword piercing the air, heading my direction. My senses dull, leaving me no time to react. I'm paralyzed.

Ronan lifts his hand, the sword stopping a few inches from his palm. "What's the meaning of this?" He says indifferently. From this close distance, I can tell he's secretly irritated.

"Young lady," The middle aged man says, ignoring Ronan. "State your reason for your presence in the human world."

What am I supposed to say? "I...was..."

Ronan glances at me from the corner of his eyes, seemingly trying to send me a message. "Can't you see? I was showing the miss around." He suddenly pulls me towards his chest, wrapping his arms around me. I can hear his heartbeat – slow and steady. Slow, steady, and oddly comforting.

"We're lovers," he says with a smirk, playfully twirling a lock of my hair with his fingers.

L..Lovers?