Sleep with the Lights On ✔️

20. Rainclouds

Peros had moved to a sofa in the sitting room, he didn't know what to do with himself. Is this how he'd spent his days before Cassie had arrived? The anthology of enchantments sat on the table, out of curiosity he picked it up. Flipping through the pages, he wondered if he could do magic now. He hated to admit it, but he was feeling much better since ...

He came across a simple spell to produce a light source, "fakós" he whispered. A pulsing ball of light rose out of his hands, still clasped around the book. He stared at the light in awe, he thought that doing magic was impossible. He took a breath and felt the magic flow through him, keeping the light glowing.

He exhaled and released the magic, watching as the light faded. He felt strong, the weary feeling in his bones that he'd gotten used to was lifted. Cassie and Essylt saved him, and while he was feeling better than ever, his heart ached for both of them.

The light had completely faded, but he stayed gazing at the space where it had been. Something in the air was shifting, it made him nervous. A whole new range of intuitions and instincts were now available to him, he wondered if things would have turned out differently if he'd had instincts like that before.

Cassie burst into the room, her brows furrowed and her mouth set in a hard line. "All I need to do is help him ascend to Valhalla," She said, after a moment of glaring at the ground. "then, I can go home."

"Is it possible to ascend all the way to Valhalla?" Peros asked, what Roan had said to him about Cassie ascending rang in his head, he couldn't tell her. He was still hoping that there would be a way for her to get home, he was counting on the miracle.

Cassie shrugged, "He seems to think it's possible." She slumped into a chair and continued to glare at the floor. "It's because my family was blessed by an angel. That's probably why I can do magic as well. I can't believe he was sending nightmares to my sisters as well, it could have been any of us, but I was the one to break first, or the one to believe." She spoke rapidly, Peros only barely caught what she was saying.

He stared at her, he couldn't think of anything to say that would make her feel better. "His ascending to Valhalla will upset the balance of the underworld," Peros mumbled. "Are you sure you should be helping him?"

"Helping him is the only way I can get home. As soon as I can go, I'm leaving," Cassie said, her gaze drifting up to Peros' face. Her eyes shone with mixed emotions. "I'm sorry."

"Please stop apologizing, I understand. I'm not going to keep you here," Peros said, he couldn't keep eye contact. His stomach ached at the thought of her leaving, but he wanted her to go home. He cared about her enough to know she shouldn't stay.

Cassie nodded, looking back to her hands. They sat in silence, the air was thick with unspoken words, inexpressible feelings. She stood up to go back to her room.

"Peros!" Roan was banging on the door. Cassie had disappeared into her room by the time Peros had the door open for the breathless vampire. "How are you?" He lumbered over to the sofa and sat with a thud.

"I'm doing well, how are you?" Peros asked, he couldn't think of why Roan would be in such a state. Roan rested his hands on his knees while he regained his breath.

"I was doing well, I went for a walk around the grounds, and I've come to tell you what I saw," Roan was speaking carefully now, and quietly. "I saw dark rainclouds, moving fast towards the estate."

Peros stared, his father had talked about rain before but he'd never experienced it.

"The Archeron's have found us," Roan whispered. "If we want to survive, we must leave now." Peros' body tensed and he bolted to Cassie's door.