When The Stars Align

chapter twenty four | in the dark

"CAREFUL, CARFUL, you don't want to injure her even further. She's fragile and needs the rest. Trust me, this is what needs to happen."

Lysander decided to blindly follow the older woman, because it seemed like she would be the only one to know of something that might help his little sister. The second he, Atticus and Jazlyn spotted Ansen walk into the house, he knew things weren't going to be good.

Atticus insisted on going ahead and supporting Vera for backup, which seemed ideal since he couldn't die but himself and Jazlyn could. He also took the amulet - the very thing Ansen Gray wanted.

"Trust me, we're going to need it," Atticus had said. And yeah, they did need it. But according to Alaina, the amulet was the very reason why after Ansen disappeared, Vera was found with a heartbeat so slow it seemed like it was going to stop any second.

Lysander blinked, trying to bring himself back into the present. He and Atticus had just placed Vera in the ruins of the castle of Auxillium. She was positioned right under the clock tower - the very center of the castle, just as Alaina wanted. Broken pieces of white marble surrounded them.

This was exactly where the three of them found the amulet - right in the center of the castle. Lysander knew it was probably a bad idea to leave his sister alone, especially when he wasn't supposed to leave her alone. But he lost Atticus once already, and Jazlyn was going to follow him. He didn't trust her one bit.

"Tell me again what happened," Lysander said, trying to make sense of it all. "Why is my sister on the brink of death? And how the hell did Ansen disappear without a trace."

The older woman positioned Vera, making her look like she was sleeping in a coffin, hands folded neatly over her stomach. Lysander had too many nightmares where he saw his sister in that exact position. The thought of maybe one day having to bury her haunted him, especially after the death of his parents, and he was glad that day hasn't come yet, and his sister was back in his life.

But now, just barely here.

"Your sister has a capability to hold and control a lot of power. Magic," Alaina started. "What the amulets does, or at least did, was it collected the magic given from the stars and regulates it within the kingdom. Who gets what powers, and all that. Of course, since magic has been dormant for so long, all the magic was built up in the amulet.

"When someone wears it - which is usually only for emergencies - it stores the extra power in the body of whoever is wearing it. Your sister, being heir to Noatra, can wear any of them without needed another one to balance everything out. The amulet supplied her with the power in the jewel - which was a lot."

"So the power was supposed to kill her?" Lysander asked.

The older woman rolled her eyes, which threw Lysander off guard. She was a grandmother and acted like a teenager? "When will you understand, Captain, that your sister is immortal. Nothing will kill her until she has a child suitable to be an heir. No, the magic would just overwhelm her, which it did, and she was surprisingly able to control it."

"So..." It still didn't explain why his sister was on the brink of death right now.

"Your sister had centuries old of magic enter her body and the blast from the man, Ansen, was that his name?" Lysander saw the mark on the woman's neck from a blade. "That magic was used in the counter attack to save your sister from any more harm, but that counter attack also consisted of the magic that was in her family bloodline. That was supposed to stay in her until next week, at least."

"Next week," Atticus repeated. "You mean, her birthday. The alignment of the stars."

Alaina nodded. "The Queen's coronation, yes. The second the moon reaches its highest peak and the queen is crowned, the magic is reset, the next two hundred years of magic entering her body, making her stronger than ever. The magic she used in the counter attack should've kept her running until then, but now..."

Lysander gulped. She'll be okay, he told herself. Alaina had convinced him to believe that she wouldn't be in a life or death situation if she couldn't die. Worst case scenario, she stays unconscious - in a barrier between life and death.

"We can still help her," the elderly woman said. "Atticus, place the amulet around her neck - be careful though, be gentle with her head. Then both you and the Captain, stand back. Cover your eyes, preferably."

Atticus pulls the amulet out of his pocket and walks to Vera slowly. He clasps the jewel around her neck, placing the gem on her heart. Lysander couldn't help but notice the worry in her eyes. It wasn't just a friendship between the two of them - Lysander knew it and he knew Atticus knew, too.

The two of them took a couple steps back as the woman took a seat, cross legged, beside her, closing her eyes and taking a breath.

"What's she doing?" Lysander asked Atticus, who just shrugged. The older woman was probably full of ancient surprises, but this was ridiculous unless she really knew a thing or two about magic and that wouldn't be possible unless-

The palace roared, echoing in the walls of the abandoned building. White light filled the room.

Lysander should have taken the woman's advice and covered his eyes.