Hell and Back

Chapter Twenty Three

As I focus on the darkness, I start to see faint images flash across my eyelids. Damien calls it intuitio. It means intuition. He says it takes a lot of meditation to really understand it, but it can help me a lot if I develop it more. He claims I already have natural instinct. I suppose by the way he's explains it, I do use it quite often, just never had a label for it.

"You're zoning out." Damien says gently.

"Sorry." I grumble back. We've been meditating for an hour which is way over our limit, but I really enjoy our sessions. After the night before, I thought I'd be in bed all day, but it was the opposite. I woke up feeling elevated and more energised than ever. I don't know if it's as a result of the sex Damien I had or not, but it felt amazing.

"Don't worry about it. Let's try something else." I open my eyes and he's inching closer to me on the yoga mat until we're face to face. "You're gonna try to read my mind."

I raise my eyebrow, "read your mind?" I question with obvious doubt.

"Does everything still surprise you?" He laughs. "Close your eyes. Trust yourself, Alena." Damien says. "What am I thinking about?" What is Damien thinking about? With my eyes shut, all I see is darkness, then a flash of an image of a cookie jar. "A cookie jar?" I ask out loud. Although it feels highly unlikely he'd be thinking about the most random object.

"Yes. I'm thinking about cookies. Chocolate chip to be exact." I open my eyes and they grow huge.

"No way. I was right?" He nods.

"Yep. If you keep practicing you'll get better but for humans it takes a lot of concentration, which is where meditation comes in." He explains.

I grin and I wrap my arms around him. "Thank you so much, Damien. I feel like a superhero." He embraces me back warmly and I feel so much love flowing through us I don't want to let go. Why can't it always be like this? I ask. Yet everything about our past still haunts me. Not to mention my supernatural experience in the castle. I never know what's lurking around the corner for me.

"You're welcome, babe." He responds. "Are you doing okay?" I nod against him. I'm not sure if I can even express anything to him. We sit in silence holding one another and just enjoying the moment.

"Your Highnesses." A strange voice announces from the other end of the room, snapping both Damien and I out of our trance. "We have urgent news to report in the Royal Room." I see Stacey standing at the doorstep with an amused expression. "If you'd like to join me." She adds. I wonder how long she's been standing there.

"We'll be there." Damien nods. "Is it an emergency?"

Watching him turn more stoic entertains me. As if 5 seconds ago he weren't melting in my arms. "No. Quite the contrary, actually. It's best if we show you." She says promptly and exits the room.

"Do you want to go now?" Damien asks.

"It's urgent, of course." I roll my eyes. He wasn't wrong when he said he struggles with the whole royal stuff. The business aspect, at least. He's very charming and the perfect face for this kingdom but lacks the ability to integrate his intelligence for the greatest of all of his people instead of himself. "Let's go." I start to head out the room.

"We're gonna have to finish lessons later, though." He notes. I want to groan at that. I know he won't forget, either. He loves showing off his strength. It's entertaining to me. Plus, he's hot so I just enjoy the show.

"Aye aye cap'n." I nod. Leaving the training room, it's easier for me to recognise where I'm going.

I see a lot of familiar faces along the way who all wave to me with a "Your Highness." I'm glad the Kingdom is starting to recognise me. Like really recognise me. Not as Alena, the destroyer of their King but Alena, the human who somehow unified their race. I don't bother to look back and see if Damien is following me. I'm more so trying to catch up with Stacey. I haven't really made contact with "The Outsider Crew" since we initially met. That and my weird encounter with Mari made me a little uneasy about it, but I'm not dwelling too much on it. There's more important things for me to focus on rather than making friends. And making friends isn't so easy when I don't know who to trust. That thought strikes me suddenly, and I slow down for a moment. It's a lonely road I'm on now, and I wish I could at least have my family by my side. Unfortunately, the universe didn't see fit for that to happen. Thinking about my brother still pains me sometimes, but I tell myself that everything happens for a reason. Even if there truly is no meaning behind my experiences, I'd rather die believing there's purpose to it all instead of none at all.