Hidden Hallows

Queen Cara narrows her eyes at me in suspicion as Kian looks at me in confusion. I continue to make eye contact with her until she sighs and says "Okay... A soul recognition is where two souls recognize each other. They recognize their other halves... Two halves that make a whole."

She sits at the table and continues "It"s rare and something we honor and treasure deeply here." I sit completely still and refuse to look at Kian even though I can feel him staring at me. She leans forward in the seat and says "Now, you two have two options... You can complete the bond or... You leave the bond incomplete and return to your time."

I watch her closely as I ask "How many people have left the bond incomplete?" She keeps a straight face as she says "Not a single elf." It"s so silent, I can actually hear the wings of the Dragonflies flapping as they move from flower to flower.

I struggle not to look at Kian but I can"t even last a full minute before I finally cave. When I slowly look to him, I quickly look away. I was not prepared to see the amount of pain and loss on his face and in his beautiful eyes. My black heart aches a bit before I quickly shove down my feelings and lock them away.

Maybe he really did became a demon because of me... was it because I left the bond incomplete? Could I go through this "bonding" thing just to save him? "Your situation is unique. You"re not from this time so you can"t stay. You have to head back on the next full moon or you could literally cease to exist." Queen Cara suddenly says easing my guilt a bit.

Kian suddenly steps forward and asks "Can I go with her to her time?" Queen Cara quickly shakes her head "no" and explains "You don"t exist in her time. You would disappear as well. This is part of the whole "why we don"t mess with time". You can"t exist in a timeline you"re not originally part of. The universe has an order and it will do what it has to, to keep it."

I can see Kian"s disappointment but it grows even further when Queen Cara says "Leave us. I want to teach her magic and we can"t have any distractions." Kian"s jaw tightens as he looks at me one last time before bowing to the Queen and leaving.

When I look back to Queen Cara, she"s giving me a knowing look. She arches a dark brow at me as she says "Now that we"re alone, tell me about the Kian in your time." I knew she knew... This woman is entirely too smart.

I sigh in defeat and say "I just met him... an evil coven witch killed herself on a summoning circle and summoned a demon. That demon is the Kian from my time." Queen Cara looks at me with wide, shocked eyes as she whispers "Demon?"

I nod my head and say "I"ve honestly wondered if they were just somehow related to each other or something but... After looking into his eyes, I knew it was him. Is there any way to stop him from becoming a demon?" She remains staring at me with shock before slowly looking away, deep in thought.

She seems to do this a lot... After a few moments she says "I really don"t know. What happened has already happened. To alter that you would possibly be altering an entire timeline. You could throw everything into chaos... kill hundreds or more."

My face drops as I think about all the people I may or may not kill by saving Kian. "Or... nothing would happen." She says with a shrug. I gape at her as I say "You don"t seem too bothered by this whole thing."

She gives me a knowing grin as she says "What has happened will happen, with or without your consent and demons aren"t all that bad..." I narrow my eyes on her and say "About that... are there demons here?"

She quickly nods her head as she says "Of course! My grandfather went to war against them in his time but we have a treaty of sorts now. They stay in their realm and we stay in ours. Demons are some of the oldest "fae" to exist."

I nod my head and then ask "Why do you seem to know so much about all of this?" She gives me a secretive smile as she says "Are you ready to learn how to unlock your full potential?" My heart skips a beat in excitement as I nod my head and say "I thought you"d never ask."

She chuckles at me and claps her hands twice. Suddenly, the greenhouse disappears and we"re standing in an open field with nothing around us for miles. I look around as she takes a step back saying "I want to know how strong you are so I"m going to start out with a few simple attacks and move up."

I widen my stance and nod my head saying "Ready when you are." Not even a second after I finished my sentence, I find myself flying back at an alarming speed. I hit the hard ground, back first, knocking the air out of me as the pain suddenly hits me.

I blink and look up to see her looking down at me with concern. "Are you okay? I didn"t realize you were so.." I quickly cut her off and croak out "Don"t say it. I"m not fragile." I sc.r.a.pe myself off the ground and use my magic to heal all my internal bleeding as I look at her with disbelief and confusion.

What the h.e.l.l just happened!? Seeing my look, she sheepishly giggles as she says "I just gave you a light push." My eyes nearly pop out of my head as I look at her and say "A light pus.h.!.+? THAT WAS A LIGHT PUs.h.!.+??"

She gives me an apologetic look as she says "This is only the start. Are you ready?" I take a deep breath and roll my shoulders as I say "Ready"