Love’s Eternal Fire

Chapter 12: Sanctuary

Kesiray's POV

"Hey," I replied, shaking Savion's large hand. I was surprised to find anyone else here but Solaris.

"I'm sure you're wondering what I'm doing here, and we can answer all your questions, but if you ask me, we need to keep moving. There's no telling if anyone saw you leaving or if people will know you're gone," Savion suggested.

"The werewolf realm is a couple of hours away," I told them. The werewolves occupied the most extensive realm, with multiple packs inside. They were the closest to us regarding places we could take refuge. The fairy realm was smaller, even though we had various tribes inside. The Phoenix territory wasn't as far, which might be why it was so easy for them to attack us.

"Do you think we're far enough away to fly?" Savion asked.

"I'm not exactly sure where we are, but if we stay low over the trees, we'll probably be alright," I replied.

"No matter what happens, we stay together," Solaris said, taking my hand. I nodded, and both he and Savion picked up their bags. The three of us took off into the night sky, the warm air whipping through my hair. We stayed low. My feet occasionally grazed the tops of the trees. It seemed unfathomable to me that I was in this situation right now. Had I been told a week ago I would be leaving my home in the middle of the night with my mate, my childhood sweetheart, I would have called you nuts. Still, somehow, it seemed right in all the panic and stress. Solaris was holding tightly to my hand as we flew, Savion just in front of us leading the way.

We had to fly over the mermaid and centaur realms to get to the werewolf realm. These places were not welcome for people like us. Both mermaids and centaurs were untrusting creatures. They didn't allow anyone who wasn't their kind into their territory. I hoped flying over would be alright. If we flew around, it would add another few hours to our arrival time.

"What werewolf pack are we looking for?" I asked.

"I think our best option is the Blood Night pack. I've heard they're very accepting of other creatures, more so than the other packs," Solaris told me.

"We want to avoid the Midnight Stone pack," Savion said, falling back to fly on my other side. "I hear they kill anyone that entered their territory, no questions asked."

"Do you think we'll be able to stay there indefinitely?" I wondered.

"We should stay there for a couple of days and then keep moving. The dragon realm isn't that far, and untapped potential is on the other side. The three of us could make our own home somewhere," Solaris said.

"Let's make sure we don't get killed by wolves first," I joked.

The three of us flew for a while, and at one point, I could see the large lake beneath us, which belonged to the mermaids. There were different species of mermaids, fresh and saltwater. The saltwater ones lived on the coats, calling the beach and the ocean home. These had the largest lake in the supernatural world at their disposal. They were known for sneaking up on unsuspecting people and pulling them into the lake, killing them. It was known by most people not to venture near the mermaids. The three of us were flying higher now, having had to dodge arrows being shot at us from the centaurs.

The sun was rising on the horizon before us, just a fragment of golden and pink light shining from behind the mountains. Long beams of light shoot into the neverending heaven above. We were heading East and had to be getting close to our destination. My wings were tired and threatening to give out from hours of endless flight. Solaris and Savion seemed fine, their phoenix ability to fly for hours and carry heavy loads taking control. I didn't want to seem weak, so I did my best to keep up with them, willing my wings to keep beating as more of the sun appeared over the mountains. My body felt so heavy and weak; my wings were slowly failing me, and I could feel myself losing altitude with each second.

"Solaris..." I called. He and Savion flew in front of me, watching below for any unfriendly exchanges. They didn't seem to hear my feeble voice over the roar of the wind. "Solaris..." I tried again before my wings gave out, falling back inside my body and sending me plummeting to the ground.

"Kesi?" I heard as I looked up to see Solaris and Savion still flying. "KESIRAY!" Solaris had realized what had happened; I saw his figure turning and darting down towards me, his wings beating as fast as possible. He looked like a bullet hurtling through the sky. If he weren't quick enough, there would be no coming back for me. Fairies couldn't heal like wolves or other creatures. I tried desperately to use my powers to create a safety net to catch me, but my powers were drained, exhausted, and spent on all the flying. What was the point of having powers if they failed you when you needed them the most?

The ground was getting closer and closer, and as I hit the tops of the trees, something large and red caught me. Bouncing off tree and branch, Solaris and I came to rest on the ground, leaving a long skid mark of embers in our wake. Solaris had caught me in his large wings, using them as a shield to protect us from the shrapnel of splintered and broken branches. He opened his wings, cradling me gently in his arms. Savion landed close by, folding his wings under.

"You could have just asked for a break," Solaris said, worried lines on his forehead as he looked down at me.

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that," I joked.

"Uh, guys," Savion said, sounding scared, which didn't match his appearance or demeanor. Looking around, I saw we were surrounded by at least one hundred centaurs, all with bows raised and arrows pointing directly at us. This was the first time I had seen a centaur in person, and they were terrifying. The bottom half of a horse combined with the top half of a man or woman, and none looked friendly. Their heartless black eyes stared at us with hatred, like they couldn't wait to be given the order to kill.

"It appears we have captured some intruders," a voice said. Cantering out into the line of fire came the largest centaur yet. Towering over even Solaris and Savion, his broad chest and muscular arms carried a bow, the quiver on his back. This one had very long black hair falling down his back. His brown tail swished, the color only slightly darker than that of his lower body. The fur stretched until his navel, transitioning into the dark skin of his human half.

"We don't want any trouble," Solaris said, tightening his grip on me still in his arms.

"Then why are you here?" the man asked.

"We were just passing overhead. My mate got tired and lost her wings," Solaris explained.

"So, you're the ones we've been shooting at. It's not wise to pass over the centaur's territory. We shoot first and ask questions later," he sneered.

"We're just passing through," Solaris told him again.

"Strange that a fairy would be in the company of two phoenixes, let alone be mates with one," the man replied with a questioning look. "I was led to believe you were mortal enemies."

"We are; that's why we left," Solaris told him. "We're looking for sanctuary."

"Unfortunately, if you're looking for sanctuary, you won't find it here," the centaur smiled, likely about to tell his men to attack. I braced myself for the rush of arrows, but it didn't come. Instead, there was loud growling all around us. Prominent furry dark figures soared over our heads, landing on four paws in front of us, snarling. The centaurs backed up but didn't lower their weapons.

"Plataeon," a new and much deeper voice said. A new man had come to stand next to Solaris and me.

"Bastan," Plataeon said, turning up his nose slightly.

"Alpha Bastan," the man corrected. "I'm not sure why I'm seeing you in this area."

"This territory belongs to the centaurs!" Plataeon spat.

"Correction, it used to belong to you. Now it belongs to the Midnight Stone pack; we won it fair and square," Alpha Bastan told him. Plataeon just barred his teeth and padded at the ground. Didn't Savion say Midnight Stone was the pack we wanted to avoid?

"This won't be forgotten!" Plataeon yelled, but instead of attacking, he turned and disappeared into the forest, his men retreating after him. The wolves in front of us waited until the sounds of hooves faded into the distance. They withdrew themselves, leaving us standing in the glowering presence of Alpha Bastan.

"I'm sorry for the rough welcome," Bastan said, coming to stand in front of us. "The centaurs haven't been very happy since we took part of their land. A small price to pay for our ever-growing pack, and we can't intrude on the other packs around, seeing as we have a peace treaty among us." Bastan was a very handsome man, probably in his mid-thirties, dressed in all black with dark brown hair that was cut short on the sides but lying longer on top. His brown eyes matched the darkness of his hair, and his demeanor left something to be desired. I could tell he was a hard man, probably not one to mess with. His sharp chin and pinched expression gave him the same look as a praying mantis.

"That's alright, Alpha," Solaris said, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice.

"I do have to wonder what two phoenixes and a fairy are doing so far away from their lands," Bastan questioned.

"We're passing through and were hoping to find sanctuary with the Blood Night pack," Solaris explained. He still had a tight grip on me, almost painful, like he was afraid if he let me go, I might vanish.

"Deep breaths; no one will hurt you," Bastan assured us.

"How can we be sure of that?" Savion asked. "The stories of the Midnight Stone pack are known even to our kind."

"Yes, I'm sure they are, but all those stories come from the doings of my father and grandfather. Lucky for you, I don't share their same views," Bastan said. "Now, it's very early morning, and you've had a rough night by the looks of you three. Come and find sanctuary in my pack. Later today, we can meet with my Luna Kivela and Beta Armin to discuss what happened to you." Solaris looked at me and then at Savion. I wasn't sure we could trust Bastan, but he didn't kill us on sight, which was more than a lot of other wolves would do. Savion nodded, and I did the same.

"Alright," Solaris said.

"Firstly, I want to know your names," Bastan asked.

"I'm Solaris Icarus."

"I'm Savion Ashborne."

"And I'm Kesiray Willowbead."

"Ah, well, I dare say, one child of a clan leader and the other the child of tribe leaders. You must have an interesting story to find yourself way out here," Bastan said with a smile.