Love’s Eternal Fire

Chapter 4: Unexpected Meeting

Kesiray's POV

Eighteen years later

"Ray, are you listening to me?" Thazel barked, shaking me back to reality. She was in a rousing debate on whether or not she should have the napkins at her daughter's third birthday party be green or a light sage green.

"What?" I asked, coming out of my daydream.

"Honestly," Thazel huffed, rolling her eyes. "Which one will Genevieve like the best?"

"Which green napkin will your three-year-old like best?" I confirmed in a mocking tone. "Thazel, she's three, and she doesn't care what color napkins are on the table. She won't be sitting long enough even to take notice."

"Oh yes, she will," Thazel replied, examining both fabric swatches closely. "Indi and I have spent too much time planning this party for her not to sit and enjoy it." Typical Thazel fashion, needing to control everything about every situation. I swear both her daughters spent more time sitting in chairs than outside playing in nature. That's why they liked it when I babysat them; I let them do all kinds of fun things Thazel never would.

"Speaking of Indi, where is he, and why isn't he helping?" I asked, looking down at the binder full of china patterns.

"He's meeting with mom, dad, and the fairy queen. Since he and I will be taking over the earth fairies soon, they thought he should attend the meeting," Thazel replied, still eyeing both fabrics, which looked virtually identical if you asked me.

"Why didn't you attend the meeting?" I questioned. She just looked up at me, giving me a disapproving look.

"Then who would plan this party?" she asked.

"No one, just throw the kids outside and let them run around and eat cake. It's the perfect party for a three-year-old," I suggested, much to her annoyance.

"This party is for one of the future leaders of the fairy lands," Thazel scoffed, gathering up all the binders, swatches, and papers littering the table in her dining room. "It has to be perfect."

"It will be, but please remember, it's a three-year-old's party. Not everything will go how you want it," I reminded her.

"Everything will go exactly like I plan it," she told me sternly, her face stiff and body rigid while she worked to clear the table. Shaking my head, I was happy to be done helping her for right now. I was planning to help my friend Gwena prepare for her class tomorrow. Gwena taught the young water faires water manipulation once they got their powers at sixteen.

Kids started school here at five, but that was only theory of magic; they didn't get to put that theory to the test until their powers came in. I remember receiving my wings and powers for the first time twelve years ago. The first thing I thought was I would be one of the unlucky fairies that didn't receive wings or powers. Some fairies got wings but no powers, while others got powers but no wings; it was all up to the Gods and Goddesses. Getting up from the table to help Thazel clear it, the house was shaken by the loud sound of our warning drums. Those drums meant we were under attack, generally by the phoenix shifters.

"Sh*t!" I exclaimed, dropping the binder and running for the door.

"Ray, come back here!" Thazel yelled from the doorway as my wings exploded from my back, and I took to the sky. "You're not a warrior! LET THE WARRIORS HANDLE IT!" It was too late; I was flying across the land, heading toward the smoke billowing off the trees to the south. Getting closer, I saw the bright red wings of the fire fairies shielding water fairies as they worked to put out flames. Others were battling large phoenix shifters in the sky, throwing fireballs left and right. Coming to the aid of another earth fairy named Wiline, I dove on top of her, knocking her out of the way, a fireball whizzing by so close, I could feel the heat on my arm.

"Thanks, Ray," she said, taking off again and back into the fray. I saw my mom hovering low, trying to assess the situation.

"Mom!" I called, flying to her side.

"Kesiray, what are you doing here!" she asked, looking angry.

"I'm here to help," I told her.

"No, go back home! You need to stay with Thazel and protect Labivia and Genevieve," she ordered.

"I want to fight!" I yelled over the loud rumbling of exploding tree limbs.

"HELP! HELP!" someone screamed from nearby. Without thinking, I tore towards the voice coming from the woods. Weaving in and out of the trees, I saw a light fairy who didn't have wings hiding behind a tree almost entirely engulfed in flames. Swooping over, I grabbed her hand and pulled her out of harm's way, flying her away from the situation where I set her on her feet. Her name was Vivielle, and she was only eighteen.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked, ensuring she was okay and seeing a burn on her arm.

"I was just out enjoying the sunshine when the attack happened," she sobbed, large tears rolling out of her golden eyes.

"Get yourself back and to the infirmary," I told her.

"Vivielle!" a voice rang out. I turned to see her new mate, Coric, flying towards us. Now that made sense. They were out together, far away from the main area.

"Get her out of her," I ordered. Coric scooped her up in his arms and took off. A cracking behind me made me jump, whipping around and taking a defensive stance. It wasn't a phoenix emerging from the trees but a man. A tall, muscular man with short brown hair. His square jaw and thin lips looked so familiar. Instantly, I could sense he was a phoenix, but why wasn't he attacking me? He looked confused, like he was seeing a ghost, with his eyes narrow and eyebrows pulled together. When I looked into his blue hazel eyes, I narrowed mine, knowing I knew who this man was.

"Kesi?" he asked in a deep and sexy voice. The wind changed directions, and I finally caught his scent. I filled my senses, intoxicating like sage and teakwood. It was the most fantastic smell in the world; my legs felt weak the longer he looked at me and my heartbeat quickened.

"Solaris?" I breathed, remembering he was the only one who called me Kesi. This also meant that Solaris was my mate; my childhood sweetheart was standing before me as a full-grown adult, the most handsome adult I had ever seen, and he was my mate. There was just one problem: he was a phoenix, and a relationship with a phoenix was forbidden.

"I can't believe I'm seeing you again," he said, taking a step forward, which I matched with a step back. He stopped when he saw my hesitation, and a hurt look took over his face. "What's wrong?"

"I..." was the only thing I could stammer out, and suddenly, something large and reddish orange swooped down, capturing my attention. It was another phoenix coming to aid Solaris. Turning, my wings lifted me into the air, and I flew away from Solaris quickly before anything happened. I saw my mom confirming with one of the heads of the fire fairies, Elorin. It seemed the fighting had ended, the water faries still fighting blazing trees and bushes.

"Mom," I said, landing beside her.

"Where were you?" she demanded.

"It was Vivielle. She was in trouble, but I helped her get to safety," I explained. "What brought on this sudden attack?"

"That's what we were just discussing," Elorin said in his deep, commanding voice.

"Listen," my mom said sternly. "Go home and check on Thazel and the girls. Indi isn't home right now."

"I know; I was with Thazel when the alarm sounded," I explained.

"Just go," my mom said. "I'll come to talk with you later. Your father is tending to the wounded." Looking over my shoulder toward where Solaris had been, my wings spread out behind me, lifting me into the air. I didn't go to Thazel's house; instead, I returned home to where I still lived with my parents. Heading straight for my room, I got on my hands and knees, peering under my bed. Reaching as far as I could, my hand hit what I sought.

I pulled out a small brown box with a lid from the dusty depths of the black hole under my bed. It was only the size of a book, but I would never part with it. Sitting on my knees, I put the box on my legs, took the lid off, and looked at the contents for the first time in a long time. Most of the paper inside were letters my sister and I had written as kids, sliding them under each other's doors like a secret. Moving some out of the way, I saw the one tiny piece of crumpled-up paper I wanted. Picking it up, I unfolded it, looking at the messy scribble for the first time in eighteen years. The words 'one day, I'll find you again' that Solaris had quickly written on the last day we saw each other.

I always thought about him for the first few months after we were separated, thinking of ways to sneak away so we could reunite. My parents had moved our home and kept me locked up for years, only letting me out under escort to go to tutoring and straight back home. My relationship with Thazel was strained for a solid year after everything that happened, but slowly, we became friends again. Solaris had faded from my memory after eighteen years, but seeing his hypnotizing eyes, each day we spent together as kids flooded back in a sea of memory, happiness, and anguish.

"What am I doing?" I muttered to myself.

Standing up, I slipped the small paper into my back pocket. Flinging open my door, I bounded down the stairs, bursting through the front door and out into the warm air. Letting my memory and wings guide me, I flew through the sky, back to where Solaris and I first met. Landing at the base of the thick tree, now even taller, I looked up. Still standing was the platform he had built for us as our ship. The old blanket sail was long gone; only a few strands rustling in the breeze remained, and the twine had deteriorated long ago.

The platform's boards were worn and decaying, sagging in the middle; given my size, I didn't dare stand on them now. This tree looked huge as a child and was our playground for many adventures. Now, it looked small, minuscule compared to what was playing in my memory. I did wonder if any of our hidden treasures still lay in the hollow part of the trunk. How had time passed so quickly, and how had I easily forgotten him? We played every day together for hours, laughing and running from place to place in no man's land, avoiding the wandering eyes of our communities.

"Are you surprised this thing is still standing?" a voice said. Spinning, I saw Solaris appear from between the trees, looking as handsome as ever, his red T-shirt pulled tightly over his muscular physique. "Because I know I am; at least I'm surprised one of our parents didn't burn it to the ground." He walked towards me slowly, each step calculated and hesitant, like I might fly away again. "I told you one day we were going to be mates."

The smile he flashed me nearly stopped my heart. His thin lips pulled back, showing beautiful teeth contrasting his olive skin. My mind was hazy; no coherent thought was coming in or going out while I stared into his eyes. The mate spell was pulling me towards him, begging me to wrap my arms around him and make him mine, but that was crazy, right? We couldn't be mates even if the gods wanted it. He was so close that I could only smell his sage scent, swirling around me like an enchanting mist.

"Solaris..." I breathed, wrestling with myself; part of me wanted him to stop his advance, but another part wanted to feel his hands on me, touching me and kissing me.

"God, you're so beautiful," he said, reaching his hand out to place a long strand of my brown hair behind my ear. The contact our skin made, however small, sent jolts of electricity through me, making me gasp since I hadn't expected it. "I thought I was never going to see you again," he breathed, inches from my face. I looked up at him since he was at least a foot taller than my five-foot-three self.

"I know," I mumbled. "I didn't either." Solaris leaned toward me, ready to capture my lips in our first-ever kiss. I reached up to meet him, only millimeters from his lips now, his breath making the baby hairs framing my face flutter.

"RAY!" someone shrieked, breaking our mate haze. Quickly, I backed away from Solaris, my back hitting the tree, placing a hand over my mouth. "KESIRAY!"

"I'm sorry, I have to go," I apologized, trying to hurry past him as quickly as I could.

"Wait!" he said, clasping my arm to stop me from flying away. Warmth was spreading through where his hand was on my arm, tingling up and down. "I wanna see you again." Looking from his hand up into his face, I got lost for a second. I wanted to say no, to tell him the best thing we could do was reject each other, but when I opened my mouth, something unexpected came out.

"Okay, meet me here tomorrow at noon." Solaris flashed me another dashing smile, probably remembering those similar words the first day we met when he said the same thing. He let my arm go and backed up a few paces. Turning, my wings spread, and I was up into the air, flying away from my forbidden mate toward my irritated mother, still screaming my name.