Love’s Eternal Fire

Chapter 22: Mating Party

Kesiray's POV

A week has passed since I came out of the hospital. My bandage was now gone, but there was a distinct circular scar on my neck, reminding me of what happened every time I looked in the mirror. My training to take over had started the day after the party and seemed to consume every waking hour I had. Thazel wasn't talking to me right now, still livid over the decision that had been made. Despite my pleas that I had nothing to do with what our parents decided, she still wouldn't speak to me. I knew she would soften over time, but I hoped it wouldn't take too long.

Tonight was the day of what I was calling the 'mating party' because that's what it was. It was a party that would put me in the same room with all the unmated males of each tribe in hopes my fated mate was one of them, and if not, I would have to choose one as my mate. My parents had already left for the hall, but I was lingering in the bathroom, finishing getting ready at a snail's pace. I wanted my fated mate to be one of the people coming tonight, but I had this weird feeling that I was betraying someone. It was a feeling I couldn't shake, no matter how often I reminded myself I didn't have a mate to betray.

Finally, I decided what I had done was enough, and it was time to head to this party. I knew the party wasn’t just for me, but it sure felt like I would be on display. When I left my house, it seemed like the entire tribe was empty. I knew I was a little late, but it seemed like I was the last one to get to the party. The hall where the party was being held was near the east side and would take a few minutes to walk to. I could have flown, but maybe I was delaying a little on purpose. Walking along, I looked at the flowers lining the forest, blooming in beautiful blues, whites, and pinks. Spring and summer were my favorite times because all the flowers erupted in colors, turning our tribe into a magnificent floral wonderland. Something interrupted my thoughts, or rather, someone. An arm wrapped around my torso, pinning my arms to my sides, while a hand went up to cover my mouth and stifle the scream I was about to let out.

“Shhh,” someone breathed in my ear, dragging me back into the forest's darkness. “It’s me, Savion.” Who the he** was Savion? Trying to fight them, they were clearly too strong, and I could sense they were a phoenix. The person holding me came to a stop, keeping a firm grip on me and covering my mouth.

“I don’t know you,” I mumbled into his hand, completely unintelligible. Although I had no idea who this person was, I wasn’t scared of him when I heard his name. The man named Savion released me, and I quickly spun around, taking a defensive stance.

“Kesiray, thank god I found you,” he said, relieved. "Sorry for the rough welcome but I was afraid you might call for help before you realized it was me."

“Who the he** are you?” I asked, spreading my wings to take off at a moment's notice.

“What are you talking about?” He asked, looking confused. “You know me.”

“Sorry, buddy, but fairies don’t know phoenixes,” I told him bluntly.

“What? How do you not remember me? I was with you and Solaris until we all got separated,” he said, still looking at me like I was insane.

“I don’t know a Solaris,” I told him, which changed his expression from confused to shocked.

“Okay, now you’re just playing with me. Solaris, your mate, you have his….” He trailed off, pointing to my neck.

“Look, I don’t know who you are or what you want, but I don’t have a mate,” I said, confused as to why he wasn’t attacking me.

“This has to be some kind of joke,” he said, looking exasperated and pacing back and forth. "I’ve been locked up for a week but clearly missed something.”

“Okay, well, I have a party to attend, and if I don’t show up, people will come looking for me,” I told him.

“This has to be what the guards were talking about. The ball tonight, they said, is a mating ball, but I just assumed it was for Ryse. Wait, does this mean Solaris has no idea who you are?” Savion seemed to be talking to himself, utterly unaware I was still there. "Someone must have done something to the two of you, erased the memories of the last week and clearly before that since you knew each other as kids."

"I'm gonna go now," I told him, taking a few steps backward.

"Wait!" he said, holding up his hands. "I promise what I'm telling you is the truth; you have to believe me. You have a mate, but somehow you've forgotten him."

"Okay..." I replied, taking another step back.

"Listen, I can't go back to my realm. I know that you remember him; you have to, deep down inside. When you do, meet me off the stone path in the forest. There's a large tree, larger than any in the area. You two used to play there as kids. I'll be waiting for you there," he told me. Savion turned and walked back deeper into the woods while I looked confused after him. Shaking my head, I turned and went back the way he had dragged me. Everything he had told me made no sense, yet why did I feel like I knew him? This was unbelievable. Clearly, he was a delusion person who had escaped. He had said he was locked up; maybe there was a reason for that.

Entering the hall, I saw the party was in full swing. This hall was enormous; it had to accommodate nearly fifteen hundred of the fairies that had been invited. The place was packed, with people walking all over the place, some carrying trays of food working the party and others in line for drinks near the multiple bars set up. Hundreds of long rectangular tables sat throughout the room, each with its own golden tablecloth and matching cream place settings. A band was playing, and in the middle of the room was a large dance floor with people twisting and twirling. I smiled at all the happy faces, trying not to think about what happened with Savion.

It seemed like my mother was drawn to me like a moth to a flame; she spotted me the second I walked through the doors and made a beeline for me. Someone was following her, a very handsome someone. He was a water fairy; I could tell from his brilliant blue eyes. His sandy blonde hair was perfectly quaffed on top of his head, and he smiled at me, showing bright white teeth.

"Kesiray, there you are. I was starting to think I would have to come and get you. Allow me to introduce Halem Obinden. He's from the Wester tribe and is the son of the leaders of the water fairies. He was very excited to meet you," my mom said, blinking her eyes quickly, looking from me to him.

"Hello, Kesiray," he said in a higher voice than I expected for his muscular physique. "It's nice to meet you; your mother has told me so much about you."

"It's nice to meet you, Halem," I said, grabbing the hand he had extended to me.

"Well, I'll leave the two of you to chat; I think your sister is waving me over," she said, slipping away and disappearing into the crowd.

"So, Kesiray, tell me about yourself," he said, looking down at me with a hunger.

"There's not much to tell," I said, looking around for anyone I knew.

"Your mom said you're going to be taking over the earth fairies here," he said, leaning against the doorframe.

"Yeah, not something I was expecting, but I'm trying to embrace it," I said.

"I wish I were taking over for my parents, but I have three older brothers who all got a shot before me," he replied.

"Maybe count yourself lucky; it's not all it's cracked up to be," I said, having to shout a little over the roar of the band playing. The entire time we talked, the only thing I could think about was my conversation with Savion. The place where he told me he would be waiting sounded like the tree I had discovered last week. I hadn't given much thought to it, except the hazel blue eyes I had seen kept haunting my dreams. Solaris was the name he used, and he said it belonged to my mate, but how was that possible? Wait, what did Gwena write in her note to me? It had said something like 'Ray, remember Sol.' I hadn't looked at it since first finding it in her house; maybe I needed to take a second look. Could Sol be this Solaris Savion had spoken about? If so, how could two people who had never met each other be talking about the same person?

"Kesiray, did you hear me?" Halem said, getting closer to my face.

"What?" I asked, pulling myself out of my spiraling thoughts.

"I asked if you wanted to get a drink?" Halem asked, looking worried like something might be wrong with me.

"Yeah, that would be great. Why don't you go get them, and I'll wait here," I told him.

"Sure," he replied. Before walking away, Halem took my hand, winked, and kissed the back of it. What should have been a flirting jester only made my stomach turn. Once he had gone out of sight, I dipped out the door back outside. Spreading my wings, I flew to my house. Throwing up the door, I sprinted up the stairs to my room, needing to see that piece of paper. Yanking my bedside table drawer open, I riffled through, trying to find what Gwena had left me. A few things toppled out of the drawer in my haste and landed on the floor. Finding what I was looking for, I stared at the words Gwena had written on the paper. 'Ray, remember Sol...' It was clear as day, but was she talking about the same person? Was I forgetting someone I wasn't supposed to?

Taking a step, I kicked something under my bed. Bending down, I saw it was a pencil that had fallen from the drawer. Reaching for it, I only knocked it further back; straining, I reached my arm as far under my bed as possible. My fingers hit something hard that I didn't even know was there. Grabbing a hold of it, I pulled out a brown box that I hadn't seen before. Taking the lid off, I saw the box contained only a few items, most of which looked like handwritten letters between Thazel and me. On the top was a small folded piece of paper that didn't match the rest. Picking it up, I unfolded it and read the words written in a handwriting I didn't recognize, it said 'one day, I'll find you again.' Staring at the paper, I narrowed my eyes, rereading it.

Out of nowhere, I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. I gasped loudly as images and memories began flooding my brain. Those hazel blue eyes, but now attached to a man with short brown hair and a dashing smile. The two of us on a picnic blanket, eating sandwiches, him kissing me in a bed, holding me tight, running through the forest in the middle of the night, centaurs all around us holding bows with arrows pointed at our hearts, sitting in chairs in front of another man, a man I knew was named Alpha Bastan. The person who had betrayed us and sold us out to our families. It was like I had been in the dark, and someone finally turned on the light, all my memories rushing back in a giant wave crashing down on me. Falling back against the side table, I blinked, unable to believe what had just happened; only one word escaped from my lips as I sat on my bedroom floor,

"Solaris..."