Chapter 5 Escape from the Mortal Realm

Night was still shrouded in quiet when Kael pushed the ignition button and steered the car onto a deserted piece of road. Elara sat next to him, hugging her knees tightly to herself, observing the town fade from the rearview mirror. She had nothing, no suitcases, no belongings, no memories in the shape of pictures. Only the searing scar on her shoulder and a guard beside her who insisted he was hers.

And yet something within her whispered: This is where she was meant to be.

They traveled through forests older than maps, along roads that existed nowhere on GPS, until even the stars above seemed foreign to them. The trees grew taller, wilder. The light of the moon grew acute. The world bent slightly around them, like reality was being rewound.

Elara spoke up. "Where are we heading?"

Kael kept his eyes on the road. "To Eldoria. A city that does not appear on human maps. It lies beyond the veils of worlds, where our people exist in hiding."

"Our kind," she repeated. "So, is it true? Everything, Lycans, vampires, secret kingdoms?"

"More real than anything you've ever known," he added. "And more dangerous."

She leaned against the window, resting her forehead on the glass. Memories swirled in her head-Garrett's smirk, the cold shoulder from Mrs. Harrow, the never-ending grays of her life. She should have been scared. She wasn't. She was. Awake.

"I never fit in there," she murmured.

Kael looked at her. "That is why you were not meant to remain there."

As the hours wore down, the car came to a halt at the precipice of a cliff. Far below lay a sea of silver mist. A ruined bridge stretched halfway across, broken apart into nothing. Night still wore the hush of silence when Kael pushed the ignition to life and drove the automobile onto a vacant strip of highway. Elara sat next to him, hugging her knees tightly, observing the fade of her town in the rearview mirror. She possessed nothing, no suitcases, no personal belongings, no pictures of the past. Only the searing brand on the back of her neck and the presence beside her of a total stranger who claimed to be her guardian.

Yet, deep inside herself, she heard a voice saying: This is where she was meant to be. They traveled through forests that dated back before maps, past roads the GPS did not show, until even the sky above grew alien. Trees stood taller, wilder. The light of the moon grew keen. The earth bent slightly about them, like reality was winding back.

Elara spoke up. "Where are we going?"

Kael eyed the road ahead without looking away. "To Eldoria. A city that doesn't appear anywhere on the human map. It lies between the veils of the realms, where people like us reside in hiding."

"Is that so," she repeated. So, is it true? Everything, Lycans, vampires, secret realms?"

"More real than anything you've ever known," he told her. "And more dangerous."

Elara rested her forehead on the window. Her mind swirled with memories, Garrett's smirk, the cold shoulder from Mrs. Harrow, the endless grayness of her existence. She should have been scared. But she wasn't. She felt awake.

"I did not belong there," she whispered.

She looked at him. "That is why you followed us," she concluded.

The vehicle came to a halt at the rim of a cliff. Far down beneath lay a sea of silver haze. A partially ruined bridge reached halfway to the ground, disintegrating into rubble.

"We walk from here," Kael said.

Elara followed him out. "Across that?"

He smirked. "Not exactly."

Kael removed a silver medallion from around his neck and held it up. The air shimmered, rippled, and then the mists parted, revealing a hidden stone pathway suspended above the abyss.

Elara gasped. "Is it... safe?"

"Only if you're meant to walk it."

She hesitated. "What happens if I'm not?"

"You fall."

She stared at the steps. Then at him.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

Her heart thundered, but she nodded. "Yes."

They stepped onto the path.

The wind whipped around them, screaming through the canyon. Elara felt the stone shift beneath her feet, not in weight, but in memory. Every step forward came with a whisper, a ghost of a life she hadn't lived. A cradle. A fire. A woman's voice singing a lullaby in a tongue she didn't know.

Halfway across, she stumbled.

Kael grabbed her hand. "The bridge tests you. It wants to know if your soul belongs to Eldoria."

"Does it?"

Kael looked at her, eyes unreadable. "We're about to find out."

The final step was the hardest.

As soon as Elara's foot touched the last stone, light burst from the cliffside, an enormous archway carved from obsidian and bone emerged from the mountain wall, runes glowing across its surface.

Kael stepped forward and placed his palm against it. "Kael Thorne. Bloodworm Guardian of House Moonstone. I bring her home."

The runes flared.

Elara's mark burned in response.

The gate groaned open.

And beyond it, a city of twilight revealed itself.

Eldoria.

Floating towers. Trees that shimmered with bioluminescence. Roads woven from moonlight and crystal. Creatures with wings, horns, cloaks, some human, some not. And at the heart of it all, a massive palace that pulsed like a living heart.

Elara's breath caught in her throat. "This is..."

"Your inheritance," Kael said. "If you survive it."

She turned to him. "What do you mean?"

"You've entered their world now," he said. They'll see your mark. They'll remember the prophecy. Some will want to follow you."

"And the rest?"

"They'll want you dead."