Destiny Gift (The Everlast Trilogy) - By Juliana Haygert Page 0,74
step in.”
Chapter Twenty Five
I told Victor and Micah which sign they should step into, then said, “But wait. We have to get in the circle at the same time.”
“In your vision, did you see what would happen?” Micah asked, eyeing the symbol before him. It had sharp lines, each one pointing to a different side.
I halted in front of my sign. It had curly lines. “Nope.”
“Morgan said this is the gateway to the Clarity Castle,” Micah said. “Perhaps it’ll take us there.”
And what would we do? Declare war on Imha just like that? I hoped that if the gateway took us somewhere, it was to a place far away from her.
“I don’t like this,” Victor argued. I rolled my eyes. At least he was already positioned beside his sign. It was composed of long, rounded lines and circles, similar to the Everlasting Circle symbol.
“Ready?” Both guys nodded. I took a deep breath and braced myself. “All right. Let’s do this.”
We stepped into the signs.
And an immense vortex of colors and power wrapped around us.
I saw a fourth figure approaching the circle and heard the guys’ grunts, then everything went gray.
***
I was surrounded by revolving smoke. It choked me and I gagged, nearly vomiting. Just when I began praying for it to stop, the smoke swirled into the shape of a room. A crystal room. With a crystal bed. Ceris sprawled on the bed, her body in a seductive curve. I looked around. Levi stood by the window, next to me, but obviously unaware of my presence.
“After thousands of years, you’re telling me you don’t love me anymore?” Ceris asked, an amused smile playing over her gorgeous features.
Levi shifted. His jaw went tight before he said, “You’ve changed. For many years now, you’ve been changing. Sometimes, I think I don’t know you anymore.”
Ceris laughed. “Love, you know me well. We’ve been together since the beginning of time.”
“You’ve changed.”
“But you saw my changes. You were with me through them.”
“But I don’t like how you’ve changed.” Levi turned to her, his clear eyes filled with disappointment. “You aren’t the sweet, selfless, and caring woman I fell in love with. Now, everything you do is motivated by self-interest. By the Everlast, there are occasions when you’re even cruel.”
Ceris got up from the bed. “Cruel, love? Me?”
Levi grunted. “Don’t pretend you don’t know. I see in your eyes when you’re pretending.”
“I’ve changed. So what? Everyone does.”
“We are not everyone. Our personalities and the way we live are the main rulers of our properties. You’re the patron of love, family, beauty, and marriage. But you’re not living by love, family, beauty, and marriage anymore.”
“A mother can fight for her family!” Ceris’s melodious voice gave out to a croaked shout.
Shaking his long, golden hair, Levi walked to the door. “A mother guided by love would find less destructive ways to fight for her family.”
The god left the room and Ceris wept.
The walls melted and were replaced by smoke. After a few seconds, the swirls of dark mist formed another image.
This time, I was in the crystal throne room. Ceris screamed. Imha and Omi stood still, as if paralyzed, on the other side of the room. The other gods cowered in the back. Shock crawled up my spine. I knew what I was witnessing. This was the moment right after Levi and Mitrus died.
“You!” Ceris spat out, pointing a finger at Imha. “You killed my love! You will pay for this!” Her eyes glowed red as she lunged at Imha, but she halted when the goddess of chaos pulled out a spike from behind her.
“I wouldn’t move if I were you,” Imha snarled. “Or you will have the same fate as your lover.”
Ceris’s eyes went from red to blue to dull gray. “By the Everlast, you planned this so they would kill themselves.”
Imha’s hysterical laugh raised the hair on my arms and the back of my neck. “Yes, dear Ceris, I did. And, you might say this was a good plan, wasn’t it?”
Ceris wobbled as if she were about to fall or faint. She reached behind her, but there was nothing to keep her up. Tears streamed down her face. “The Black Thorn. Are you insane?”
Imha tsked. “No, my friend, I’m just greedy, and I’ll go to any lengths to get what I want.”
“What is it you desire so much to kill for?” Ceris wiped away the tears. Her knuckles grew white from grasping her scepter so tight. To me, she seemed to be struggling not to cast