I giggled as I asked the prime question. "Those drinks are complete opposites."
"We'll be doing other things than drinking," he suggested. "And if we do it in a timely manner, the others won't come back to interrupt us."
"You have my attention," I concluded with a wide grin. "Lead the way, my King."
The title made his eyes darken while his grin widened seductively, and I knew this evening was going to be a wild ride.
We'll figure all of this out. We just need to keep gathering the pieces.
I walk on a path of darkness.
Each step sent out ripples of gold, orange, and pink. They lit the way towards a hall of mirrors, and as I continued to walk the unknown path before me, I saw flickers of other individuals.
Someone called me from afar and I aimed to reach wherever I was meant to be.
My eyes gazed to my left, and the image of a woman with black strands stared back at me. Her black eyes shifted to a glowing red while those strands that matched my surroundings suddenly lit up in multiple white strands that levitated like the aura around her. A silhouette of colors stood with her, like an army of eight but with different roles. They're the same, yet different, pieces of this beautiful woman of power and grace.
She disappeared into the darkness, like a flick of a switch, and my attention then moved to the right. This woman was similar to me. Not because of her striking orange hair or the way her eyes glimmered like mine. Flaming power coursed through her, but there was more than just one sole element of burning intensity.
She was walking at first, mimicking my movement as we took step after step, and then the flames ignited to create a wolf of flames by her side as she wore a masquerade mask that covered her glaring eyes. A smirk cloaked her red lips while a black layer of fabric trailed behind her. She walked with pride, power, and prowling danger, and like a blazing candle flickering in the depths of the night, she was blown out and vanished into the darkness.
I was alone once more, but I looked right above to see dazzling stars and constellations. The lines connected in various ways, making shapes and structures until a woman emerged like a god of the sky. Another replica of mine, with orange hair that danced with various colors.
Her expression was bold yet compassionate, her eyes loving yet fierce. She was a master of the stars that twinkled all around her and carried a wisdom that seemed far beyond her years.
I smiled because she was, and as though the night was just about to morph into daylight, she was gone with a blink of my eyes.
My steps began to slow, which cued my approaching arrival. Step after step, I arrived at the very tip of a tall structure. I was on the very top, but I wasn’t alone.
A woman with long silver hair was waiting for me, and as she turned around to meet my gaze, her pride was as obvious as her magnificent beauty. Stunning turquoise, like the ocean, ran through those reflective jewels, and her hair moved with the passing wind as the moonlight heightened the twinkling gold, turquoise, and white in those strands.
She wore a dress like the others, only hers was a blinding white that was covered with rhinestones. The strapless piece made the tattoo above her cleavage even more obvious as the magic circle with symbols within each section glowed ever so slightly due to my lingering acknowledgment.
I was unsure how I got here, but it was also a place I was supposed to be.
There were no other thoughts in my mind other than being here and now, waiting for this woman to reveal what my true purpose for tonight will be.
Her glimmering smile would bring tears to my eyes if I could sense my eyes. But they felt like the rest of my body, like a puppet being guided by a puppeteer.
“It’s a surprise to see you here," she whispered in gleeful wonder. "Your Spell Traveler skills are far more powerful than I would have imagined. It’s a good thing you survived the bridge incident."
I wasn't sure how to respond, but the deeper question was whether I could reply to her words. This woman felt like she was in a whole other league than I, from her sophisticated dress to the maturity she projected effortlessly.