30. Anevae

The next day went by in a blur as we devised a plan to rescue my sister and packed for our journey to Caellaias. I was nervous about leaving but knew I had to find Eiri. Momma"s stories of my grandfather made him sound cruel, and Maeyve"s impressions of him weren"t much different. I couldn"t wrap my head around what he wanted with us—especially since we were half-breeds. Of course, I also had to create a diversion for my parents so they didn"t rush to the area and not find us, so I texted my mom.

Hey Momma. I went to check on Eiri, and everything was fine.

She"s been denied several jobs, and she"s feeling really discouraged.

She wants to have a girl"s weekend where we"ll be disconnected from social media and our phones, so if we don"t answer you for the next few days, that"ll be why.

I love you guys. Talk to you soon.

Okay, my Lily. You girls, be careful, please. I love you both very much.

After receiving her message, I scheduled several texts to her in case we weren"t back in time. They detailed what had happened since I moved in, minus the details of my relationship with Maeyve, where we were, and how we"d gotten there.

When that was done, Maeyve and I sat down to work on our plan. She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen so she could draw a map and explain in more detail how we"d get to the castle. As she drew each portion, I remembered where each territory was and the beings that inhabited it. In the center was Eirvanna, home of the fae; to the north was Maiviraea, home of the shifters; to the east was Baeruil, home of the angels; to the south was Lamatorre, home of the vampires; to the west was Kaeuil, home of the demons.

After the territories were laid out, she went into more detail, drawing the forest and the Kolathus mountains. To signify the location of the portal, she circled an area where the trees meet the mountains. As she did this, she warned me that shifters guard the portal, but since we were both beings from Caellaias, they wouldn"t pay too much attention to us.

Then, she drew the castle, and my heart sank. "Please tell me we won"t have to walk the entire way." Knowing that a map could drastically differ from the actual distance, I was hoping she was misjudging the distance.

"Well, I don"t think we have much choice. I don"t have the money or resources to commission a carriage ride. I also need to stay as hidden as possible in Maiviraea; the last thing we need is for someone to recognize me and report my return to Madam Tanith."

"Okay. That makes sense. But how long will it take us to walk to the castle from the portal?" I asked hesitantly.

Maeyve bit her lip before responding, "A couple of days at least."

"There"s gotta be another way!"

"I don"t think there is, Anevae."

"Fuck it. You know what? Whatever. I just want to bring my sister home, where she belongs."

"We will."

"Is there anything else that will complicate the journey?"

"There shouldn"t be. It should be pretty straightforward once we reach Eirvanna."

"Okay, well, let"s round everything up and get out of here," I said, determined to get everything going as quickly as possible; the sooner we got there, the better.

About half an hour later, I stood staring at the door with everything ready to go. I was determined to save my sister, but the fear I"d developed of being outside crept up the moment I thought about opening the door.

"It"s okay, Anevae. You can do this," Maeyve said in an encouraging voice.

Taking a step forward, I gripped the doorknob, and my heart felt like it was beating out of my chest. It"ll be okay. We have to get Eiri. Then, I took a deep breath and slowly pulled the door open. As soon as I felt the breeze from outside, I got dizzy and slammed the door shut. I began shaking uncontrollably, and Maeyve came up behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist.

"It"ll be okay. I know you"re scared. Take a few more deep breaths, clear your mind, and try again," she whispered in my ear.

Doing as she said, I placed my hand over hers and squeezed when I was ready to try again. This time, I got as far as stepping one foot outside, but then I saw movement in the woods and scrambled back inside.

Maeyve approached me again and wrapped me in a tight embrace. "Don"t push yourself too hard. This is a real fear that you"re working so hard to conquer."

A tear slid down my cheek more out of frustration than fear. "I feel like every time I come rushing back through that door, I"m failing my sister."

"You"re not though. You"re working through your fears to get to your sister. Give yourself some credit for that."

With a sigh, I looked into her eyes. "You"re right. Thank you for your patience with me. I truly appreciate it."

Maeyve did a quick sweep of the perimeter, checking for the vampire or other beings. I was grateful to hear her say she hadn"t found any. It"s now or never. Get your ass out there and get to Eiri.

As I approached the door, anxiety built again. Taking one last deep breath, I ripped open the door and rushed out onto the porch, but I didn"t stop there; I ran into the grass and all the way to the tree line before I stopped. Maeyve was with me within seconds.

"Wait! Did you –" I began to ask frantically.

Standing before me, she held my shoulders. "I closed the door behind me and locked it on the way out. The house will be safe." Then, she smiled softly and said, "You"re doing great. I"m proud of you. Let"s go."

I squeezed Maeyve"s hand and leaned in for a quick kiss. "Thank you. You"ve been so amazing and helpful throughout this entire process. I don"t know how I could ever repay you for everything you"ve done for me."

"You don"t need to thank me. I know I keep saying it, but I would do anything for you. I felt a connection the first time I saw you, but I didn"t want to push it. I"m thankful every day that you came to my cabin to introduce yourself to me because if the roles were reversed, I wouldn"t have taken that first step. If I"m honest, I think I fell in love with you the moment I first met you. I know I"ve lived much longer than you, but I"ve never experienced love–not even from my mother. You"re a strong, beautiful, amazing woman who deserves the world. I don"t deserve you, but I want to be selfish and keep you anyway. I"ve never felt this way with anyone else, and I don"t think I ever will again."

A tear rolled down my cheek as I listened to Maeyve. I could feel how much she meant every word. When she was done, I wiped my tears and pulled her in for a deep kiss. As we separated, I glanced back at my cabin. I was determined to bring my sister home.

Maeyve stared at me with a question in her eyes, and I nodded. I was ready. She laced our fingers and led the way deeper into the woods.

A few miles into the trek, we came across a steep incline. Instead of going up the slope, we went around it. Several hundred feet ahead was the opening to a cave.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she squeezed my hand. We were nervous to go into this place for two completely different reasons, but we had each other, which helped calm my nerves.

As I looked into the cave, Maeyve stepped in front of me. "Things in Caellaias are very different from here. Some things are similar, but the protectors of the realm do what they can to avoid contamination between worlds."

I nodded, and we moved into the cave. When everything went black, I blinked rapidly, and my stomach roiled. The sensation made me pause, but Maeyve squeezed my hand and ran her thumb over mine.

"I"ve got you," she whispered, and that was all the encouragement I needed to keep going.