22. Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

" W hat do you mean you know where the cave is? What do you mean, you came here with Ryker? Are you serious? That seems to be what Ryker has been killing himself over for all this time, and you couldn't have told him?" I whisper-shouted into the phone. I couldn't do the whole soul–melody speaking thing anymore. It was something I was going to have to get used to, so I had called him on the phone, needing to hear his voice in my ears, not just within my soul.

He was quiet on the other end of the line. I waited for him to answer me, "He did not tell me he was looking for the cave. I did not know," he spoke quickly, as if he hadn't told me quickly enough, I wouldn't have believed him. "I don't understand why he hates you so much. You are one of the best people I have ever known.

"Mary said this crystal you gave me is keeping me hidden from this dark prince guy."

"Nothing will happen to you while Keil and I are here, I promise you, Emma. I will do whatever I can to protect you."

"Thanks, Shad. I am just so worried about Ryker, knowing he is out there all alone. What if the Dark Prince finds him and kills him, too?"

"Did you call him? Try to get a hold of him, and we can let him know that he can stop searching. I will gladly take him there."

"I will try." My soul's melody, happy that I knew its name, sang to Shad and called out for him, and he called back, his own song calling to mine, causing me to feel peace and calm. "How do you do that?" I asked through the phone.

"You and I are not like most people. We are special, even for Terrans. Did your aunt not tell you?"

"What does that mean?" I asked.

He cleared his throat. "We share a special connection."

"What?"

"We are better at communicating with our souls' melodies than others are. It is like our melodies long to reach out to each other and sing together."

"That is for sure," I laughed.

"Call Ryker. I know you worry about him. Call him and tell him that he can come home."

"Thank you Shad."

I tried twice that night to call Ryker, but they both went right to voicemail. I was certain that he was just busy hiking, and once he reached a place where he had service, he would check his voicemails—at least, that is what I told myself. It didn't seem like something I should leave on a voicemail, so I simply stated that Mary told me about my parents, and I knew everything, and that Shad had info on what he was looking for, and he should come home. I thought it was vague enough and yet detailed enough. He should've been able to catch on. I waited up until around three in the morning, hoping for a call back, and then I fell asleep.

I woke up to pounding at my bedroom door. I was still wearing my Homecoming dress. Did that all really happen last night? First, the perfect dance, and then, finding out I'm a princess from Terra?

"Come in," I groaned, and Mary entered, looking like someone had died. Her face was so pale.

"Emma, we need to go—now," she cried, running into my room and pulling open drawers, throwing things into a bag.

"What's going on?" I asked, trying to rub sleep from my eyes. I looked behind her. Shad stood in the doorway with Keil at his heels. He looked incredibly attractive in his black pants, and gray dress shirt—no tie. He also held a tall glass of water.

"Good morning, Emma; we are leaving," Shad said, walking into the room with a glass of water, placing it on my bedside table and holding out an aspirin in his palm.

"How did you—" I looked up at him, and he pointed to his heart.

"You are radiating a small headache in your emotional and physical forecast this morning," he answered with a smirk. I gulped down the medicine and drank the cool water. He was different that morning. His secret was out, and he was more relaxed. Is finally telling me his secret that much of a release for him? He always seemed so perfect, always saying the right thing and doing the right thing, but that morning, he was also so relaxed. I could feel it emanating from him, from his soul's melody.

Yes, it is, Emma , Shad spoke to me. I didn't look at him, because I was a little embarrassed that he could read me so well, and obviously hear me so well. Having a soul's melody was something I really needed to get used to.

"Mary, what's happening?"

She looked at me. "You fell asleep in your dress?" she quickly asked, shaking her head while she walked over to me. "We have to leave, Emma. Ryker was captured. We have to save him. He—they may—" Mary's voice cracked.

"May what, Mary?" I asked, standing up.

"Kill him—he is a guardian knight. He will not tell a soul what he knows, but that doesn't mean they won't try to rip it out of him, piece by piece." she shuddered. "You have to come. I am not leaving you here alone. Because Shad gave you that crystal, they won't know where you are, and the Dark Prince will not be able to find you."

"Who is this prince? Why is he here, anyway?" I asked with a gasp.

Shad looked at me with sadness in his eyes as Mary answered my question: "I am not sure if he is truly a Terran prince or not, but he has been on the hunt for you since your birth. He wants to take your melody and return home with it, there, trying to convince our world that he is the one that the Ancients foretold would come to restore our broken world. In doing so, he would destroy any hope for a return of the Terra we love."

"What will happen if he takes my melody?" I asked, fear creeping into my bones. Mary started to cry, and Keil held her. No one spoke, as if they did not want to say the words out loud.

"You become a shell, no longer a person. Without a melody, you would be walking around without a soul. It is a fate worse than death. This prince—Keil and I have seen some of the things he has done while here on Earth. We could never find him, but we found plenty of his victims."

I gulped, stood, and walked into the bathroom. I leaned over the toilet and promptly threw up. I closed the toilet seat lid, flushed, and ran to the sink to get the taste out of my mouth. Once I was done cleaning out my mouth, I sat down on the toilet seat.

"Are you okay, Emma?" Shad asked, standing as guard in the doorway.

I let a few tears fall. "Oh, me—Yes. I'm just peachy, Shad. I am not who I thought I was, my best friend is taken captive by some evil guy, that wants to torture and maybe kill him, and we need to rescue him; meanwhile, there is also an insane dark prince who wants my soul, which would leave me here as a zombie for the rest of my life. Am I missing something?" I glared at him.

He only stood there; his hands moved into his pockets, but his soul reached mine, calming me, drawing me in, whispering to me that everything would be okay.

"Stop it, Shad." I pushed his melody back.

He smiled. "Emma, that is true. All is as you have said."

I snorted and pulled my knees to my chest.

"But time for contemplation is not now. We must go and do; time is not on our side, Emma."

"You know what, Shad? I hate time. I think time should have its soul taken away. When is time ever on my side?" I shouted back at him, tears filling my eyes. "Ryker is dead. I know it. Everything dies—everything," I whispered in sobs. Shad kneeled beside me, pulling me into his arms—the electric feeling from his touch cocooned me—making me feel safe, warm, and loved. I wrapped my arms around his neck and cried. He patted my hair and placed his chin on top of my head.

"It is okay, Emma. He isn't dead; he lives. I know it."

I sniffled and started to gain control of myself. Our melodies were ringing within me, filling me with hope. "Nice trick," I said, pulling away from him.

"There are many benefits to our connection." He winked and kissed my cheek. It surprised me. Although it was a quick kiss, it sent my body into shivers, and I felt it calming me. He kissed the top of my head and stood up, pulling me with him.

"Now, as much as I love this dress," he smirked at me, nodding to my body. I looked down and saw my crumpled blue dress, and winced. I probably looked worse than awful. "We should really get you out of it for the drive and into something more comfortable; it is going to be a long one."

I felt heat rise in my cheeks. "Okay, I will change."

He stood there, looking at me, his eyes as golden as ever.

"I thought we were being quick?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Oh, yes, me—I should go." He gave a little bow and walked out of the bathroom door, almost tripping over the mat as he left. That was so unlike the Shad I had known. I laughed at him and sent it to him within my melody.

Are you going to change? He asked in my soul.

Yes.

Good.

Now, try not to focus on me so much. I said to him with a laugh.

But that is impossible. All my focus is you, forever, he said, and I could tell the face he was making on the other side of the door was a smirking one.

I touched my warm cheeks.

The only bad thing about our connection is that I cannot see you blush right now.

Ha-ha. I am not blushing–

You can not lie to me, Emma. Hurry up. Time is running out.

I heard his melody float down the stairs and into the living room and then end up in the kitchen. Mary came in then and started putting toiletries into the bag that she was packing for me.

"Change, Emma, as quickly as you can. I have packed you all the necessities for now."

I shuffled to my closet and opened a drawer that had workout clothes that I rarely used. I pulled out a pair of running pants and a workout shirt. I washed my face in the bathroom and pulled my hair up into a ponytail.

"Do you have hiking boots?" Mary asked, sticking a small folded towel in my bag.

"I have my gym shoes," I replied

"That will have to work. Hand me some socks."

I walked to my sock drawer and handed her some socks, and she shoved them into the bag. I put on my shoes. It was cold out that time of the year, so I walked back into my closet and pulled out a warm sweatshirt with a hood. As I tugged it on over my head, I heard Shad speaking to me:

We have to go—now! It was almost a shout into my soul.

I turned to Mary, who zipped up my bag and laid it on my bed. "Mary, Shad says we need to go now ; I think someone is almost here."

She froze and listened as if trying to hear something. She shoved the bag at me.

"Grab this; head to the car. It's in the driveway. Keil is driving. Get into the backseat with Shad. I will be there in a second." She ran from my room and into hers. There was one more thing I wanted to bring with me.

I went to my closet, bending down to the ground where I last placed my mother's storybook–history book–full of truths, not fiction. I tucked it into my bag and jogged to the driveway and slid into a car that I had never seen before, right beside Shad, in the back seat. Mary followed soon after with a bag in one hand and the black-silver wooden box from her dresser drawer in the other. She locked the door, and Keil started the engine. Mary slipped in, and before we could even buckle, we had sped off down the street, and I said a quick goodbye to my childhood home, hoping I would see it again—but not sure if I ever would.