The Realm Protectors - Chapter 48: Chapter 48

My head spins when we emerge from the tunnel. I stumble slightly, still feeling nothing but the insane adrenaline from what just happened. Ciana is hurt, Ciana is dying, Ciana was stabbed. I shake my head to try and clear the thoughts but only succeed in making myself dizzier. Bile rises in my throat and I hunch over, coughing.
"Easy," Lyra soothes, placing her hand on my back. "The channels between the Realm and the Otherworld are becoming unstable. Travel will be more straining."
"You could've... warned me," I get out between coughs. My stomach churns, and I think I may throw up.
"Where are we?" Lyra asks, ignoring my statement. I lift my head, looking at the land around us—exotic shades of green and blue, sandy beaches, and warm sun.
"Must be Hawaii."
More tunnels open around us, people appearing dressed in the uniforms of the Otherworld Elemental Guard. My mom steps out of one, looking around. She spots me leaning over, seeing all the blood. Her eyes go wide and she runs over to me, falling to her knees in the sand.
"Faris!" Mom frantically looks me up and down. "What happened? Are you hurt? What's wrong?"
"I'm fine," I assure her, standing up straight. The spinning in my head dissolves into a light pounding in my temples, allowing me to function regularly. "It's not my blood."
Mom breathes a sigh of relief. "Who's blood is it?"
My heart pounds as memories flash through my head. Ciana is hurt, Ciana is dying, Ciana was stabbed. "It's Ciana's."
"Ciana?" Mom asks. "What happened to her?"
"We found her barely conscious underneath a pile of trees that were blown over from the blast of the collapse of the Vesi gateway," Lyra explains.
"Someone stabbed her with a knife coated in darkness," I close my eyes, trying to blink away the image of her limp body. "Darkness poisoning directly into her heart."
Mom clutches her chest, "That's awful."
"That is why we are here," Lyra says. "There is now only one gateway remaining in the Realm. Tunneling between the worlds is already becoming dangerous. Faris nearly puked."
"Still a possibility," I remind her, my stomach still churning.
"That's why this one was so intense," Mom says, turning around to speak to her companions.
"What was so intense?" I ask.
"The earthquake," Mom replies. "A rock slide collapsed on our side of the gateway, but it was an earthquake that triggered it."
"Hawaii gets earthquakes all the time," I remind her. "What's the big deal?"
"This wasn't an ordinary earthquake. It shook the entire island of Hawaii."
I blink at her. "And?"
"And the rest of the world too." One of the other Elemental Guardsmen says. "One big quake, the same magnitude everywhere."
I turn to Lyra, who has a shocked look on her face. "Is that even possible?"
"We never knew for sure what things could happen if the ties between our worlds began to collapse," Lyra replies. "It is entirely possible. Anything is."
Mom pats my shoulder. "We need to go scout the area – make sure there aren't any residents nearby that got in any dangerous situations."
"Fine, let's make it quick," I say, looking down at the blood staining my armor. "I need to get back and check on Ciana."
My mom purses her lips. "You need to do your duty as Arch Ambassador first, Faris."
I grit my teeth. "I know, Mom."
She gives me a 'don't sass me' look, turning around to her companions. "Let's move out." Her group splits up into three sections, each heading in a different direction. Mom turns to Lyra and me and gestures north. "We'll take the north."
Mom leads us through a dense section of forest, pushing aside undergrowth and low-hanging branches. She leads with purpose, something that I've always admired. Her job comes first in situations like these, and she'll set aside her own needs to protect her people. Born in the Otherworld, she left her family to study in the Elemental Realm before graduating and becoming an inter-world protection officer. She moved back to the Otherworld and started protecting gateways and helping Otherborns cross into the Realm for their first time. She met my dad a few years later, and they got married. He was brought into her work, where they briefed him on all the secrets of the Elemental Realm. He took the Vow of Secrecy, promising to never reveal to anyone that elementals exist. A few years later, a car containing an elemental family crashed, causing the parents to die. The child–just a toddler–was miraculously saved. Being the youngest couple working for the Elemental Protection Agency at the time, the toddler was given to my mom and dad to raise. And that's the story of my life.
I still think about my birth parents sometimes – wondering what they were like. My mom and dad were never briefed on who the elementals who died actually were, or if I had any more relatives in the Realm. The head people at the Protection Agency just gave me away and wiped their hands clean of the problem. My mother still isn't happy about that fact, but she continues to do her duty.
"I don't like that look on your face," Mom says, shaking me out of my thoughts. She fell back to walk beside me at some point.
"What look?"
Mom cocks an eyebrow. "You know exactly what look."
"Fine," I huff. "I was thinking about the day you guys found me."
Mom's face turns solemn, like it always doesn't when I talk about the day they found the car wreck. "What about it?"
I shrug. "I don't know. I just... so many events could have led up to me not being here. So many little what-ifs that could have led to me never going to the Realm, or never meeting my friends, or..."
Mom's eyes sober when she realizes where I'm going. "Or never meeting Ciana."
I look away, watching my feet break through the underbrush.
"You must really care for her," Mom says.
"I..." Birdsong ripples across the forest. "I think I really like her, Mom. A lot. I was gonna ask her out tonight, but then everything went wrong this morning. And now I don't know if I'll ever get the chance to ask her, or listen to her laugh, or see her smile–"
"Faris," Mom stops me, putting her hands on my shoulders. "Breathe. She'll get through this. She's strong and powerful, and the doctors in the Realm are some of the best."
"I know, but–"
"But nothing," Mom interrupts me, waving away the thought. "Put it on the worry tree, and focus on your job."
I blink at her. "Mom, I haven't done the worry tree since I was like six."
"I don't care," Mom smirks. "The worry tree isn't just for kids. I use the worry tree every night. Do you know what I worry about?"
"Me being all by myself in charge of a Realm?"
"What? No," Mom frowns. "Winning the lottery."
I stare at her for a minute before she bursts out laughing.
"Yes, I worry about you," She shakes her head, still laughing under her breath. "So come on now, let's put our worries on the tree." Mom reaches behind her back and mimes pulling out a giant pot. She holds out her hand. "Say it out loud."
"I remember how the worry tree works," I roll my eyes, a smirk stretching across my face. "I'm worried about Ciana not getting better."
Mom pinches the air between her hands, miming picking up a bauble and hanging it on the imaginary tree. "There. Now it's stored somewhere safe, and you can pick it up later if you want."
"I could probably have Avani make me a little tree to use instead of this fake stuff."
Mom rolls her eyes. "Avani would laugh in your face, and you know it." I chuckle under my breath.
"Mrs. Stellato?" Lyra calls from a few yards ahead of us. "I have found something." Mom goes back into work mode like some switch has been flipped in her brain, scurrying through the forest to reach Lyra. I hurry to catch up with them.
"What is it?" Mom asks. "What's wrong?"
"There is a bird up in the tree," Lyra points up to a branch a few feet above our heads. "Her nest has fallen to the ground."
Mom sighs, pressing a hand to her chest. "I was worried you had found a group of hikers in danger."
"I suppose the situation is not as drastic as I made it seem." Lyra smiles softly. "My apologies, Mrs. Stellato."
"No need," Mom grins. "Animals are important too. Faris, will you get this poor mamma her nest back?"
"With pleasure," I nod. Wind rushes through my veins as I call for my ability. A breeze lifts the next off the ground, carrying it safely back up into the tree. The mamma bird tweets with delight at the sight of her nest, and three little babies pop their heads out of the fuzz inside.
"What a beautiful little family," Lyra coos, staring up at the group of birds.
Mom pats my shoulder. "Yes, a beautiful family indeed." Mom's phone buzzes with texts from the other group leaders. "We're all clear," She reads. "You're free to go back to the Realm."
Lyra opens a tunnel, slicing her hand through the air. My stomach churns in anticipation of the trip.
"Come on now, you're not thinking about leaving without giving me a hug, are you?" Mom asks. I chuckle and turn around, wrapping my arms around my mom's small frame.
"See you soon," I tell her.
"Go get 'em, Faris," She whispers.
I pull away, steeling myself with a nod. Lyra motions for me to go first through the tunnel. I take one last look back at my mom before stepping through. Stars and planets swirl around me dizzyingly. Spots dance across my vision, whether from the tunnel or from my own dizziness, I'm not sure. We're finally spat out outside the Saari hospital, the tunnel closing behind us. Black spots dance across my vision, and I barely make it to the trash can nearby before the contents of my stomach come churning up my throat.
"We probably should have waited a little bit longer for your stomach to settle," Lyra hums to herself, standing off to the side. I give her a side-eye while I wipe my mouth.
"I'll be fine," I sigh, taking deep breaths. "I just need some water."
"I shall go get you some," Lyra nods, walking towards the hospital. She turns around at the doors. "Wait here."
I give her a thumbs up. She scurries inside and comes out a few minutes later, with two bottles of water in hand. I use one to rinse out my mouth, spitting the excess bile into the trash can. When my mouth no longer tastes like the inside of my stomach, Lyra and I make our way inside. I chug the other bottle of water as we approach the front desk. The lady behind it startles as we approach.
"Your Highnesses," She bows her head to us. "Arch Leonide has just been moved to the High Arch Suite. Your friends are there as well. I'll have someone escort you up there."
"Thank you," Lyra smiles. The desk lady presses a button on her desk, sending a calm beeping noise echoing through the hospital speakers. A nurse scurries over to us a few seconds later.
"Meira, please escort these two up to the High Arch Suite," The desk lady says.
"Of course," The nurse–Meira–grins. "This way, your Highnesses." We follow her down the hallway to our right, feet tapping softly on the tile floor. Bland paintings line the beige walls in an attempt to bring life to the building. It all just comes together to make the building feel grim and gray – exactly the feeling you don't want to have in a hospital.
Meira swipes an ID card in front of a scanner. The double doors in front of us open, leading down another hallway. It branches off at the end of the hall, with an elevator between the two directions. Meira pushes the up button, making it light up blue. She taps her foot while we wait for the elevator. Lyra looks around at the walls.
"How is she doing?" I ask, interrupting the silence.
Meira hums, spinning to face me. "The Right Arch? I'm sorry, I don't know. I'm a pediatric nurse. We focus on any children who come in here."
"Oh," I feel a flush rise on my neck. "Sorry. I didn't realize."
"Don't worry about it," Meira grins. "I can tell you, though, that if she were doing badly this place wouldn't be this calm." She motions to the empty hallways around us.
"No, I suppose not," Lyra hums. The elevator dings, the metal doors opening. Meira ushers us inside, swiping her ID against another scanner. A small hatch opens in the wall, revealing a keypad and a small scanner. Meira types in a password before turning to me.
"I'll need your fingerprint," She says. "The High Arch Suite is protected from the public." I nod, stepping up to the scanner and pressing my thumb against it. A blue light scans my finger before the whole pad lights up with a small ding. The elevator begins to rise, going up eight levels before stopping. The metal doors open again, revealing a large room filled with couches, a TV, and a kitchenette.
"Thank you," Lyra nods to Meira. The nurse nods back before pressing the down button on the elevator, leaving us in the suite.
"Faris? Lyra?" Someone calls from down the hallway to the left.
"Yeah, it's us," I call back. Nile and Carter emerge from the hallway, both carrying a bag of chips from the vending machine.
"We were wondering when you'd be back," Carter says.
"Mrs. Stellato wanted us to check and make sure everyone in the surrounding areas was safe," Lyra replies. "Apparently, the destruction of the Vesi gateway resulted in a world-wide earthquake of large magnitude."
Carter's eyes widen. "A worldwide earthquake? I didn't even know that was possible."
"Anything is possible right now," Nile sighs. His eyes slide to me. "You look a little green around the gills."
"Huh?" I ask.
"Sick," Nile deadpans.
"He threw up as a result of transporting between the worlds." Lyra states. I groan. "Travel is becoming dangerous for non-space elementals."
"Noted." Nile presses his lips together.
"How is Ciana?" The question finally bursts out of me. "Is she awake?"
Carter shakes his head. "She's stable, but..." He and Nile trade a glance.
"Just come see for yourself," Nile sighs. He motions down the hallway, and we all follow him to another room. This one has more couches, filled with the rest of the girls. Ciana is laying on a hospital bed, her eyes closed and her normally sun-kissed skin deathly pale. Tucker leans against the wall in the corner, keeping watch over all of us.
A steady beep from the many machines hooked to Ciana tracks her heartbeat, letting us know that she's still breathing. I sigh with relief.
"The doctors managed to get the dagger out and stitch her up nicely," Enya fills us in as we take a seat on the couches. "She'll have a nasty scar, and it'll take a while to heal though. They purified her blood of the darkness but it still needs a while to regenerate completely. One of her legs was broken from the trees, so that's in a cast."
"They put her in an induced coma to help her body heal," Avani says. "Doctor said she's lucky to even be alive."
We all go silent, watching Ciana's chest rise and fall.
"How long until she wakes up?" I finally ask. My friends share a glance.
"We don't know," Nile sighs, patting my shoulder. My throat burns as tears spring to my eyes. I lean over and put my head in my hands.
I missed my chance.