Chapter Eighty-four: The bargain

I look to Nuria who looks a bit shocked at his request. I look back at Troy who is patiently waiting for her decision.

“Nuria, if it’s too much we can move on. Don’t be…”

She cuts me off. “I’ve heard your story and it’s really moving. Trust me, I know what it’s like to be alone in the world. But what you’re asking requires me to move you off planet, and it’s not just you either. Plus, it’s uncertain what planet we’d need to go to.”

She thinks for a few moments and Troy remains silently hopeful. I keep my eyes focused on Nuria who looks conflicted.

After a few more silent moments, she speaks. “I will try to the best of my ability to move one of you off planet, so you can try and find the next best thing. When found, I will move the rest of you over. Once moved, my obligation is over.”

I see Troy go to speak, but she holds up a finger. “You must know that I must rest in between transportation. I must have at least a day’s rest between each teleportation. I will not compromise here. Once you’ve found what you need, I will move you and whomever else across, but this is a one-way ticket, there will be no more requests after this.”

Troy’s smile widens which looks sincere, however it still surprises me. “I agree with these terms. I would do anything to see my people happy, even if it takes a while. We can discuss terms when this war is over, if we survive of course. But this is all I ask for. Thank you, Nuria.”

She nods her head at him but I can see she’s unsure as to what she’s got herself into. I’m unsure if she’s even teleported with anyone across worlds before, but she knows her own strength, so I assume she knows she can do it, even if it takes a toll on her.

I look over to Elijah who is half asleep, so I look to Troy. “I think my friends and I are quite tired. Are we able to sleep here tonight and we shall be on our way in the morning?” I ask.

He smiles and stands. “Yes of course, it’s why I brought you here. Feel free to make use of the house. I’m sorry, I can’t offer you much in terms of food, but from what I can smell you’re all fine with that. I shall leave you and bid you all goodnight.”

He heads towards the door and walks out of it, closing it softly behind him. I look to Nuria instantly.

“Are you ok with what you just agreed with? Will you be able to handle that?” I ask worriedly.

She gives a small smile. “My Father wanted me to move him across worlds….that’s the sole purpose of my creation, apparently. I’ve done it once, a long time ago, but it nearly wiped me out. I know I can do it with practice. Plus, he’s offered to speak to the other vampires, which means we don’t have to.”

“I’m glad, I can’t help but get the shivers around them.” Elijah says immediately, and I look to him.

“I know they’re not exactly the cosiest to be around…..but he has offered us a great help. I didn’t get any bad vibes from him apart from the coldness which was strange. Let’s be wary. He knows who we are and our story, and it seems to me all he wants is for his people to be happy. I can’t say he’s a bad person just because of what he is, but instead I go by actions.”

Elijah grimaces but nods his head. I know he understands we need all the help we can get, even if it is with those who seem untrustworthy or those who may have changed over the years we’ve known of their existence.

I stand up and have a look around the house properly as I had not had a chance to take a good look whilst Troy was here. The room we’re sitting in just now comprises of a small dining table and a chair enough to fit three people on. In the same room, there’s a small hob and sink which I assume is the kitchen, giving off a humble feel. There’s a small blue rug on the floor which looks to be hand-made sophisticatedly. There are four doors, so I go through the first to my right. This room has a bed in it, along with a small photo on the wall. I squint at the photo which looks like it hasn’t been dusted in a while. In the photo, I can make out a pretty woman with strawberry blond hair and green eyes. I can see her being cradled by a man, who looks like Troy but the photo looks a bit scratched out so it’s hard to tell. I smile at the fact he’s kept it here but hasn’t touched it this whole time, leaving this place as a sanctuary for his wife.

I think about all of the times Lukas has held me like that, instantly missing his touch. I feel an overwhelming sadness wash over me as I realise we don’t even have a picture together. It’s the first thing on my to-do list when we’re reunited back on pack lands.

I open up my bag which is hanging loosely on my shoulder and pull out the photo of my human family from one of the secret pockets. I miss my Mother and Father, even though we were not of blood, they taught me everything I had known. I thank the Moon Goddess and Sun God silently for picking them for me. I know I should take out the photo more often, but it’s just too precious and is the only memory I have in a physical form of my childhood that I have to remember them by. I place the photo back into the pocket gently next to the purple pouch and look up, wanting to check the other rooms out.

I walk to the next room, finding four single beds within. I look around the room for any signs of who used to live here but I see nothing. I frown, thinking that perhaps this is a guests’ room or maybe was to be Troy’s’ children’s room, but I would never ask such a personal question to him when I can already see he’s still so hurt from his wife’s death.
I leave the room and go to the next, which is a simple bathroom with a small shower, a toilet and a sink. I see a small mirror on the wall above the sink and I step over to take a look at myself as I’ve not looked at my reflection in weeks.

I gasp at what I see. One of my eyes is my normal deep blue, however my other eye is golden, similar to Ares eye colour but my eye is shimmering. I look down at my long hair, grown a few inches since I last looked at it properly. However last time I saw my reflection my hair was a chestnut brown, and now it was silver and shining like the Moon. It’s also continuously cascading as if there’s a slight breeze in the room causing it to move, however I can’t feel any sort of wind and I’m unsure how it’s doing this.

I also notice I’ve lost weight. A bit too much weight. I feel Athena whimper and I know she’s struggling being without Lukas and Ares, but I didn’t know it was taking a toll on my body as well. I’ve been so preoccupied on trying to gather supporters or soldiers for our war I’ve forgotten to look after us.

“Athena, are you ok? You’ve been quiet for a while.” I ask, worried about her.

“I’m ok. The longer we’re without our mate, the more I break. I know he’s still alive, we can feel him. I just know he’s hurt and alone.” She says defeated.

I know she’s right. I can feel our bond, no matter the distance. But I know he’s weak.

“We’ll find him, don’t worry. You rest, I’m ok for now. I’ll call if I need you.” I say, hoping to give her some peace before the fights to come.

She doesn’t respond as I know she’s gathering her strength for when it’s needed. I take one last look in the mirror and promise myself to try and eat more to build my strength. I remember briefly that Nuria and Elijah have been trying to get me to eat more and now I know why. I’ll need to be mindful and listen to them more next time.

I leave the bathroom and head into the last room. I find the door is covered in small pink flowers which makes me wonder what’s inside. I open the door to see a small crib and the name Amelia above it. I feel tears prick my eyes as I see a small girls room with lots of different toys strewn across the floor.

The room is in pristine condition, it’s even been swept and dusted, as if someone lives here constantly. I walk up to the little shelves and see a small photo album. I can’t help my inquisitive self and pick it up, flipping through the pages. I see a clearer photo of the woman in the picture that was in the other room. I can see her freckles and the brown specks in her green eyes. Her ginger hair has thin tendrils of brown throughout it. I see Troy with a little girl in her arms laughing. Troy has a legitimate smile on his face, very different from the smiles he had yesterday. The little girl was also ginger, her little green eyes shining at Troy. The photo captured everything that shouts happy family.

I get a fright as I see a face at the window, seeing Troy through the glass. I walk up to the window and open it, not wanting to feel awkward at him staring in.

“So, you got curious, huh?” He says to me causally, looking at the room behind me.

“Is this your daughters room?” I ask, not holding back my interest any longer.

He sighs sadly. “Yes. She died with her dear Mother the same day.”

“I’m so sorry Troy. I don’t know how you could handle so much sadness.”

“I do it for her. She begged me to go on, find a new family. Live my life. But it’s hard when you’re immortal. I’m not longed for this world much longer, but I will not leave my clan without hope. I hope we win this war and Nuria is able to help us, so she can take them somewhere new. Then I will join my family.”

I see the determination in his eyes and understand he is hurting and probably has been for a long time, but he will not desert his clan members without helping them first.

I grimace with a nod, but I understand what he’s going through, now knowing I’m immortal myself and Lukas is not, it’s difficult to decide what to do later on in life. I close my eyes and shake my head, wanting these thoughts to go away. I take a deep breath, knowing though that I’ve got a long time to go till that happens.

Troy presses his hand on my shoulder. “I can tell you’re going through something similar. I can only suggest you talk it through with him when you next see him. Opening up and discussing is the only way you’ll find happiness. If you bottle it up and it’s too late….well, you will never get the chance again.”

He moves his hand away and moves away from the window. “You best sleep, I’m sure you’ve got a long day ahead of you tomorrow.”

I smile and nod, closing the window and heading back into the main room of the house, closing the door behind me.

I walk in to see Elijah sleeping and Nuria just casually resting on the chair. I gently nudge Elijah awake and ask them both to move our stuff into the room with the single beds.