The sound of boots upon the metal floor alerts me to a presence. I turn to find Drakon approaching, having just stepped from the elevator. His eyes trail slowly and pointedly over my dress. I resist the urge to cover myself. Instead, I press my shoulders back and stare him down.
A smile curls his lips but doesn’t reach the cold calculation I see in his eyes. “You are a vision. Our clothing suits you rather well.”
Saliva begins to pool in my mouth and I have to grit my teeth to keep from spitting at him. The only thing that holds me back is knowing that Bastien would pay for my actions. I turn away from him and look to the stars once more, focusing beyond instead of directly at them. “Alesta informed me that we’ll be arriving soon.”
He appears at my side. I shift my hand away so it is out of reach as he curls his fingers around the rail. “Yes. You are obviously excited to see your new home, I’m sure”
Ignoring his snide remark, I notice the flashes have begun to slow. The hum of the engines has changed. “How long?”
“A minute. Perhaps less. We use spatial anomalies to travel, a wormhole as you may have heard it called, to make the jump between worlds. Without it, it would take years to reach Calisted.” He pauses, leaning forward as the ship slows. The stars seem to crawl past now. “You will want to see this.”
A burst of blue erupts before my eyes. I gasp, taken aback by the giant sphere that hangs before me. It is perfectly round against the black sky. Swirling aqua mists seem to hang over the planet. “It’s beautiful,” I whisper, mesmerized by the sight of my home world.
All this time I judged Calisted with thoughts tainted from my visions, but in reality, standing here with this breathtaking view, I know Aloysius can’t ruin the beauty of an entire planet for me.
“Welcome home, Illyria.” Alesta smiles as she clasps my hand in hers.
I grip the metal railing before me as the mists swirl around the ship as we descend straight down through the cloud cover. The sunlight below is blinding. I raise a hand to shield my eyes, grateful when I feel the ship touch down and I am able to turn away.
A strange longing floods through me, almost as if coming home isn’t truly a terrible thing. Kyan said I have family here. Will I be able to meet them? Ask them why I’m so different from everyone else?
Although Sariana cleared up the mystery surrounding my relationship with Bastien and Eamon, I have yet to hear what makes me unique. Perhaps no one really knows.
“This way, my dear.” Drakon holds out his hand, motioning for me to walk toward a door that sits beyond the elevator. Below me, men and women rise from their seats. I can hear the engines power down and real terror begins to seep into my bones.
I am here. There is no turning back now.
The seal on the door breaks and sunlight streams in. I feel warmth upon my skin as I approach the door, marveling at the prism of light upon the floor, broken and molded into multifaceted spheres, although I can’t see anything that would create this phenomenon.
I take a deep breath and follow Drakon into the light.
What I see beyond the doors steals away my breath. Rainbows dance across my skin, hovering in the air before me. Everything seems draped with a warm, hazy glow, like clouds ringing a full moon. “How is this possible?”
Alesta answers. “Calisted has three moons. When the sun reflects off of them, it creates a fascinating display.”
I follow Alesta’s finger as she points to the sky. Hovering above us are three spheres of different sizes, all revolving a brilliant white sun. The smallest moon is ruby in color, the medium glows as brilliantly as a newly mined emerald, and the third reminds me far too much of Bastien’s sapphire eyes.
I take a deep breath and realize the air feels lighter here and has almost a sweet taste. I look to Alesta and she simply smiles back.
“The gravity is different than on Earth,” Drakon says as he ushers me forward. “You will get used to it after a while.”
It is difficult to maneuver the stairs in my high-heel shoes, but somehow I manage to reach the bottom without breaking my neck. As I step onto the ground, I realize we have landed on a wide bluish patch of grass. I stare at it, confused.
“It is the mists,” Alesta informs, like my own personal guide to Calisted. “The planet is draped in the aqua color you saw from space so it alters the colors you see here on the ground. What might be green on Earth appears darker blue here.” She lifts her hand toward the town. “Welcome to Calahorra, City of the King.”
As I look at the city stretched out before me, I realize the light sparkles with the same wondrous glow off of buildings, cobblestone streets, and a gushing stream that winds through the town, carving the road in half.