Chapter 25

"Home." The brief eye contact we did exchange her eyes were so intense.

I was soon flung back into my seat as Noor put the pedal all the way to the floorboard. At least that's what it felt like.

"Noor! Slow down!" She almost ran into the back of a car in front of us.

"Hannah, can you teleport all of us? I don't think we can wait to get to the portal?" Noor completely ignored looking at Hannah through the rearview

mirror.

"Yeah, I can. It will take a lot out of me, though." Noor seemed to give an apologetic smile.

"On the count of three, I need you to teleport us." Noor counted down, and on three, it felt like I was flung all around. We landed on the road in Noor's world, and Jesus did I feel a little woozy. I looked back at Nina, and she had wide eyes.

"That was so fucking cool!" She looked around at all of us, pausing on Hannah. "Let's do that again." I rolled my eyes.

"Are you fucking crazy? We are not doing that again. At least not right now." Nina, of course, decided to act like a child and huff while she crossed her arms across her chest. Her pouting turned into curiosity as she finally took in our surroundings.

The trip was quiet other than Nina making comments on how beautiful the scenery was. Hannah was passed out in the backseat. Her head was resting on Naiomi's shoulder. Naiomi seemed perfectly content with this and even seemed to be more relaxed. Then, all of a sudden, I heard Nina gasp out. I looked back at her quickly.

"What is it?" I asked, completely concerned.

"You live here? Holy shit, it is so fucking big." I looked in front of me and realized that we were finally home.

"Oh…" I turn back towards Nina. "Can you not gasp like that over shit like this next time? I thought something was wrong. Gave me a heart attack." She kind of groaned but cut it off quickly.

"Okay…. Mom." I didn't have to look at her to know her eyes were rolling. Probably so much so that if I looked back at her, her eyes would be stuck.

"Okay, let's hurry up and get inside." Noor hadn't been parked for even a second before she was halfway out of the car, barking orders.

Once we got inside, Noor had all of us follow her. We traveled through parts of our home I had never seen before. Granted, there is still much ground to be covered, but the twists and turns we were making let us deeper and deeper into the castle. It almost felt a little eerie. She stopped and touched the wall with her hand. Soon she pressed on a brick, and it moved back and was replaced with a scanner. The scanner not only was going off her handprint but also pricked her finger to make sure the DNA matched.

"We should be safe here. There is a lot we need to do." We all filed in one by one.

"Lareina, I need you to start translating those last few pages and figure out what our next moves are. Hannah, there's a cot in the corner; go lay down and get your strength and energy up; we will need every bit of it. Naiomi, I know you may want to cuddle your mate, but I need you to make phone calls to our generals and go over battle plans. We will most likely be going to war soon." She then turned to Nina. Sitting all childlike but waiting for her mission. "Nina… Honestly, I don't know what task for you to do. I guess, help your sister." Nina kind of deflated. I know she was hoping for a bit of a more significant role.

"Can I do anything else? Like, where I have my own role?" Noor sighed out and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Fine. Call the pack that lives around you and tell them they need to be on high alert. Explain the attack and make sure they have your family under lockdown." Nina nodded her head.

"Yes, ma'am!" She had a horrified expression pass over her face. "Wait, I am so sorry to assume. What are your pronouns?" Noor gave a small smile.

"She and her are fine. Now get to the phone call." She turned to me and kissed me on my forehead.

"I have to make some other calls. I love you." I melted into her kiss.

"I love you too." I watched as she went into a separate room. My curiosity peaked as to why she needed to go into a different room from us.

-----

"You have the book?" The gravely voice spoke out to the manipulated soul.

"Yes, here it is." The shadow of what used to be a man presented the book to what could only be described as the devil himself. The shadow man then cowered away.

The man watched his master flip through the book, searching for something within its binds. The energy started shifting as the frustration and anger rippled off his master in waves. His master looked up to the man with intense soulless eyes full of nothing but rage.

"It seems you have failed me once again, my little puppet. Some pages have been ripped out of the book. Pages that have very essential information." The master's voice boomed, causing the man to flinch back and curl himself further into his body. Trying to make himself look smaller. The evil man then gave a sinister smirk. "And you know what happens when someone fails me, right?" The shadow man nodded his head frantically. Tears were starting to well up in his eyes. He knew this was going to be the official end of his existence. He was terrified of what was going to happen to his sin-stained soul, but at the same time, he felt relief because he would be free from his master.

"Alas, you may still be of use to me." The man looked up at his master, a little shocked.

"What do you need me to do?" The wicked man pulled on an invisible string, and the man immediately stood up straight and right in front of his master—eye to eye with an immoral monster.

"Kill your daughter." The shadow man's eyes grew large. His heart withered in pain at the task his master had given him. The devil himself let out a sadistic laugh, enjoying the physical and emotional pain he had now inflicted on one of his puppets.

--------------------

My head was starting to throb. There was so much going on around me that it was sensory overload. I was trying so hard to focus on reading the pages before me, but it proved to be far too tricky. I need a break. I got up and walked over to the door. Noor disappeared behind and knocked on it.

"Come on in." As I entered, I saw Noor on the phone. She looked up at me and put her finger in the air signaling for me to wait.

"I don't really give a shit. Get it fucking fixed." She slammed down the phone and took a deep breath before looking up at me. I felt myself gulp. She looked absolutely feral.

"Lareina? What do you need?" I snapped out of my trance and shook off the feeling of being intimidated. This is my soulmate; for heaven's sake, I have no reason to be intimidated.

"Right. Well, I can't focus on reading right now. I need a break from it. I've tried, but there is far too much shit going on around me. I feel overwhelmed. Can I just take the pages and go read them where Serenity is?" Noor let out a frustrated sigh.

"Do whatever you need to do to read those damn pages." Noor snapped at me. I felt my body flinch back a little at her tone. I felt many emotions build up inside me, and I fought back, snapping back at her. I just turned and walked to the door. I heard her call out my name, but her words were cut off as I closed the door behind me. She needs to stop coming at me sideways. I know she's stressed, but that doesn't give her a right to take it out on me.

"Where are you going?" Nina's questions halted my steps towards the door.

"There is too much chaos flowing throughout this room. I need a change of scenery. I'm going to sit by the tree beside this beautiful little lake where my friend Serenity lives." Nina's eyebrows perked up.

"Can I come?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"Sure. Just don't be a nuisance." I made my way towards the door again, with Nina following close behind.

I almost got lost a few times, but I ended finding the way back to the main part of this ginormous fucking place. I started heading straight towards the backyard. As I stepped out, I immediately felt more at peace. The fresh air is exactly what I needed. I did not particularly like being confined. As we inched closer to where Serenity was, I abruptly stopped and turned around to face my sister.

"Please to God, do not bombard her with a million questions." She was about to say something, but I cut her off. "No." She huffed.

"Fine." Her shoulders sagged in defeat.

As we got to the large tree by the water, I could feel my entire mood change. It is indeed ironic how Serenity lives in such a serene place.

"It's so beautiful and peaceful," Nina spoke out in amazement.

"It really is." I took a deep breath and walked closer to the edge of the water.

"Serenity? Are you there?" I called out for Serenity, and then I took a step back from the edge. Soon I saw some bubbles start to make their way to the surface. Not long after that, I saw Serenity's top half of her body emerge out of the water. She leaned herself onto the edge of the lake and looked at me.

"Hey there, Lareina! Long time no see." She gave me a huge smile.

"I know. I'm sorry I have been running around a lot. A lot of crazy shit has happened since I have last been here." Serenity gave me a knowing look.

"I know the atmosphere around here has changed. I've also heard a few things from people passing by. I'm sorry to hear about your dad." I let out a small gasp. How did that even circulate around?

"Yeah. Pretty shitty. Anyways, I did get to see my family, though. So, Serenity, this is one of my baby sisters Nina." I gestured over to Nina and found her to be in a complete trance looking at Serenity. Maybe it is because Serenity is a siren?

"Umm… Nina, this is Serenity." I then gestured over to Serenity and found her in a trance as well, looking at my sister. I looked between the two. Their eyes are not leaving one another's at all.

"What the hell is going on with you two?" I waited for an answer, but I got nothing in return. That's when I looked down at my sister's shirt because something caught my eyes. That's when I realized why they were both so transfixed with one another. The crystal on Nina's necklace was glowing. She had found her soulmate, and her soulmate happened to be a siren named Serenity. I gasped out loud and kept switching my gaze back and forth between the two of them.

"Holy fucking shit…." I pointed between the two, and I felt my eyes grow bigger. "Well damn, I did not see this one coming." Honestly, I am completely caught off guard.