instance, a shimmering silver tube reached up from the floor and flattened out into a circular surface, like a pin. It collected Gabriella and moulded itself to her shape. I shrugged and did the same. I was caught by a surprisingly warm, comfortable seat.
Faru sat down himself. Placing his elbows on the desk, he leaned forward. “I am assuming that this has something to do with Sophia’s sudden recovery.”
Gabriella and I exchanged a glance. “Among other things,” I said.
We told him everything, taking it in turns. About how I’d been dreaming of The Sorrow and how we suspected that there was a Rogue in the base. We reiterated about me somehow healing Sophia through Gabriella. We finished with the crazy events that had happened at Moon’s Edge. We told him what the voice had said, reading from the back of my handbook, where I’d written it down word for word.
Once we’d finished, Faru didn’t say anything for a long time. He simply sat stroking his beard between his finger and thumb, like a philosopher musing on the meaning of life. “This is all beginning to make sense,” he said finally. “It appears everything that has happened is connected.” I sat up. “Connected how?” “First of all, you must promise to remain calm.” I glanced at Gabriella, who frowned. “Okay, I promise.” “I already knew The Sorrow was tracking you.”
My stomach lurched. “Wait, you knew? How could you know?”
He tapped two fingers against his temple. “When I merged minds with you, I saw everything. Including the nightmares.”
“How could you keep this from him? It’s his life!” Gabriella half-screamed, ignoring her usual manners around the Sage.
Faru raised a hand. “Please settle down Gabriella, I can understand your distress, but let me reassure you. It was not my intention to permanently hide the truth from Alexander, but merely to avoid unnecessary panic, until I had a clear solution to the problem and more details about why he was being targeted.”
My heart was pounding. I wanted to ask if he’d sealed the Veil. Or why he hadn’t told the other Sages he knew for sure. But I couldn’t. He’d know I’d been the one spying. Looking at Gabriella, I could tell she was thinking the same thing. Her expression was a mixture of horror and disbelief.
“Hopefully I can further alleviate your concern. The moment Rachel returned through the Veil, I used Fae magic to seal it. The Sorrow cannot travel through whilst that seal remains in place.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. It’s done.
“But there are other doorways. Surely it could just come through those,” Gabriella countered, playing the game, even though we both knew the answer.
“We shall use our allies in Pandemonia to keep track of The Sorrow’s movements. As The Sorrow approaches each section of the Veil, we shall seal it and open the previous, effectively creating a moveable barrier. It will never reach Earth.”
“That’s a good plan,” I said and meant it. I really hope it works. “I believe Hades sent the Sorrow to find you as a failsafe in case the Sons of Sorrow were unable to kill you first.” “But why?” demanded Gabriella. “Why target Alex?” “Because of what you heard in Moon’s Edge.” “What exactly did we hear?” I asked. Faru leaned forward and steepled his fingers together. “I believe you heard the voice of one of the Elementals.” Gabriella’s mouth fell open. “You mean like Lafelei and Phoenix?” “Yes.” I looked at them both in turn. “Does someone want to fill me in?”
“The four Elementals are the closest creatures to Gods in Pandemonia and are worshipped as such by the Luminar,” explained Faru. “They are as old as time itself and can see past, present and future simultaneously. They are mostly benevolent and seek only to exist in peace, rarely ever making contact with the world. Dragons however, the creatures worshiped as divine by the Umbra were malevolent. They were the first to pass through the veil, wreaking havoc on both sides. Eventually the other Elementals joined together to block Dragon’s foresight, allowing them to be slain by Chosen. After that, the Elementals retreated back to where they came from. But sometimes they release their words into the ether, and on certain occasions those words are picked up by those who can reach into the ether.
“Do you mean like a prophecy?” frowned Gabriella.
“I suppose you could call it that yes. Because their words transcend time, they can often speak of events that have not yet occurred.”
I suddenly remembered the tapestries I’d seen in the Temple. “Wait a second…when Selene touched me, I saw an image of a giant face made from trees and grass and stuff, like that picture in the Temple,” I said.
Faru nodded. “Then that confirms it. The words are Lafelei’s, the Earth Elemental. Hades has somehow managed to hear the words before we did.” “But what has that got to do with Alex?” asked Gabriella gesturing towards me. Faru took in a deep breath. “Actually it involves both of you, something that I had discovered recently and has now been confirmed by Lafelei’s words.” I could feel my heart pounding against my chest. “Go on.”
“Firstly you must understand that each soul is completely unique, like a fingerprint. The energy it gives off carries its own unique frequency. That is how I am able to single out and communicate with individual people when I need to. However, I noticed something when I compared the two of yours together.”
“What did you notice?”
“They are identical.
I frowned. That doesn’t make any sense. “I don’t understand. How is that possible?” “When were you born Alexander?” “Seventh of August, nineteen ninety four,” I answered. “Why?” “And you Gabriella?” “The same day,” she answered. “At what time?” “Twelve noon exactly.” I almost fell out of my seat. “That’s when I was born!” “But what does that mean Faru?” asked Gabriella. He clapped his hands together. “You are twins.”
The words hit me like a sledgehammer, shattering my world. I felt the colour drain from my face. I stared at Gabriella, who wore the same expression of utter shock that I was probably wearing. No, that’s not fair. No! No!
“Not actual twins of course. That would be impossible. But rather your souls are twins.” Faru scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. “Or in simpler terms…you are quite literally soulmates.”
Relief washed over me. I had to restrain myself from leaping over the desk and kissing the Sage right on the lips. I couldn't stop my mouth from stretching into a delirious smile. I looked over at Gabriella, who appeared shell-shocked. We’re soulmates! I wanted to jump up and do a victory dance. Now it all made sense. Why I felt drawn to her. Why I felt so much calmer when she was near me. Why I could feel all those strange vibrations when she was touched me. Why I was able to “Wait. Does that have something to do with the fact that I was able to heal Sophia? “I asked.
Faru nodded. “I believe so yes. I think that when near each other, your souls somehow act as amplifiers to one another. So in touching Gabriella whilst she had a hand on Sophia, you were able to project your gift temporarily. I cannot be certain, but I would expect that the same would work in reverse.”
“But what does it mean?” she asked. “Us being soulmates?”
Faru shook his head. “That I simply do not yet know. All I do know is that you both act like magnets to one another. It is my belief that you were always destined to meet one another, and that a series of infinitesimal events transpired to make that meeting possible. I have never seen anything quite like this before. Only time will tell what it truly means.”
“So Lafelei’s words, about the twins-” Gabriella started.
“Are relative to you, I’m certain. However, Hades does not know that you are soul twins. All he knows is that the second twin, the one he believes to be a threat, had his Awakening this year. And since there has only been one…” he said trailing off.
“You mean me,” I said. “But how can I be a threat to Hades? I’m not a threat to anyone!”
“Only time will tell Alexander. But regardless, I believe this is why you are being targeted. However, only the three of us know that you are soul twins. And to keep at least one of you completely safe from The Sorrow, we must keep it that way.”
Gabriella stood up. “To hell with that. I don’t want Alex going through this alone. If we are soulmates, then that means we fight side by side.”
I was touched by her passionate words, but I stood up too, shaking my head. “No way. I’m not letting you get involved in this. You’ve done enough for me.” I lowered my voice, so only she could hear. “The other night, you asked me if I was going to protect you. This is how I can do that. By keeping what we know a secret.”
Gabriella tried to protest but I refused to listen to her arguments. I turned back to Faru. “We’ll keep it a secret.”
