Noah's brows furrowed. If he was surprised, he masked it well. "Did Silas already talk to you about it?" He asked and I detected a hint of anger in his tone.
I shook my head no. "Silas didn't say anything to me. I guessed it."
He leaned forward. "You have a very good guess. Want to tell how?"
I sucked in a nervous breath before starting. "Last week Gabriel ran out of school to go to the woods. I went after to search for him. I was looking for him when suddenly... everything changed. There were colorful trees, a bird with large wings... a waterfall." I shook my head. "There's no waterfall in Easthallow, that's when I realized something wasn't right."
"Razorrock Cascades," Noah said, making me look up at him in question, "that waterfall you saw is called Razorrock Cascades." His green eyes were studying me curiously as though I was a mystery to be solved.
He didn't speak further and it was my cue to continue.
"Soon I found Gabriel there too. He was there with someone. All I saw was a shadow, I didn't see their face. The guy, or whatever he was, vanished as soon as he saw me. Later Gab told me his name is Gorrie and that he was his friend..." I told him everything that followed, including us being chased by a giant boar. I felt my hands shaking as I relived that near-death experience.
"Giselle." I felt a warm hand over mine, bringing me back to present. I hadn't realized when Noah had moved. He was now sitting on his knees in front of me. "It's alright. You are safe now." His touch was calming.
"I was so scared that if something happened to Gabriel," my voice was tiny and shaky, "he's been going to that place for weeks. What if something like that happened when I wasn't there? What if we hadn't crossed over back to our world in time?" I couldn't even bare to think about it.
"Nothing happened. Your brother is safe, you're safe" Noah said, cupping my face and making me look at his vibrant eyes. Behind the concern was pride and adoration. "You're so brave Giselle Martin. You single-handedly saved your brother and yourself from a tezek."
"Tezek?"
"There's a big vocab for you to learn about Celestial Realm." He smiled when my face scrunched in confusion at the change of name. "Goblins who live in this world coined the term Magic Realm or Realm of Magic for obvious reasons. From what it seems Gorrie lives near the edge, so he has picked up some common terms from the Goblins who are regulars in your world and pass by the edge. Another term is Celestial Realm."
I nodded, trying to soak in what he was saying.
"And that tezek is the animal who chased us," I more stated than asked.
"Yes, they're wild beasts, hard to domesticate. Only prime Goblins and some spirits can control them." A mix of anger and guilt took over his features. "You and Gabriel weren't supposed to be there, let alone face a wild tezek. I feel so stupid for not taking care of you. You're right, if you hadn't crossed back to this world in time then-"
"It's not your fault. You did warn me to not go to the woods."
"You don't understand. It's my responsibility to protect you."Â He let out a sigh, before looking back at me. "Why didn't you tell me about it earlier? You lied to me about Gorrie." He sounded offended.
I lowered my eyes, feeling conscious. "The whole incident sounds crazy to my ears, how could I expect anyone else to believe me? I was afraid you'll think that I'm a freak. I couldn't bring myself to tell anyone." Though now getting it off my chest helped.
"I would never think something like that about you Martin. Besides, if you're a freak then what does it make me?"
"I don't know, a freaking goblin," I snorted and he chuckled. It was still hard to grasp everything he was laying. Tezeks, spirits, Goblins, Celestial Realm. I wouldn't be surprised if I woke up to find all this was some silly elaborate dream. But Noah's touch reminded me it wasn't.
"I can't believe you and Gabriel managed to go there. No human has ever broke through the wall and entered the Realm." His thumb stroked my cheeks, once again his curiosity taking over. "You both are something, huh."
"It's not like I wanted to go there."
"Hmm." His eyes searched for answers as they roamed all over my face. A slight crease of his brows let me know he didn't find any.
Noah stood up, letting me go and making me miss his soothing touch. He turned his back to me and exhaled a frustrated breath, running a hand through his messy hair- which were the courtesy of me during our make out session.
"What are you thinking?" I asked.
"I'm thinking that today I was supposed to shock you, but I'm finding myself being shocked."
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm shocked too. I mean you're some sort of supernatural being... That's very shocking."
A light chuckle slipped past Noah as he turned back to face me. "Yeah, I'm sorry. It must be harder on you Martin," he said, concern lacing his tone, "I'm bombarding you with all this stuff. How are you holding right now? Want to scream and run away yet?"
"If I want to run away, will you let me now that I know your super secret?" I mused.
A wolfish grin appeared on his face. "If you run away then you won't get far. I'll catch you." My eyes narrowed at him until he continued, "of course, after then I'll calm you and respectfully drop you home."
I shook my head, biting down a smile. Goblin or not, he's still Noah Sylvan.
Our light banter helped to dissipate some tension in the air.
"Why are you telling me all this Noah?" I questioned seriously. "Do all your girlfriends get access to this super secret of yours? Or am I special?"
He smirked, noting the saltiness in my tone. "You're very special Giselle. No one knows about it... except Abigail, and she's only aware because she's a goblin herself."
My eyes widened. "Abigail Green, the head cheerleader of our school, is goblin like you," I exclaimed and he nodded. "No wonder she's so scary," I muttered under my breath.
"We both belong to the class of Slayers. It's our natural tendency to look fierce and intimidating. We're, in simple terms, born fighters."
"Oh," I said as though I understood everything. "I've never seen you fight people at school. So like you only fight goblins?"
He grinned and sat back on his chair. "Your ignorance is kind of cute."
I frowned at him. "Then enlighten me Mr. Fierce and Intimidating," I mocked.
He laughed and picked up his coffee, which I knew by now was cold. "From where should we start?" He hummed and then glanced at my half-eaten plate. "Why don't we eat first? Ice cream has melted. Should I call Gerald to add fresh scoop?"
"Food is least of my concern right now Noah."
"Are you sure? Few minutes ago you were moaning with this inside your mouth. It'll be a shame to waste Patricia's delicious waffle."
"Is Patricia your cook?" I asked, cutting a piece of waffle with fork, and he nodded. "Tell her she's the greatest cook."
"You can tell her yourself."
We both resumed eating our waffles. Noah was right, it'd be a shame to waste such a tasty treat. Still, each bite carried anticipation. I think food was an excuse for him to give me a break so I could absorb everything he had told me till now. To be honest I appreciated that.
Once we finished our meal I prodded him to tell me more about himself and his other world.
He dragged me to his bed and I found myself snuggled against him with his fingers playing with my curly hair as he narrated about his kind. It was hard to keep up with him and he wasn't even telling me the half of it.
"Everything's bouncing off your head, isn't it?" He commented somewhere in between.
"I-I'm trying to catch what I can," I replied. It would take lot of sessions to really learn about Celestial Realm or Magic Realm... or Ethereal Realm. Apparently it was called by lot of different names by different creatures here and there.
Time flew by. It wasn't until I looked at my phone, when it buzzed with a text from my Mom, that I realized four hours had passed since Noah brought me to his home.
"Whole night will pass if we continue like this," Noah said, watching me glance at my cell. "I can't cramp the whole knowledge of other side in one go."
I sighed, leaning further into him.
"But I have to give it to you Giselle, you're taking all of this so well."
I had no idea how I was so calm about all of this. "Maybe it hasn't sunk in yet."
"Or maybe you're just amazing like that," he complimented and I couldn't stop a smile.
"But I still don't get it why are you telling me all this. We've been talking to each other for like a week, and dating for not even a day." I looked at him. "Why are you trusting me so easily with your secret? There has to be something more."
Something swirled in his emerald greens. His fingers grazed my cheeks, leaving behind tingles and making me melt in his arms. "You're right, there's a lot more Martin."
******
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