Chapter 30: Logia

EVE

It took nearly two weeks for Reyna to wake up after she bit Snow. Those two weeks were some of the most conflicted weeks of my long life.

On one hand, I was so overjoyed to have my daughter alive, safe, and sound.

But on the other, I was feeling total despair that someone just as important to me was barely hanging on to her life.

At first, it had come as a surprise to me that I thought of Reyna this way, but I really did. She had helped prepare me for a daughter as stubborn as Snow, and I cared about Reyna’s well-being just as much as I did for Snow’s.

I’d visited her every single day since she’d gone into her coma.

As I got ready to visit Reyna for the first time since she had woken up, Raphael came up behind me and put his arms around my waist.

He kissed me affectionately on the cheek. “Things are finally starting to get back to normal.”

“You think so?” I asked, placing my hand on his.

“No, not really,” he said, laughing. “Things in this family will never be normal.”

~This family.~

It had a nice ring to it. A ~really~ nice ring to it.

Raphael had embraced his role as both a father and a mate, despite everything he had to deal with as the Alpha of the Millennium.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” I said.

“That’s funny because I was thinking the same thing about you,” he said, turning me around so we were facing each other.

He planted a passionate kiss on my lips, and I never wanted it to end.

“I finally have everything that I want,” he said as he stared deeply into my eyes. “And I’ll do everything in my power to hold on to it.”

“Will you come with me to see Reyna?” I asked as we finally allowed ourselves to separate.

“I’d love to, but I’ll have to come later,” he replied, rubbing his temples. “With half the city destroyed, my work never ends.”

“I love you,” I said as I kissed him goodbye. “We’ll rebuild. Everything broken can be fixed. We both know that from personal experience.”

“That we do,” he replied with a grin.

***

I met Martin and Anya at the hospital, where they were sitting next to Reyna’s bed. She looked a little tired, but overall she was in good shape.

“Reyna!” I shouted, draping myself over her. “It’s so good to see you awake!”

“Yeah, that was quite the nap,” she said jokingly. “Is Snow okay?’

“Yes, thanks to you,” I said gratefully.

“I was just telling her about what a hero she was,” Anya said, beaming.

“Please, please, I’m no hero,” Reyna replied, waving it off.

Martin tapped my shoulder and gave me a concerned look. “Eve, can I talk to you for a moment?”

As Anya and Reyna continued bantering, Martin pulled me out of their earshot.

“What’s going on?” I asked, trying to read his expression.

“The doctors…their diagnosis was…it was disturbing,” he said, looking like he’d aged several years over the past two weeks.

“What did they say?” I asked, dread seeping into my voice.

“Reyna’s body…it’s rejecting Snow’s blood. They say they have no idea how it will affect her, but there’s no known cure. Not in this world.”

Even though I wasn’t Reyna’s birth mother, I felt like I’d failed her. I hadn’t protected her like a mother should.

My heart sank. “What do we do then?”

“For now, they said all we can do is keep a close eye on her and make her feel comfortable. I don’t want the girls to know yet. They said stress could make it worse.”

I nodded. “I won’t say anything.”

My phone started buzzing and I glanced at my messages.

Killian

Where are you?

Killian

He’s back, Eve

Killian

Kimbringe

Killian

And you definitely need to hear what he has to say

Killian

Come to his old library

He’d finally returned. But with what news?

“Martin, I have an urgent matter to attend to, but I’ll be back shortly,” I said, gliding out of the room and down the hall.

I’d been waiting for that deific bookworm to come back for over a month.

This had better be good news.

***

Kimbringe popped my bubble the moment I arrived in the ruins of his old library.

“It’s worse than we thought,” he said immediately.

Killian gave me a look that told me I wasn’t going to like this.

“Explain,” I said, sitting on the step of a burned-out staircase.

“It’s not just an imbalance in the Haze. It’s something far more complicated,” he said, looking surprisingly fraught for a Deity. “There’s something that I must tell you.”

Kimbringe started rummaging around the ruins, till he found a charred map. It didn’t look like a normal map, however. It had two layers, one on top of the other. It almost looked like…

~Two planets?~

“There’s a parallel world that exists simultaneously with our own,” he said, pointing to the map. “It’s called ~Logia.~

“Logia?” I repeated. “As in Barron von ~Logia?~ And Llinos von ~Logia?~”

“They’re connected to this other world, yes. All Deities are,” Kimbringe said. “But the thing is…the two worlds are starting to collapse and fold in on one another.”

“And that’s what’s causing the Haze imbalance?” I asked.

“Partially,” Killian said, looking at me warily. “You won’t like this next part.”

“Barron von Logia is at war with the leader of Logia,” Kimbringe continued. “Their feud is having catastrophic effects on this world.”

“Not that I’m surprised that asshole is causing more problems, but what does a war in a parallel world have to do with ~us?~” I asked, not following.

“Because…” Kimbringe looked at me seriously. “Snow is somehow a part of it.”

I shook my head, not wanting to hear this. “Kimbringe, don’t. She’s been through enough.”

“Her very existence creates an imbalance between these worlds,” he said darkly. “And she may yet have a role to play in both of them.”

REYNA

As Dad and Anya sat with me, playing a game of cards, I heard a knock on my door frame. I looked up to see Jed, holding a bouquet of flowers.

“Can I come in?” he asked with a crooked smile. It was so good to see his face.

“Of course,” I said, giving him a warm smile back.

Anya suddenly elbowed Dad in the ribs. “I’m hungry.”

“Well, go get something to eat,” he said, confused.

She rolled her eyes, grabbing his hand. “Sorry, I meant ~we’re~ hungry. Which means we should go to the cafeteria. ~Now.~”

She gave me a wink as she pulled Dad out of the room, giving me and Jed some time alone.

He put the flowers in a vase next to the bed and sat down.

“I knew you’d wake up,” he said.

“Why’s that?” I asked. Something about Jed was different. He seemed more confident, more sure of himself. Or maybe I was just looking at him differently…

“You’re a fighter,” he responded. “You always have been. But not just for yourself. For your dad. Your sister. Snow. Me. I knew you’d be back for us.”

I started to tear up and threw my arms around Jed, even though I still felt weak.

“You’re…you’re the best friend I’ve ever had, Jed,” I said as I wiped my eyes.

“And you’re mine,” he responded.

But as we looked into each other’s eyes, I got scared…

Scared because I wondered…

~Could it be more than that?~

“Reyna?” Eve’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “There’s someone who’d like to see you.”

She ushered Snow through the door. There was a deeply distressed look on Eve’s face, and I wasn’t sure why.

Snow shyly approached me, but when she got close, she enveloped me in a hug, burying her face into my chest.

I almost started to cry again. I knew Snow didn’t have the right words to say, but she was beyond grateful to me for saving her life.

I smiled at Eve, but she seemed to be struggling to smile back.

EVE

~I won’t just sit back while Snow’s blood destroys Reyna from the inside out…~

Reyna was my responsibility just as much as Snow was.

I would’ve gone to the ends of the earth to find a cure for Reyna.

Only, the doctors said there was no cure for Reyna on this world.

On ~this~ world.

But as I’ve just found out…this isn’t the only world.

I pulled out my phone and began texting Kimbringe.

Eve

This other world

Eve

Logia

Eve

How do I get there?

Kimbringe

There’s only one way to get to Logia.

Kimbringe

Through a portal.

Kimbringe

Only one portal is open at any given time, and only briefly.

Kimbringe

Killian witnessed the last one closing up.

Eve

So where is the next one opening?

Kimbringe

It’s hard to say, but judging by my calculations…

Kimbringe

I think it will be somewhere in South Africa.

Eve

Good, get that location locked

Eve

Because we’re going to Logia

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