Fated to the Dark Elf Episode 9

Chapter 51

Thorne

Where did I stumble along the way? Every step in this plan was calculated and discreet. There’s no way someone could have known where we were going, unless Iknola disclosed our plans to an outside source. I rake my mind, hoping to find the answers to this puzzle, but Delia doesn’t seem too concerned by this noise.

Instead, she walks towards it. She perks up at the sound.

“Nimue?”

“Delia!”

A woman flies out of the bushes and embraces Delia in a tight hug, which confuses me to no end. I’ve never seen this woman before, but Delia nearly cries at the sight of her. She runs her hands through her hair, gripping her tightly, as if she’s known her for her entire life.

That’s… impossible. Right? She would have told me about this newcomer. She would have told me about this woman, who looks a lot like her in ways that make me wonder if there’s more to this relationship than meets the eye.

“Delia?” I ask, interrupting their moment.

Delia pulls apart from the woman, but this so-called Nimue refuses to unwrap her arms from around her shoulder. The woman glares at me, pursing her lips while her eyes trail my figure from head-to-toe. I fidget uncomfortably under her stare.

“Who is this?” I ask, slowly sheathing my dagger into its hold on my waistband. “And how do you know her?”

“She’s my sister,” Delia says, and it feels like a torrent of ice just hit me in the chest.

“I– hold on, how is this possible? I thought you were an only child. Your father’s letter never mentioned another child in the mix.”

"You know about the letters?" Delia demands, a tinge of barely contained rage evident in her voice.

I bite my tongue, attempting a gentle approach as I take her hand into mine. "I found them in your room when you were gone, Delia, I didn't know that my father was involved with yours, or the business."

Her skeptical gaze flicks across my face. I bring her hand up to my mouth and place a gentle kiss on her fingers, silently pleading her to believe me.

"Trust me when I say I would have killed him as a wedding gift if I knew."

Finally she nods, squeezing my hand with encouragement.

I turn toward her supposed sister. "And those letters are the reason I know you couldn't possibly be her sister."

“That’s because I’m not related to Craig Wraith,” Nimue retorts, glaring daggers into me. “We share the same mother. She sent me to find Delia and bring her home. Unfortunately, despite the time we’ve spent together, she has refused to come home quite yet.”

“How…?” My eyes narrow, flickering suspiciously between the two sisters. “How did you spend time with her? You rarely left the manor!”

Delia smiles. “She would visit me in my dreams.”

That’s when it clicks. Everything fits together perfectly, especially the times where Delia would sleep longer than usual, curled up in her bed from early in the night to late in the morning.

“She’s also the person who revealed the prophecy to me in more detail,” she explains, patting her hand on her sister’s shoulder. “I didn’t know much about anything before she came into the picture.”

“I taught her everything she needed to know,” Nimue adds, raising her chin proudly. “There’s no secrets between us.”

Then they must know that Delia will die. No… they can’t know. Surely Nimue would be dragging her back to shore if they did.

“The time where I disappeared for a week…” Delia averts her gaze. “I wasn't really taken by an orc. I spent that time with Nimue in her cabin. It’s not that far from the manor. It’s surprising, but I sleepwalked my way to where she was and didn’t realize it until I woke up in the middle of the forest.”

My mouth falls open slightly. I’m torn between rage and pure bewilderment.

“Because I knew that you two were departing for this island, I prepared my things and came along, too. There’s no way I was going to miss out on this moment,” Nimue explains, eyeing me with a suspicious glint in her eyes. “Besides, I needed to make sure that Delia was going to be kept safe at all times. And I’m not too sure I could trust you to accomplish that.”

“Nimue,” Delia scolds quietly. “You shouldn’t say things like that.”

“Why not? It’s the truth!”

“I understand where you’re coming from, Nimue, and I’m glad that you care deeply for Delia. I can assure you that I care about her, too. I want nothing but the best for her.”

Nimue hums before turning away from me completely, acting as if I’m not standing here at all. It’s strange to see the sisters interact for the first time. Nimue reminds me a bit of Delia, only if Delia were cold and mean for no apparent reason.

“Take care of yourself,” Nimue whispers, cupping Delia’s face tenderly. “I can come with you, if you’d like. Do you feel safe with him?”

“Stop it! I can do this on my own.”

“Please, Nimue, I already asked for you to stay out of dangerous things, don’t make me ask again.”

“I’m powerful, too! I’m just as capable as he is.”

“I don’t want you getting hurt! What would mom say?”

Nimue ducks her head, furiously wiping at her eyes. Delia comforts her, pulling her into a hug that Nimue slowly reciprocates.

“I’m proud of you, Delia,” she whispers, sniffing loudly. “Mom would be proud, too. She always knew that you were capable of great things. It took me a while to reach that conclusion, too.”

A sigh escapes my nostrils. At that moment, I think about my mother and how she would feel about this situation. Would she be proud, too? This is everything she always wanted for me. She wanted me to seize an opportunity to elevate our family’s reputation and I’m going for it. I finally have it at the tips of my fingers.

Can I go through with it, though? At the cost of something so beautiful?

“Stop, you’re making me cry,” Nimue jokes, laughing through her tears. Delia wipes her thumb across her cheek. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come along?”

“I’m positive about it. I don’t want you getting hurt. Thorne and I need to do this.”

Nimue’s eyes move from Delia to me. Then, she nods. Something flickers in her eyes that I can’t decipher.

“Good luck in there, Delia,” she says, planting a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll wait for you outside the temple. You better be careful, kid. I’m warning you.”

“Don’t point a finger in my face,” Delia replies, smiling as she swats away her sister’s digit. “And don’t talk to me like that, I’m your elder.”

“Barely! Only by two years!”

“That doesn’t negate the fact that I’m older than you.”

I smile, watching the sisters have their moment while they bid farewell. Nimue mumbles a few things in her ear which makes the smile disappear from Delia’s face, but then, Delia nods and pats her on the hand.

She returns to me with a sad smile as she waves goodbye to her younger sister. I can’t take my eyes off of Delia. She’s… beautiful.

“Let’s do this,” she says, after sucking in a deep breath. “I’m ready.”

“Do you feel alright?”

“Yes, I do. Let’s go.”

Delia leads the way towards the temple. With each step closer, I feel a strange sensation emanating up my legs and into my chest. Delia slows down her movements and I wonder if she feels the same things that I am.

In all my years of preparing for this, I never imagined that it would occur in this way. I figured that I was going to be confident in my stride, taking the final steps towards the destiny that I’ve carved out for myself. The one I deserve.

Yet, there’s an unexplainable fear that snakes its way through the barriers of my heart, making me afraid to come closer. The glistening gold beckons me over maliciously, knowing that it’s the object of my desire.

Then, that’s when I notice Delia. Not only is she transfixed by the temple, but she gazes at the nature around us. The trees, the flowers, the birds that flutter from canopy to canopy and call out to one another.

The longer I stare at her, the more I realize that she isn’t worth losing. I don’t know what I’m going to do in that temple, since it’s far too late to back out now, but I must keep her alive.

“Do you feel that?” Delia asks, staring up at me with a world of wonder in her eyes that steals the breath from my lungs.

“I do.”

“Is it… normal? I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about this, besides nervousness.”

It’s an electric sensation, a feeling that’s firing off within my body and hers. We’re connected at this moment, two halves made whole.

She follows my lead as I lift up my hand to place it upon the golden door, engraved with symbols and ancient text that I’m too frazzled to decipher right now. The moment our skin meets the gold, the door vibrates violently and cracks open, splitting down the middle and parting to allow us through.

Inside, I see nothing but the darkness that awaits us. I hold my breath, anticipating something to leap from the shadows, but nothing is there. We have to be the ones to enter.