Chapter 79: THE GATE OF THE DEAD

Siofra's POV

I wasn't shocked when I felt his gaze on me. I had gone to his room earlier after he came to Alda's room, frantically searching her bag for the gemstone, just to confirm that last night hadn't been some kind of nightmare.

But when I entered, he nearly bumped into me. Normally, that wouldn't have been a problem since I didn't have a physical body, but he had gasped in shock and immediately stumbled back as though he had actually seen me.

I panicked and left at once, but having him stand across the room now, staring directly at me, told me that my suspicion from earlier might be true.

“Who are you? What are you?” he asked as he approached me, his furious gaze locked onto mine.

Alda, who seemed to have finally pulled herself out of her shock, immediately threw herself between Xender and me.

“Xender, what are you talking about? There's no one there,” Alda began, her voice shaky and lacking confidence, as though she already knew there was no going back.

“It's okay, Alda. There's no need to hide anymore.”

“But it doesn't make any sense. How can he see you?” Alda asked, her voice dropping to a whisper as we both stared at Xender, who looked from me to Alda with barely contained anger burning in his eyes.

“It's very logical. Elba said that cultivating in your body means I now have a physical form, which means I can be seen. It might not be limited to elves' eyes alone. And after being able to bond with the stones yesterday, my presence is probably more noticeable than before.”

I explained, trying to think of every logical explanation I could come up with.

“Can someone talk to me? Who the heck are you, and what have you done to Alda?!” Xender's voice rose.

I moved toward him, but Alda grabbed my hand, stopping me.

“This is my call. Let me talk to him,” she pleaded.

I gave her a small nod before deciding to give them some space. With that, I immediately concealed my presence and disappeared.

Alda's POV

Once Siofra was gone, I turned to see even more shock register on Xender's face. He looked like a mess. He looked as though our very existence was driving him insane.

I faced him, letting out a heavy sigh as he began pacing around the room, his hands running roughly through his hair over and over again.

“Xender, I—”

“Are you even Alda? Have you ever been her? Is this another hallucination? Have I gone crazy?” he asked, stopping right in front of me.

I had never seen him like this before.

He had always been the one to keep me positive. He had always been the one who knew how to keep me sane.

“Xender, please...” I called out, taking a cautious step toward him as I gently reached my hand toward his face, needing him to see me.

But he frantically took two steps back.

“It's me, Alda. I know I might be a little different from the Alda you used to know, but no one can go through my kind of trauma and remain the same.

No one comes back from the dead and stays the same.”

My voice died away as I struggled to keep the tears from falling.

“Alda? Is that really you?” he asked, his voice filled with confusion and uncertainty as he slowly took two steps toward me.

“Please tell me it's you and that I'm not going crazy. Tell me I've just been tired. Tell me that the green-eyed, godly-looking lady isn't real. Tell me I'm only stressed out.”

The more he spoke, the worse I felt for him.

I couldn't believe I had ended up dragging him even deeper into this mess.

“It's a long story, and you might not believe me. Xender, a lot has happened, and I don't even know where to begin.”

“Tell me all about it,” he said immediately. “I want to know everything.”

\---

Elba's POV

I managed to distract the palace guards long enough for Eldarion to escape with the princess's body before leading them away. Once I was sure he had gotten far enough, I shifted back into my original form and made my way to the cave hideout.

I needed to warn the elderly elf about the danger that was coming.

If we were going to save Álfheimr, then getting the princess completely out of this realm might be our only option.

Darkness had already swallowed the sky by the time I arrived at the cave. I immediately took a careful look around to make sure I wasn't being followed before letting myself in.

The first person to approach me was Albina.

“Look who finally decided to join us,” she said, lifting her chin.

I knew she was simply waiting for me to admit that she had won the little game her brother and I had made her play, but now wasn't the time to deal with her annoying ass.

“Not now, Albina. I need to talk to the elderly elf. We have a much bigger problem on our hands,” I said, my irritation clear enough to leave no room for small talk.

“Wait, I thought getting the princess's body meant we won,” she said, matching her pace with mine.

“Well, just so you know, this is only the beginning. Siofra's evil sister is prepared to destroy all of Álfheimr just to prove a fucking point.

I was once like her, driven by anger and hatred toward the gemstones, but I never once considered destroying everything because of it.”

I stopped in front of the elderly elf's hut and knocked on the door.

“What do you mean by destroying all of Álfheimr?” Albina asked, her eyes widening in alarm.

“It means destroying the Wand of Light itself. After all, it is the source of power for all the gemstones. It means the fall of all ten kingdoms of Álfheimr.

Siofra is by far the only princess who has ever been able to bond with three gemstones, and that might be because she is the only person capable of stopping her sister from turning Álfheimr into a living nightmare.”

I explained, failing to notice the two figures who had appeared at the doorway.

“What do you mean by that?” Eldarion asked.

I turned to face the elderly elf, who seemed to be the only one among us who wasn't panicking.

“I retrieved the book,” I told her, pulling the black book from the bag hanging at my side and handing it over.

“Good work, everyone. Now we wait for Siofra's arrival. Once she returns to her body and fully processes the power of the three gemstones, then Alma is as good as finished.”

There was so much pride and confidence in her voice that I hated being the one who had to shatter it.

“There might be another problem...” I said.

She had already begun walking back inside, but my words brought her to an immediate stop.

“Alma has been preparing a ritual. She's planning to open the Gate of the Dead.”

The moment the words left my mouth, I watched the color drain from her face.