Chapter 55 The Gate to The Sky
Aurora:
I expected a garage.
Something normal. Something grounded. Something that fit into the world I knew before tonight.
But the tunnel opened into a cavernous space that looked like it had been carved out of the earth before the city above it ever existed.
A private hangar, hidden so deep underground it felt like we were standing at the bottom of a forgotten world.
The ceiling arched high above us, disappearing into shadows so deep I couldn’t see where the darkness began. Warm, dry air brushed against my skin, no humidity, no dust, no city scent. Just clean, filtered air that made my lungs sting with how unnatural it was.
And in the center of the colossal room sat a jet.
But not the kind billionaires posted on magazine covers.
This one was sleek, black as obsidian, with silver crescent markings so subtle they vanished when the light shifted. Its edges seemed too smooth, too deliberate, like it had been carved from a single piece of metal rather than assembled. It sat silent and waiting, like a living thing holding its breath.
“Is that… yours?” I whispered.
Levi didn’t even look at it. “It's ours.”
My heart did a little flip at his words, 'ours'...
"And it's not a big deal." He added with a little shrug, and that was amusing, despite the situation we were in.
Lucas let out a humorless chuckle. “You’re underselling it, Alpha. This jet costs more than a minor nation’s infrastructure.”
Levi ignored him and walked toward the plane with the same steady, predatory stride he always had. His presence filled the space, making the enormous hangar feel smaller, like the walls bent around him.
Everything made sense now.
Some men accumulated power. And the sheer magnitude of power he had was just beginning to dawn on me.
Levi Kingston was born into it. This was all too overwhelming for me. I am never impressed by wealth, but my brain was in chaos right now. So I decided to shelf it for a later day.
My breath caught as soon as I noticed. “This isn’t human tech.”
“No,” Lucas answered, scanning the room with a handheld device. “It’s harmonized tech. A blend of mechanical engineering and old-world energy manipulation.”
“Magic?” I murmured.
“Call it what you want.” Lucas shrugged. “It flies without leaving a signature. Not on radar. Not on satellite. Not even on magical detection grids.”
Rylan let out a low whistle. “The Council would kill for this thing.”
“They tried,” Levi said simply.
No one asked him to elaborate.
The twins tightened their grip around me as the engine lights flickered to life, soft, silver, almost like starlight. No harsh glare. No roar.
Just a slow awakening.
Jax groaned faintly from Rylan’s shoulders. Agnes touched his forehead with gentle fingers.
“He’ll hold,” she murmured. “Barely.”
Rylan adjusted his grip. “He’d better. I’m not dropping a 200-pound soldier mid-flight.”
“Put him in the rear cabin,” Levi instructed. “He’ll be safer there if the wards shift when we pass through.”
My stomach flipped. “Wards?”
Levi stopped, hand on the bottom step of the jet’s staircase. “You’ll feel them.”
The way he said it… My mark pulsed.
I wanted answers. Desperately.
But I also didn’t want to delay. Because for the first time since he returned, Levi looked… afraid.
Not panic.
Not uncertainty.
Just the quiet fear of a man returning to a place he had abandoned, knowing it would remember.
And judge.
Inside, the jet was impossibly quiet.
Not sterile. Just opulent. Cream leather seats. Dark polished wood. Amber lighting that softened every hard edge.
Even the air smelled different: pine, warmth, and something else…
Something that smelled like Levi.
The twins inhaled nervously, then relaxed against my chest like they recognized it.
Levi stepped in after me and sealed the door. The sound wasn’t a click. It was a deep, faint hum, like an energy lock sliding into place.
“Belts,” he murmured. “Prepare for rapid ascent.”
Lucas and Agnes took the seats opposite us. Rylan and Jax were in the back. The plane began to move before everyone was even buckled.
“Levi,” I said quietly, “tell me what’s going on. What threshold? What wards? Why can my children hear magic?”
He didn’t answer at first. Just stared ahead as the runway lights in the hangar lit up in sequenced bursts.
Then...
“Aurora,” he said softly, “the island is not just hidden. It is protected. Bound by a blood oath older than the Council.”
Lucas nodded. “And only those of the bloodline can feel the wards.”
My heart stuttered. “But I’m not...”
“You are,” Levi said, gaze flickering to my mark. “More than you know.”
Before I could speak again, the jet launched.
Not like a plane. Like a missile.
We shot forward with a force that slammed me back against the seat. The twins squealed, not in fear but in surprise. The hangar blurred. Then the jet tilted upward, steep, aggressive, unnatural.
My fingers dug into the leather armrests.
“Don’t fight it,” Levi murmured, voice steady despite the acceleration.
“Easy for you to say,” I gasped.
His hand slid over mine, anchoring me. The pressure eased. The noise softened. And suddenly...
Silence.
We’d broken through the surface and into the night sky.
The city glittered beneath us, a map of cold lights and distant danger. But up here, it felt far away.... unreachable. At least for the moment.
Lucas tapped a screen. “We’ll rendezvous with the yacht in thirty minutes. From there, only water routes. The wards don’t allow direct overflight.”
“A yacht?” I repeated.
Levi didn’t smile, but there was a softness around his eyes. “Not luxury. Shielded transport.”
Of course it was. Of course, even his yachts were enchanted.
Aria rubbed her eyes and whispered, “Mommy… the sky is humming.”
I froze. Because she was right. The hum was back: Stronger. Deeper. Resonant.
The plane didn’t cause it. The world did.
Agnes turned sharply in her seat. “The wards are waking. They feel you.”
“Feel… me?” I whispered.
“And the children,” she said. “Especially them.”
Lior leaned close to the window. “I hear singing.”
My blood turned to fire.
Levi exhaled, his voice barely above a whisper. “We’re almost home.”
The word home hit something deep inside me, something I didn’t want to look at too closely.
But I could feel it too.
We weren’t just flying toward a place.
We were flying toward a truth.
One I wasn’t ready for.
One the Council would kill to destroy.
One Levi had spent years running from.
Ahead, far beyond the clouds, a faint silver glow pulsed like a heartbeat.
The wards.
The island.
The beginning of everything.