Page 73 of The Heir

“I–this is so much–” I whispered back.

“I know, and I am sorry. It is just that I have held back for so long, and now that I can finally tell you how I feel–” he moved his forehead from against mine and took my hands into his again, kissing my knuckles.

Was he speaking of love? Did he love me? It seemed from his words he had been waiting and searching for me. Why? Was it because he loved me, or was it something else?I dreaded the possibility of it being something–anything else.

“What does this mean? How have you waited for me for ‘lifetimes’? What do you want withme? You liveforever? If thatis the case, there is no way my parents are from the magical realm of Terra. They are gone. If they lived forever, they should still be alive.”

“We age differently. Time is different. It takes us longer to reach a single Earth year. I am eighteen in Earth years, but on Terra, I am ten times that.”

I shook my head. “So, you're an old man?” I scrunched up my face.

“Do I look like an old man to you, Emma?” he asked, walking backwards and holding out his arms with a smile.

“No–but why do I have this soul melody? I have never been to another land or realm like Terra. I would have remembered that. I mean why would my mom write stories about it, make me believe it was fiction when it was real?”

“That is the part we have to figure out. Perhaps, she believed you would never return to Terra, so she wanted you to have a little bit of it with you–even if it was just in stories.”

“But, my parents–they–”

Died.

I couldn't say it outloud.

“Any magical being, or person, can die; we are not invincible. I wish you had not lost them. I’m so sorry,” he said, caressing my cheek as a tear dropped. He had gotten close to me again without me noticing, and I was grateful for him being there–for his warm electric touch, making my soul light up.

“Is this why you cannot be with your family? They are back there? Terra?”

He nodded.

“They are there still, trying to help our kingdom stand against the darkness. Traveling here was not easy, and until I complete my task, I will stay here.”

“So you will leave?” He looked sad for a moment, but then he looked up at me.

“You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You brought light into my dark world. I will never be without you again if I can help it–if you do not wish me away.”

“You did that for me, too. I would never want you to leave,” I responded in amazement. I pulled on his lapels, bringing our bodies closer again. “I never want to be without you–as long as you feel the same.”

He kissed my nose, and his forehead rested on mine. The song, ormelody,swirled around us as his touch sent electric waves through my body. I didn’t know how long we stood there, but I loved every single second of it. I looked at Shad’s digital watch. It was ten minutes past midnight. If I did not go inside, Mary would come out and start asking questions. With everything I just learned, I did not want to explain things to her yet. I wanted time to think everything all over.

“I have to go inside,” I said, pulling away, blushing. “Can we talk tomorrow? I have a hundred questions.”

“Yes, of course, we can. Thank you for going to the dance with me—”and for not being afraid of me,he spoke into my soul.

I smiled. “You’re welcome—” I answered. He nodded his head, and I turned around. As I placed a hand on the handle of my door, it was cool to the touch–such a contrast from the fire I felt with Shad. I turned it, opened the door, and looked at him one last time over my shoulder. He was like a star, glowing in the porchlight. He was not a vampire, a witch, nor a fey. He was Terran. I turned and went inside, shutting the door softly behind me. I leaned against the door, feeling my heart race. My melody reached out to Shad.If I pinch myself, will I discover all this is a dream?

No.

Magic is real. Magical creatures are real. Other realms exist. My mother’s stories were real.As hard as it was to admit it tomyself, my heart felt the truth of it.I was Terran. My soul sang–sang for Shad.

But the amazing thing was that his soul sang for me, too. I knew the stories, and that was significant.

I had so much on my mind, that I didn’t even take off my dress when I went into my room to contemplate everything Shad had told me. I couldn't even consider sleeping, not when magical beings and other realms were real, and somehow, I was actually a part of it. I looked at the box that held my parents' letters inside and sighed.

It is time.

I walked over to my dresser, picked up the box and went to my bed. I dumped it out, surprised to see a small stack of pictures. There were pictures of them on a picnic, at the beach, in a museum, on a hike, and many more. I went through the printed pictures, both laughing and crying, imagining the moments they had shared. The last picture in the stack was a picture of my mom and dad, side by side. My dad was looking at my mom. He looked at my mom as if she was everything he had ever wanted in life. My mom just looked at the camera, caught in a laugh. I held it closer to my face. My father had always adored my mother. I knew that, but that? That was something rare to catch in a photograph. He looked as if he would move the moon for her. I noticed then, for the first time in my life, that my parents looked the same there in that old photograph as they did the past year. I moved the picture closer to my face. I went through them all over again, more closely, and sure enough in every singlepicture, my parents looked as young and as youthful as the day they met. I flipped the picture over to the back and noticed a date written there in black ink:

December 2, 1920.

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