Page 94 of Validus Vale Academy 1
And as abruptly as the compulsion seized me, it vanishes. "Don't let me go," I croak, my voice raw and shaky. I'm terrified. I need them. Alexis goes to push Cosmo away, his protective instincts flaring. "No! Stop! I need him too," I scream.
I need all of them. Their combined strength. Their anchors.
"I'm here," Cosmo replies, his arms wrapped around my waist, holding me tight and secure. "I'm not going anywhere.”
"Pulu, are you okay?" Alexis asks softly, his voice laced with concern.
Am I okay? No. No, I am not, most definitely. What just happened? What was that?
“Tell us what's going on,” he continues. “How can we help you?"
“I-I don't know. I had to get to the light, and now? Now I don't. But if you let me go, if any of you let me go…"
Alexis's gaze flicks over my head, and I feel a silent communication passing between the three men. "We won't let you go, Theo."
“What the fuck were you playing at?" Cosmo growls, his grip tightening.
"Cut the crap," Alexis snaps, his voice sharp. "Stop acting like you don't give a damn when it's obvious you do. Theo, can you tell us anything more?"
I shake my head, the movement sluggish, as if my neck muscles have turned to jelly. "It was my body, like it had a mind of its own. Not like I was possessed, but I truly think my body was trying to tell me something. To go somewhere."
—Tell you what, nymph?—
"I don't know, Lu." I shake my head again, and tears well up in my eyes, hot and stinging. "Gods, what’s happening to me? And why does it feel right to have you all holding me, but it also feels so fucking wrong?"
A tiny piece of Cosmo’s frustration bleeds into my brain; his unspoken words are sharp, cutting at me. —Little idiot…danger…stupid…dud—I squeeze my eyes shut, but that doesn't stop the onslaught. I can't close my ears, can't shut down my mind. I'm raw, exposed, every inner thought around me a brutal, unfiltered wave.
—fucking dynamite this place..not safe—
—put her in danger…I failed—
—idiot…won't listen to me…hates me—
And then there's something else, a voice I've never heard before, a cool, resonant whisper threading through the chaos.
—Theodora—
“Yes?” I whisper.
—You’re finally here. I’ve waited so long—
“Who are you?” I ask.
Alexis’s hand tightens on my shoulder. “Who are you talking to, Pulu?”
I wait for the strange voice to answer, but it’s silent.
“Little dud?”
—Nymph—
And then something happens. A burning in my gut, a churning, searing feeling in my chest, like a thousand stampeding animals desperate to burst free, surges through every corner of my being. It's a primal, overwhelming force. My body is filled with roaring winds and heaving oceans, a cosmic maelstrom. The rocks beneath my feet start to tremble, vibrating with immense power. Behind my closed eyelids, lights explode, dazzlingly bright, a supernova of lilac and gold.
“Don’t let her go,” someone screams, fear raw in their tone.
“She’s too strong.”
—NYMPH!—
