36. Reunited

"Amaya, my love? Are you awake? Please come back to me."

I jumped up and pushed away from the hands caressing my face, then hit the owner in the chin.

"Get the fuck away from me!" I said, stepping back, afraid that he would hit me again.

"Amaya, what is wrong?" He asks worriedly.

I looked around me, confused, when I noticed the white walls.

I close my eyes, leaving my body to slide down to the ground as I realise this is another scene from my never-ending nightmare of a life.

"So what are you going to do this time, Oren? You already cheated on me and hit me. What now? Kill me? Then do it to finish with all of this mess! Kill me at once!" I yell desperately between sobs.

His eyes flooded with tears as he stepped towards me.

"Amaya, what are you talking about? I never even watched another woman! Because I always saw you! In all these five years I waited for you! But then, when I came to your Realm for the first time and heard you telling another man that you love him, my whole world collapsed. But not even then wanted another woman."

A tear escaped his eyes when I lifted my hand for him to stop.

The door opened, and Evolet came in with Blaze on her tail.

"What is happening here? Amaya? Thank God you are awake."

She runs towards me with open arms, but I get up and step away.

The pain in her eyes made me question this reality.

'Is this another nightmare? Are they going to hurt me again?'

'Amaya…?' Ivy's weak voice came into my head.

'Ivy? Where are you? What is going on?' I ask her, looking into Evolet's eyes while I instinctively create a water wall between us.

Then I realised that in my nightmares, I could not use my gift. I could not control the water.

"This is real. You are real, my real friends…." I said, letting my body collapse to the floor.

"Yes, Amaya! This is us. And we will not hurt you! Never! You are family, Amaya! We will die for you if needed." Evolet said in a warm voice, tears streaming down her face.

She took slow steps towards me, and I let the wall down.

"My love, you made me so worried. How do you feel?" Oren asks and comes to hug me before Evolet could. She chuckled, patting him on the back.

"Well, Blaze, I think we need to check on Eden. Maybe she is awake now." She said with a small smile and headed to the door.

"Is that true?" I ask with tears still running down my face while looking into Oren's charcoal dark eyes. The same eyes that I dreamed about for the last five years.

"I'm not sure what you are referring to, but everything I said in the last three days is true."

'Three days? I've been out for three days?' I thought but brushed the thought away. So it is true.

"Please repeat it," I ask him in a pleading voice.

He cups my cheeks looking between my eyes and lips. Love and lust were visible on his face.

I nod my head slowly, letting him know that I want that too. I wanted to kiss him so much. Like he was the only air I could breathe.

He pecks my lips and pulls away to look at me once more, but before he has time to do something else, I smash my lips on his without thinking about anything else.

His arms move to my sides, and he lifts me but only to place me in his lap. We didn't pull apart till the moment none of us could breathe.

"I love you, Amaya! I loved you from the first moment my eyes landed on you, and I won't stop to do just that even if you ask me to.

I will love you and only you in all the lives that are to come."

My heart was beating so loud that one will think we're war drums. All these years, we have been apart, doing nothing to change how we feel for each other.

"I love you too, Oren Wood, my Alter, my soulmate, the love of my life," I said with a smile.

I was that happy that I was afraid to not wake up from this beautiful dream.

"Come, we should get you to your room now. It's cosier than this one."

I nod, and he lifts me in bridal style. My head was resting on his chest, and my eyes were closed. It was so peaceful that I wanted this never to end. But then I remember. My family and friends were still captive.

"Oren?! How long have I been out?" I ask, jumping from his arms and onto the cold floor.

"It's been three days since I found you in the forest. I brought you here because I didn't know what else to do. I just couldn't let you… I couldn't live without you, Amaya!"

My heart melted at his words, but I didn't say anything about this.

"We need to help them, Oren! No! I need to help them! I need to go! I was away for too much. They were in there for so long."

"We will, Amaya! But now you need to eat and to recover. Ivy is still weak as well as you. You cannot fight like this. I will not let you go!"

"This is not up to you, Oren! This is about my family and friends! You can not decide for me! I will go first thing in the morning! And do not even try to stop me! Cos, I would not care that you are my Alter! I'm sick of people ordering me around."

I could see the pain growing in his eyes, and it hurt me to say all of these things. But he needed to understand that I will do anything to save them.

"We will go, then, Amaya!"