Chapter 92 Lady

Lady

Avalyn

A deep pit formed in my belly the moment we stepped in.

I was watching my step when I entered so I saw a line of green grass pass from under my feet and extend and starter covering the large expanse of void in front of us.

A gasp left my mouth when I saw acres and acres of land in front of us, covered in neatly trimmed, lively green grass. And on that grass were well-groomed and maintained beautiful gardens, covering the entire land. The cold weather changed and the gloomy weather dispersed. It was almost as if...as if it was spring. How is this possible? The temperature didn't feel like it was freezing negative something Celsius but almost as if it was twenty degrees.

My heart thudded.

Is this real?

Or am I imagining this?

Nik and I continued walking forward and then again, a line slipped from beneath our feet and a white cobble-stoned path followed the line and created a straight path for us, from the middle of the gardens, up to the top of the mountain. Small stems erupted from the ground on either side of the path, formed into plants first, and then continued growing taller and taller to turn into beautiful green, lush trees, creating a canopy around us. And then more trees of a different kind started ground around the garden. Flowery plants and bushes grew, ponds formed out of nowhere. It looked well planned...as if it had come straight out of a fairy-tale.

The sun was on the horizon. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue, purple, pink, and deep orange and yellow around where the sun was setting. The clouds moved at a slow pace, taking their time, almost as if they stopped to stare and marvel at the sight that was being created in front of them.

Birds chirped as they flew back to their nests. I saw a bird settle on the edge of the fountain that suddenly appeared in the middle of the garden that was towards our right and then it drank some water.

A very similar fountain was in the middle of the garden which was towards our right too.

Is this some sort of magical land? Am I imagining all of this?

But it feels so real!

As we walked forward over the white cobblestone— which now that I noticed is marble, I could see a small figure perched at the top of the mountain. I couldn't make out what it was.

As we made our way there, the world around us came to life— more fountains with sparkling water shooting out of them, beautiful trees, plants with flowers like rose, lilies, peonies, morning glories and many that I didn't even recognize were in full bloom.

My feet stopped when the figure at the top of the mountain grew clearer.

It was a palace. An enormously colossal palace with cylindrical columns supporting the huge figure and different arches.

And it only grew larger as the distance between us and the palace lessened.

It was an all-white palace in pristine condition.

But what bewitched me was that it wasn't just any palace. It was the same palace that I had imagined.

The same, down to the intricate carvings that were etched on the walls of the entire palace.

"Nikolai..." A mesmerizing whisper left my mouth.

"Be on your guard, Avalyn." His voice snapped me out of my daze. "You cannot trust this place. We must find the person who is creating this—" He stopped.

"This whole palace. Which is the same as I imagined." He nodded at my words.

"The gardens were exactly as I imagined." He said lowly. "Down to every blooming flower. To test it out, I imagined birds drinking water from the fountain and the birds came to life." He hissed. "What kind of magic is this? Do you realize the amount of power this man has if he has the power to bring thoughts of others to life?"

And that's when dread slithered into my heart.

I had been so busy admiring our surroundings that I forgot reality.

This does not happen in real life.

When we finally reached the palace, large closed doors greeted us. Intricate circular patterns were delicately carved over it.

This was something that I had not imagined.

And then the doors moved and Nik's grip on my hand tightened.

The doors opened and a woman in white slipped out before the doors shut again.

The woman— she was the woman who I saw in my dreams.

The woman with silver hair and peaceful blue eyes.

The woman who always claimed that she was me.

"Who are you?" Nik demanded.

The lady smiled and I felt Nik freeze and his coiled-up body relaxed. Much like when his body relaxes after I give him a massage.

"I have been waiting for the both of you." She smiled warmly at both of us. "It's been centuries since anyone has been able to make it here."

"What do you mean?" Nik asked. His body may be relaxed but he did not trust her.

Trust came hard to him.

"You will know in due time, Nikolai." She gave him another warm smile but her eyes teared up. "It's been so long since I've seen you." She whispered.

Who is she?

Nik moved towards her but then stopped and his body tensed again like he was trying hard to stay rooted in his place. "I've never seen you in my life."

All she responded was with another smile.

"You have done a good job up till now, Avalyn." She turned towards me.

"Thank you." I smiled. She had told me that I needed to protect Nikolai and that the time is coming.

The time for war came and I made sure Nik is safe.

"But the main war isn't over yet." She said and a frown etched on my face. "The time is coming."

"Who is she Avalyn?" Nikolai tightened his hold on my hand.

"She is the lady that comes in my dreams, Nikolai." A flicker of realization hit his eyes. "She was the one who told me that I need to protect you, the time is coming and that I need to brighten the darkness."

She smiled at that.

"I am her, Nikolai." The lady told him.

Nikolai did not look like he trusted her one bit.

"You both have a big role to play in the future. And I need you two to remain safe. For that, I gift you my home." She motioned towards the palace that was behind her.

What?

Her home?

But according to the legend, on top of the mountain was the home of Goddess Luna and God Sol.

What?

"As you step inside, it will mold to your liking. No one will step in without your permission." Her eyes slid to Nikolai. "Exactly as you wanted. Think about it and it will come to life. You have time until the moon sets and the sun rises. Make most of it." She said, and then a wave of calm washed over me.

"Give me your hands." She extended her hands towards both of us and instinctively, my arm rose and I placed my hand in hers and so did Nik.

She looked at both of us, still holding our hands. "You need to make the right choices in life. Whatever happens, whoever happens, stay true to your heart. There will be times when you don't know what the truth is, remember that the truth is inside you at all times. Both of you need to grow into yourselves. Avalyn, you're almost there. Nikolai, you have a long way to go, you just need to stay strong. Surround yourself with your loved ones and no matter what happens, don't give up hope. There is always light after darkness," and then she specifically looked at me, "until then, brighten the darkness." And then she looked at Nik, "she shines because of you, don't turn away from her." And then she turned back to me again, "always look for him for enlightenment. He will never fail you."

Everything she said made sense but I felt like she was giving us a cryptic message that we needed to understand. And that confused me greatly.

"Mate or pack?" She asked.

"Mate." Both of us said with unwavering determination.

"Mate or children?" She asked. Images flashed through my mind of a mini version of Nik with his thunderstorm grey eyes and my dark brown hair. I can never have that. My heart ached.

"Mate." We said silently after a beat.

She gave us a secret smile. A shot of spark jolt through me and then she turned our palms over.

There was a cut in the middle of our palms. Red blood flowed out of Nik's cut but sparkling gold blood flowed out of mine.

I heard Nik's breath hitch.

I looked at him and he was looking at his hand which was held by the lady and then his gaze slid to my hand.

His eyes widened a the sight of my golden blood.

"Place your palms on the door." She told us and again, instinctively, without question, we stepped forward.

I placed my palm on the left door and Nik placed his palm on the right one—circular designs near the edge of the door.

The golden blood leaked from my hand and passed through the carvings of the entire door, making it look like the carvings over it were made out of real gold.

Nik's red blood too passed through the carvings of the right door and then the different colored blood slipped into each other's side of the doors and the carvings had both, red and golden color.

The uneven surface of the door, which was because of the carvings, evened out as the blood-filled the cavities of the carvings.

And then the doors flashed with a silver light so brightly that I had to shield my eyes.

When I opened them again, the gold and red blood were spreading through the cavities into the carvings over the castle.

Unknowingly, I took a couple of steps back.

The entire palace now had red and golden carvings over it, like it was always there. And it didn't look like blood at all. It looked like hundreds of skilled workers had plated the carvings with ruby and gold, oddly making the palace a bewitching sight.

All the breath left my lungs.

It was so beautiful.

It was even more beautiful than I had imagined.

"This will ward off negative energy and unwanted people." The lady said softly. "This is all the state-of-the-art security system you will ever need."

Nik's lips parted. He had said those exact words outside of that hut.

"I know you don't believe me, Nikolai." She looked at Nik. "But I know you feel it. I know you trust me."

Feel what?

Nik nodded.

She smiled. "I am the mate of the man who is you."

Huh?

"You will know everything in due time." She gave us a last smile before her expression turned serious. "But for now, it's time to prepare. He will strike. The time is nearing."

And just like that, in the blink of an eye, she vanished.

I turned to Nikolai, waiting for his next move.

"Do you trust her?" He asked me, his eyes on the door.

"Yes." Every fiber of my being trusted her.

"Then let's go inside." He caught my hand again and we both stepped towards the doors.

We both placed our hands over the doors and pushed them open.

Another line slipped from beneath our feet and the black void turned into a richly decorated foyer. It had a lavish set of the staircase that led to the floor above and a red carpet covering it, exactly like my imagination.

"Ava," Nikolai called me.

"Having stairs by the entrance won't be the smartest move." He said and the scene before my eyes changed and a long foyer formed in front of my eyes.

"This is where the entrance guards will be stationed, who will lead the incomers to where ever they have to be. This way, no one gets a direct entry in our home and watchful eyes are on them since the moment they are in." Nikolai explained. "Even the people we want here might have ulterior motives."

I hadn't considered that.

I'm neither an experienced, brilliant tactician nor a war strategist, unlike Nikolai.

"How about I design the layout of the palace and you decorate the interiors? I'm shit at decorating things." He grinned down at me.

"Yes." I grinned back.

And just like that, we went about the entire palace, mapping, and designing, and furnishing the entirety of the palace.

Nikolai was always a planner. And he planned the entire palace perfectly. The palace has four floors and four wings—north, south, east, west. The west wing was going to be our private section, no one other than family would be allowed there. The north wing held the Royal Dining Hall, the Throne Room, The Council Room, a smaller council room, and then a few living rooms and numerous offices and conference rooms. All the work-related areas. Then the first floor of the east wing had recreational areas like the gym, swimming pool, indoor garden and greenhouse, a theatre, multiple ballrooms, and all that. The second floor had guest rooms and quarters. And on the third and the fourth floor were the living quarters of the council members that were yet to be chosen. And the south wing has more guest bedrooms and the main kitchen from where most of the food would come for the entire palace but mainly it was for the staff. Nikolai made it and I decorated it.

By the end of it, I was tired and my legs dragged as we came to the last wing.

The west wing. This would be the wing that will be only ours.

"You can rest if you want, I will finish it," Nikolai told softly just as he finished with the main hallway after we entered the west wing.

"No, it's fine," I told him. Both of us had been on our feet since the morning. Nik more so because he had been training early in the morning while I was sleeping. "And the sun will rise in some time too."

"As you wish, Love." Nikolai placed a kiss on top of my head. "You can go to our bed chamber and do it. It's on the top floor, the one straight down the hall. I will take care of the rest." And then he pointed towards the end of the hall. "The elevator is there."

Nodding, I took to the elevator to the top floor which was the fourth floor. Following the direction Nik gave me, I walked down the long hallway and pushed open the double doors, and entered our bedroom. The palace was humongous and it had tired me a lot, especially after the long hike up the mountain.

A breath of relief left my mouth. It was empty but this felt like home.

It felt more of a home than the estate back in the Rogue Pack.

I placed a king-size bed against the sidewall and added night tables on either side of it. I added two large-sized walk-in closets and filled them with everything we could need. I also kept a double-door-sized gap so both of them were connected from the inside.

Then I walked into the bathroom, and much like the one we had in Mozog, I made two pools, a large shower area, a sitting area, and lastly a big bathtub for two. I also connected the bathroom to the closets for easy access.

Nik and I loved having baths together so I made sure the entire bathroom was perfect.

I went back to the bedroom and went over all the details. I also added a desk that Nik would need and a coffee table with two comfortable seats.

I walked out to the balcony took a deep breath of fresh air. I made the large space into a green balcony by adding plants around the edges. I also put a hanging chair swing similar to the one that Nik had bought for me back at the estate. And lastly, I put a dining table for two in case we wanted to have a meal outside.

The sun was about to rise over the horizon in a couple of minutes.

"The bedroom is lovely." Nikolai stepped behind me and placed a kiss on my neck, over my mark.

"Thank you," I whispered and we both watched the sunrise.

I placed my hands over the balcony and saw the sky change colors as the sun rose.

"Do you know why I chose the west wing to be our wing?" Nik asked softly.

I shook my head.

"You see right there?" His arm extended and he pointed towards the faraway coast, where the land met the ocean. "That's where the Rogue Pack is."

"So that even if we are living in this huge palace, which seems so distant from the real world, we don't lose sight of reality. Of where it all started. Of where we started." His hands sat atop my waist.

"I will never forget it." I turned around to look at him. I rose on my toes and kissed the corner of his lips. "Let's go make this palace our home."

And then I dragged him to bed and did wicked things to his body.