I reached for him, but he was already being dragged away from me.
I stretched my hand toward him, but the distance between us seemed to grow in seconds.
Then everything went black.
A few minutes later, I felt cold water surround me.
I gasped and instinctively opened my mouth, but water rushed inside.
Panic hit me immediately.
I kicked my legs and pushed my arms through the darkness, trying to find the surface.
My chest burned.
I didn’t know which way was up anymore.
Then I saw a faint light above me.
I pushed toward it with everything I had.
I finally broke through the surface and sucked in a desperate breath.
“Cross,” I mumbled.
I turned around, searching the water.
Nothing.
The waves pushed me up and down, and fear quickly took over.
I had always been terrified of deep water.
The memory of Cross saving me before flashed through my mind, but he wasn’t beside me this time.
The barrier had separated us.
Another wave crashed over my head.
I swallowed water and sank again.
My arms became heavy.
I tried to keep myself above the water, but my body was already losing strength, then something moved beneath me.
I froze.
A dark figure was swimming toward me.
For one terrifying second, I thought it was another creature from Larvana.
I saw the familiar red eyes and relief hit me so hard that I almost cried.
Cross reached me and wrapped his arms around my body, pulling me firmly against him before swimming toward the surface.
The moment my head broke through the water, I gasped desperately.
I clung to him, nearly pulling him back beneath the surface as I struggled to keep myself afloat.
“Calm down Imogen.” He said.
His voice was steady, but I could feel the strength leaving his body as he held me.
I tightened my arms around him.
“I thought I lost you.”
He didn’t answer immediately.
He only held me tighter and guided me toward the shore.
When we finally reached land, I collapsed onto the sand.
I coughed violently, water pouring from my mouth.
My hands shook as I tried to breathe properly.
Cross stayed beside me, one hand supporting my back as he gently patted it.
I slowly opened my eyes.
Something felt different.
The air, smell and the warmth against my skin.
I pushed myself up and looked around.
There were no red leaves stretching over the mountains.
No strange snow covering the ground.
No frozen battlefield.
No distant creatures moving between the trees.
Ahead of us was a small island surrounded by blue water.
Palm trees moved gently in the breeze, their green leaves shining beneath the sunlight.
Farther away, I could see the faint outline of buildings beyond the sea.
Then I noticed a small boat floating upside down near the shore.
It wasn’t a strange creature or some ancient vessel from Larvana.
It was a normal boat.
Reality hit me at once.
We were on Earth.
I almost laughed from relief.
I could almost hear traffic.
People talking.
Music playing from someone’s phone.
The sound of a world that had continued moving while I was gone.
I pressed a hand against my chest.
“Where are we?” Cross asked.
“We are on earth.” I said with a smile.
I looked around again, almost afraid to believe it.
The warm air touched my skin again, and the familiar smell of the sea filled my lungs.
I was finally home.
The relief lasted only a few seconds before another thought entered my mind.
We need to find his crown.
“We need to find the museum.” Cross said.
“How do we get there??” I asked with a smile.
Cross held my hands.
“We have to teleport to the museum.”
“Teleport? You’ll be using your essence and that’s dangerous.”
“It’s fine and safe, for me to use it since we are now on earth.”
My smile disappeared.
“Cross I don’t want you to risk your life. It’s really dangerous Cross. I don’t want that.” I said, looking worried.
My fingers tightened around his.
For once, I wasn’t thinking about escaping from him.
I was thinking about what might happen if his power failed.
He looked at me for a moment.
“If I don’t, we won’t find our way out of this island in days.” He replied.
He was right.
I looked toward the endless water surrounding us.
There was no road.
No vehicle.
No clear way home.
I sighed.
“Okay, Cross but I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I won’t.” He replied.
He closed the gap between us and held my waist.
The sudden closeness made me look up at him.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
His red eyes stayed on mine, then the world blurred.
In a flash of light, we disappeared.
My feet landed on a hard floor and I opened my eyes.
Darkness surrounded us, then I recognized the familiar walls.
We were in the museum.
It was too quiet and everything felt wrong.
Yellow caution tape stretched across several corridors.
Some display cases had been moved, and several artifacts were covered with white sheets.
A broken glass panel lay near the entrance.
There were small numbers written on evidence tags beside some of the exhibits.
I swallowed hard.
After everything that had happened that night, I wasn’t surprised.
The FBI were already investigating the case.
I looked at Cross.
He was staring around the museum as if he could still see everything that had happened there.
I reached for his hand.
“Let’s go to the artifacts room. That’s where your tomb is.” I said and pulled Cross’s hand.
The elevator wasn’t working.
The power had been cut off, so we used the stairs instead.
With every step, I remembered how much I used to hate climbing them.
This time, I didn’t care.
I was too excited.
Soon, we reached the artifacts room.
No one was there.
The room was still the same, exactly how we had left it.
Except now, there was no one around.
I looked around.
Then I noticed Cross staring at something.
He had found his tomb.
His expression changed immediately.
Cross stopped in front of it.
For a moment, he didn’t touch it.
His eyes moved across the tomb.
I could see something change in his face.
This wasn’t just a tomb to him.
It was the place that had stolen centuries of his life.
He slowly raised his hand and touched the surface.
The moment his fingers made contact, a faint vibration passed through the stone.
I stepped closer.
“What is it?” I whispered.
Cross didn’t answer.
A thin line of golden light appeared beneath the tomb.
His eyes widened.
The stone began to tremble, and something was glowing inside.
I ignored all what he was doing.
Instead, I rushed toward my desk, trying to find my phone.
“Please let it still be there.” I muttered under my breath.
I opened the drawer.
My fingers froze.
There it was.
My phone was still there.
I was surprised no one saw it.
“Thank goodness.”
I turned it on and the screen lit up.
My picture with Alex appeared.
Seeing his face made my chest ache.
Then something huge caught my attention.
The date.
August 9.
My smile disappeared.
August 9?
I got my job on August 7 and I started my shift the next day, at midnight.
August 8.
But I had spent what felt like an entire week in Larvana.
Had only two days passed on Earth?
I itched my brows.
Time must have moved differently there.
The screen filled with missed calls and messages from Alex.
So many of them.
Guilt settled heavily in my chest.
How was I supposed to explain any of this to him?
What would I even tell him?
I had disappeared into another realm.
I had met a Devil.
I had almost died several times.
There was no way Alex would believe me and the only thing I could do was leave as soon as possible.
A rattling sound pulled my attention away.
I turned.
Cross was tearing into the tomb.
He moved pieces of it aside, searching through the ancient structure.
Something inside the tomb began glowing brighter.
The light reflected across Cross’s face.
Could it be the crown?
I wondered.
Cross reached inside.
His fingers closed around something.
He pulled it from the darkness and the crown emerged.
Gold gleamed beneath the dim light, and ancient symbols covered its surface.
Jewels were set into the metal, each one glowing faintly.
Cross didn’t move.
His fingers tightened around it, trembling slightly.
His eyes remained fixed on the crown as though he couldn’t believe it was real.
For days, this was the one thing he had been searching for.
His lips parted.
“Finally.”
He turned toward me, and I could see the relief in his eyes.
He had finally found his crown.
Everything seemed perfect, but suddenly, he screamed.
The crown slipped from his hand.
It struck the floor with a heavy metallic sound and Cross staggered.
“Cross?”
He didn’t answer.
He held his head tightly and his breathing became heavy.
I took a step toward him.
He screamed again.
The sound tore through the empty museum and I froze when I saw black veins spreading beneath the skin of his neck.
My chest tightened.
I had seen this before.
The same black veins.
The same pain and the terrifying look on his face.
“Cross…” I whispered.
He dropped to one knee.
His fingers dug into his hair as his entire body shook.
I took another step toward him.
My feet moved before I could stop them.
I took a step, then another.
I almost reached him, but I stopped.
Buttins’s voice returned to my mind.
“Leave Cross alone.”
I looked at the crown lying on the floor.
He had found it.
He had returned to Earth and his journey was over.
Maybe mine should be too.
I clenched my fists.
This was exactly what I had wanted.
Freedom, my old life and everything I had been trying to get back, but looking at Cross on the floor made my chest hurt.
He raised his head.
His eyes found mine.
Even through the pain, he was looking for me.
That almost broke me.
He really cared, but it wasn’t towards me.
It was all for Princess Imogen.
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
My heart kept telling me to go to him.
I wanted to run to him, hold him and make sure he was okay.
But if I stayed, I knew myself.
I would keep finding excuses to remain beside him.
Eventually, I would forget that I was Selene and that I had a life waiting for me.
So I forced the words out.
“Cross I’m sorry but I think this will be our farewell.”
Cross stared at me.
His eyes struggled to focus.
He screamed again, clutching his head.
“I have to go Cross. I don’t belong to Laravana and I wish you all the best. I hope you don’t hate me but I have to go back to my life. You’ll be fine right?”
“What are you talking about Imogen.” He groaned between pain.
His voice sounded weaker this time.
Tears blurred my visions.
I looked at him one last time.
“I’m sorry.” I said and turned around.
I didn’t say much.
I just wanted it to be over.
I walked away immediately.
Every step away from him felt like I was tearing something out of my chest.
I wanted to stop and turn around, but I kept walking.
Behind me, I heard the crown scrape against the floor as Cross tried to move.
“Imogen, don’t go.” His voice became weaker.
My eyes filled with tears when he said those words.
I stopped and I turned around.
Cross was on the floor, one hand pressed against his head.
His eyes were locked on mine.
“I’m sorry Cross. I want my life back.” I said.
I forced myself to walk away.
Then, through the pain, I heard him whisper.
“Please don’t leave me.”
I stopped.
Something suddenly beat inside my chest.
I pressed a hand against it, my eyes widening.
That wasn’t my heartbeat.
Another beat followed, stronger this time.
I looked down at my chest.
Could it be the soul link?
My breathing became heavy.
I slowly turned around again.
Cross was still on the floor, then I heard him whisper.
“Selene.”
My blood ran cold instantly.
He had never called me that.
Not once.
Not even by accident.
My eyes widened.
So he knew?All this time?
Buttins’s words slammed back into my mind.
“He couldn’t accept losing her and instead chose you as a replacement.”
Maybe Buttins had been right.
Maybe he wasn’t trying to separate us because he hated Cross, he was trying to protect me.
I looked at Cross again.
The memories rushed through my mind.
The way he had protected me.
The way he looked at me and he always seemed to know when I was afraid.
The way he had called me Imogen.
Could it all have been an act?
My stomach twisted.
Cross had never mistaken me for Imogen.
He knew I was Selene.
The realization hit me like a punch to the gut.
“What are you hiding from me, Cross?” I muttered.
Cross slowly raised his head.
His eyes were pitch-black.
Not the glowing red eyes I knew.
I took a step backward.
For the first time, I wasn’t sure who I was looking at.
I can’t stay here anymore.
I’m done with him.
I left him there and ran.
I rushed through the empty corridor and shoved open the nearest door, then I heard a loud crackle.
The museum speakers suddenly came alive.
Static filled the corridor.
I froze.
A voice whispered through the darkness.
“Welcome back, Selene.”
My heart skipped and I slowly turned toward the speaker.
“Who was that?” I muttered under my breath.
There was a brief silence.
I waited.
Then the voice spoke again.
“And you brought the Devil.”