The Paragon Antaris - a secret World of magic #2

After the healers had taken care of Innia, I took her to my room. The healers said she was fine, she just needed rest to recover. Jade put her into a dreamless sleep from which she was supposed to wake up when she had recovered. It's now the third day that she's still sleeping.

Devas and Vaell reported to Father about everything we saw and about the angel's message. For me, however, the most important thing was not the completion of our bond, but Innia's recovery. For all the other beings on Antaris, the physical connection with their soulmates is long-awaited and natural, but how could I tell Innia what completion means when I promised to wait?

I felt pressured by everyone, even by the angel, and my promise now seemed treacherous and dangerous for the good beings. I didn't leave my room and watched over Innia while my mother looked after Nyllis. She told the child that Innia and I were doing an important training session that lasted a few days and it was important that we were undisturbed and focused. Lying to Nyllis was not our goal, but what would the child think if she saw her sister like that? My parents came regularly to check on her, but I refused to talk about what the angel said. I knew I would tell Innia when she asked, but now we're safe here and she's not feeling well at the moment, so why even talk about it?

I sat by the window thinking about how she will feel if I tell her, and I felt terrible, like I was forcing her to do something. Although I explained to her about the bond between us and expressed my feelings to her, she never told me what she felt.

Since I'm different anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if I were the first to be rejected by my mate. The fear of losing Innia made me sad and worrying about her very emotional. As I looked through the window and watched the sunset, I heard her groan as she got up in bed.

I called the healers immediately, and after she was examined and seemed okay, the pressure only increased. I was nervous, which she noticed immediately, and when she looked at me questioningly, I didn't know what to do and left the room. On my way out of the mansion, I ran into Vaell and Miriel who greeted me, but when I just kept walking, he followed me and sent his mate to Innia. I walked so fast it almost seemed like I was running, and when I got tired, I stopped.

Vaell stood next to me, holding the stitch he got while running on his side.

"What are you doing cardio?" Vaell asked, confused as he looked at me.

I walked back and forth, thoughts racing through my mind as Vaell sat on the sand on the beach. I eventually stopped.

“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong with you? Is something wrong with Innia?” Vaell asked worriedly.

I stopped and looked at him.

“I promised her that I would wait and not force her to do anything. I wanted to do that too, but then the angel says, 'fulfill the covenant!' And everyone expects a miracle from me, so that I suddenly know everything. I can’t go back on my word. She likes me...or maybe not at all. She's only been here for a few days now...” The words just flowed out of me.

Vaell looked at me with amusement, and I became angry because his laughter was getting louder. He was lying on the sand and laughing loudly, which completely confused me.

"What's so funny?" I asked angrily.

Vaell saw that I didn't like his reaction and tried to remain serious.

“Elyon...that’s not how it works. Soulmates are not chosen at random. They are a gift from the Father of all beings to goodness. Due to the condition and circumstances she was in, you couldn't tell her everything. And your promise was out of love and devotion for your bond," Vaell said, still smiling at me.

"What do you want to say?" I asked him, confused.

“Innia is your soulmate! She is your perfect counterpart who only realizes her full potential as a whole with you. Everything you feel, she feels too. It's just a little different for her because her life hasn't exactly been a vacation. She doesn't know a lot of things that are normal for us. Of course, you can't just force a physical connection on her just because everyone expects it. But Elyon, she will want it herself. It is like that and has always been like that." Vaell answered, much calmer when he saw my tension.

I was still unsure about what to do, and Vaell looked at me with furrowed eyebrows.

"What?" he asked as he looked at me.

"What if she doesn't like me? What if she rejects me? You know that everything is wrong with me since my childhood. What if I lose her too?" I asked, scared.

Vaell stood up and got in front of me. I knew that my best friend would never lie to me, and I believed his words.

"Why wouldn't she like you, Elyon? The only thing you were missing was time. Time to spend alone. Time to get closer. Time to explain more to her." Vaell said in a serious tone.

Maybe he was right, and everything I was worried about would be sorted out with a little time together.

"Listen...Ava and Bael are taking the children on a trip to the Myrren Forest. Nyllis will also come along. They will stay there for three days of lessons and will sleep in the treetops, like we used to." he said to me.

"What do you suggest?" I asked him.

"I suggest you take your mate and go somewhere alone!" he replied, laughing.

"I could take Innia to Island Bellatorum. To the other side where my parents enjoy their time together in the beach house. There we would be undisturbed and far away from the training camp." I said thoughtfully.

"Well, you see, that's my Elyon!" said Vaell as he patted me on the shoulder.

His pat on the shoulder almost knocked me over, and I pushed him back, which ended in a childish scuffle.

"You idiot should go to your mate, she'll think who knows what because of how you ran out of there." Vaell said as I pushed him into the sand.

I jumped up and knew he was right. My running away must have looked strange, and I had to go back to Innia immediately. The way back turned out to be a race between us, and when I got to my room and couldn't find Innia there, I was disappointed. Vaell pointed to her room where Miriel just came out and gave me a poisonous look.

"Idiot," she said to me as she walked past me and into Vaell's embrace.

"Thank you," I said to Vaell, who bowed playfully to me and left with Miriel.

When I went to Innia's room, she was sitting on the bed with Nyllis, and the little girl was talking excitedly about the upcoming trip. Nyllis was very happy when she saw me and ran into my embrace. She pulled me into their room and started talking again about her upcoming trip. I looked at Innia, who looked at me with a smile and didn't seem angry or disappointed with me.

"Are you alright?" she asked worriedly.

I felt so bad when I realized that she wasn't angry but worried about me.

"I'm fine now," I said as I smiled at her.

Her cheeks blushed, and her shyness proved to me that Vaell was completely right. I just had to spend more time with her and conquer her completely.

"Unfortunately, you can't come with me," Nyllis said to Innia as she talked about the trip again. "You know what, Nyllis? I'm going to take Innia on a trip too, so she doesn't get sad," I said to the little girl as she was happy about my suggestion.

I explained to Innia where I would take her while Nyllis was gone, and she thanked me with a smile. When Nyllis fell asleep after a while, Innia went to the door with me.

"Thanks, Elyon, for the invitation to the island, but I think we should perhaps discuss and carry out the completion of the Bond," Innia said to me.

I had to smile at her statement; what does she think the completion looks like?

"Well, that's what we'll do on the island...I think...I mean...okay, I'll pick you up tomorrow after Nyllis goes on the trip. We have a lot to talk about," I said, confused, and Innia just smiled at me.

"How long will it take to complete?" Innia asked me, still smiling.

I blinked a few too many times when she asked me that.

"Ermm, well, it depends. Usually not that long.." I said tensely without really thinking about my answer.

She nodded and talked about how we should do this quickly because it was so important. I felt uncomfortable in the conversation that was actually about our physical connection, but she obviously didn't know anything.

"Well then, goodnight Innia, see you tomorrow," I said as I quickly said goodbye to her and walked towards the room. When I turned to her again as I stood at my door, she was still watching me walking and smiling at me.

Her innocent nature and the ignorance she had only made her even more beautiful in my eyes. I looked at her as she stood there in her sleeping robe and waved to me. Father of all beings, help me.