Between the lost stars

Chapter 31

Amelia

The library where we were sitting was dark, only the small candles on our table gave a little light. But that was enough. Annie's eyes were looking at books that were full of old stories, wars and a lot of false things about us. There were already fifty questions she asked after that stupid book. I just smiled and tried to convince her that that book should be thrown out the window. It was better to spend time here than to leave her alone in the room where she would start having those dark thoughts again. We hadn't even talked about what happened in her room when she ran to me completely terrified.

"Does each element gives our eyes a color?" Annie asked, lost in the mountains of stupid books. Her brown hair was tied in neat braids, her slender fingers followed the text of the book. "As you have white magic so your eyes are white."

"Yes." I confirmed. "Each magical soul is a certain color. When the soul chooses the body it wants to keep, it checks whether it has the specified characteristics. Each magic requires a different essence." There was a sparkling in her eyes again. I loved how I could feed her curious mind. "The earth element, which is the color green, requires soulful strength. Water, which is the blue element, requires a clear and pure mind. The air element, the color gray, requires agility and quick reflexes. And so and so."

"Does it have to be exactly the qualities you named?" She showed me her book. "See here? It says they all have to be perfect."

"No." I immediately thought about how different Kelsey and Pete were. They were both strong and carried the element of fire, yet they were two completely different people. Kelsey could never be as lying and treacherous as he was. And none of us were perfect. There has never been anyone like that and there probably never will be. ''When you are born soul marks you with special stardust. And even if you are not able to acquire those characteristics by time when the magic in you grows stronger, the soul will accept you as you are."

She turned back to her book and wrote something down with charcoal on a crumpled sheet of parchment. "How were you able to find me?" Annie's eyes searched me and I let out a knowing sigh.

"I don't belong to the magic five." I told her. "Like I said, I was only created to help them not get lost in the hardships of eternal life. I help souls reach the spirit world where they can start a new life and return pure." I saw pity in her eyes, so I turned and looked out the window. "The magic in me, however, turned out to be stronger than it seemed at first. I could sense the souls and magic in the veins of others, I could control it if I wanted to even take it away and keep it for myself. But ever since... when my friends died, their souls had to pass through me to reach spirit world, and their magic flowed into my veins." I swallowed tears. "That was the first and last time I've ever felt another's magic inside me."

I tried not to break down, I tried not to feel the emotions that were bubbling in my chest and the tears that wanted to roll down my cheeks. "You sense magic in me?" I heard her voice faintly whispering.

"I sense a soul in you that is full of magic, but that you are not yet able to reach it, yes." I took her hand in mine. "But I don't feel what magic you carry, I don't see its color, its power, nor the path of your destiny." Her face turned pale. "I think you will be the first of us to be able to choose your own path."

Her thoughts were running past each other, but she said nothing. She just stared at the book for a moment.

"Perhaps you want to know about cities? How did they come to be?" She just nodded her head slightly. "Hmmm... Let's see... Lazarette was the first city we created. The dark magic led by Gaelin was powerful yet very dangerous. That's why we did everything to make this city the strongest, we built a wall around the city, in case someone came we could create a large protective field. In the great castle we created six magic orbs that helped the whole city to be in balance. Gaelin's castle had a lot of knowledge about the Stars, so she created women to help nurture and protect this knowledge. Women were only allowed to leave the castle once every five years, to produce more daughters. If a male was born, he was raised to be a soldier in her army." I tried not to cry revealing so much to her. "Then there is the golden city of Aramole. This city was looked after by Dorian, the guardian of the water." His blue eyes still appeared in my nightmares. "He didn't love gold or precious stones, he just adored how it sparkled in the sunlight, how it brightened his city. There were many high Fae who helped him build the city with their magic."