Secret Heart: Other Realm, Frost Family Series, Book 3

Lock 20

The next two weeks passed by. Aiden was beginning to feel like everything was hopeless. Andrew had come over almost every day, in the afternoons, once he'd gotten off from his job. Nearly everyday Andrew insisted on taking Willow out on a date. It was like, though Aiden hadn't made any move, the other man could sense the way Aiden felt about Willow. And it was driving him nuts.

He couldn't figure out how to approach his problem. This only served to make him feel even more crazy in his head. He'd never felt so self-conscious, so inept before. He'd never felt like every move he made, every word he said, was somehow always the wrong one. He felt like he was fumbling around in the dark, praying to the gods he didn't step on a shard of glass, or a rusted nail.

He felt sick and terrified.

He felt out of control and lost.

But every time he saw one of Willow's smiles, heard her laughter...Suddenly his world was back to being the right shape. The light came flooding in. The warmth entered his heart once more.

He'd never felt like this before and it was very quickly driving him to the edge of insanity. Happy insanity, to be fair, but insanity all the same. Especially when it was quickly becoming obvious to him how much Willow seemed to enjoy the company of her new boyfriend, of Andrew.

Gods, it was like a double-edged sword. He loved seeing her smile, seeing her look as happy as she was. But it left a bitter taste in his mouth to know that he wasn't the reason why. He was just...just 'Prophecy's Dad', in Willow's mind. Which wasn't bad, granted. But he wanted more.

By all the gods, how the fuck do I do this?! he snarled in his mind as he sat, glaring down at the book in his hands. He reached up and adjusted his glasses with his left hand. He didn't normally wear glasses, but when he was trying to concentrate on his reading-or just trying to make himself appear more mature and composed-he'd slip on the pair he owned. They were a light bridge, semi-rimless design; a solid dark blue, made of a very thin, sleek steel. Staring down at the book, he swallowed nervously, running his fingertips along the side as he continued to read on. Though, at this point, he already knew everything and he had no real reason to read this...Still, he couldn't help but keep reading it, over and over.

"'The soul-stone is an ancient legend in the Other Realm, one that has long passed on from possible reality to just fantasy. It's no longer a common or rare thing to find Others-or humans-walking around with a soul-stone in their possession. The soul-stone's most common role in tales where it makes an appearance is as a catalyst in order to greatly increase magical power or be the spark to make a magical change be brought about. It's slightly less common reason-but much more famous for it's symbolism among lovers-is as a 'wedding ring'. Seen as the 'ultimate' and 'truest' sign of love and symbol of a 'marriage' between two hearts and souls, it is best known for these reasons.

In all places where they have shown up in myths and legends, soul-stones are known for being very vulnerable. They are, as the name suggests, the very souls of the ones who give them up, molded into a physical, gem-like shape. In the tales, any damage caused to the soul-stones would result in pain for the one who gave the stone. If the damage was bad enough, it would result in the death of the one who gave the stone. If the receiver of the stone died or was kissed by another before the owner of the soul did, it would result in the death of the owner.

It is believed that soul-stones possess an immense amount of magical energy. This energy is the very essence of the owner, their soul. The soul is where all magic is from and therefore, soul-stones are basically solid pieces of magic. It was once believed they might be harnessed into a source of energy ages ago. But it was quickly decided that it was impractical and too risky of a venture to take. In essence, the soul-stone is nothing more than a overly-romanticized myth that no longer holds any grounds in reality. It is barely known about in the Other Realm anymore, let alone the Human World. Even the incantation needed to cast the spell has been lost to the dregs of time.'"