XIRUS

⚫Chapter 51⚫

"This is all so crazy," she said as soon as she sat down on the couch. I walked over and sat on the one opposite her. "So, tell me everything about you," she said. "Well, I am twenty-three years old," I told her. In reality, I was actually three years old in Elven years, but if I was still a human, I would be twenty-three. "What?" she asked in astonishment. "That's not possible," I heard her whisper. "Uh, I am twenty-three too," she said very slowly.

"So, we're..." I began to say.

"Twins," we both said at the same time. I couldn't understand. Where was she when I was growing up? Why didn't my parents mention her at all? Why did they not mention the fact that I had a sister? A twin sister. "This doesn't feel real," she said. "I still can't believe I have a brother. I mean a twin brother."

Same. It still hadn't registered properly in my brain. "Wait when's your birthday?" I asked her. "Well, we're not sure because I was a couple of months old when I showed up on the doorstep, but that day was November 23rd so that's basically my birthday," she responded.

"Doorstep?" I repeated in confusion. "Yes. When I was a young baby, my parents, the Alpha and Luna of this pack, found me on their doorstep. I don't know who my biological parents are," she clarified. "Interesting...my parents always celebrated my birthday on the 21st of June, but who knows. Maybe I wasn't born on that day." At this rate, I didn't know what to believe. I had so many questions that needed answers.

"Uh, so tell me about your childhood," she said. My heart dropped as I began to think about my parents. I hope she didn't have a rough past like I did. I hope she was loved, taken care of, and had many friends. "Ok well, I grew up with my parents. I was the only child, well I thought I was. Um, but they died from a plane crash when I was eighteen years old."

"Oh no," Leilani whispered. "I am so sorry," she said. "Me too, but it's in the past now," I told her. "So, they were your biological parents, right? Your mother gave birth to you?" she asked.

"Uh... yes... well I think so," I answered her. To be honest, I didn't even look like my parents. They were black just like me, but I didn't resemble either of them. In fact, there were so many things about my family that didn't make sense. I wouldn't even be surprised if they weren't my biological parents. I looked up at Leilani and stared at her facial features. She did look like me. My eyes then moved to her hair. "Your hair... it's so unique," I mentioned. "Yeah, it is," she chuckled. "It suits you very well. I like it," I admitted.

She beamed with joy. "Thanks, Xirus." Moments later, she opened her mouth to ask another question. "Can you tell me how you became an Elf?" she asked me. "Well after my parents died, the government sent me to live with a family friend, however, they weren't so friendly after all. They abused me... um... really badly. So, I ran away."

"Oh dear..." she whimpered. "Xirus... I am sorry you had to suffer."

"Yeah, but it made me the Elf I am today. And besides, after I ran away, I found Aeriodvell."

"Aeriodvell? What's that?"

"The land of the Elves. They welcomed me."

"A human? How?" she asked.

"They thought I would be helpful. The Elven king was going to transform one of his men into a very powerful elf, but he changed his mind last minute. He thought the man would abuse his powers, so instead, I became the powerful elf. Long story short, the elf wanted revenge and he killed the king. I gave him a second chance, but he declined. He tried to kill me so in self-defence, I killed him first. Then I was crowned king of Aeriodvell."

"Woah... that is crazy," she said. "So, you're King huh? That's so cool. My twin brother is a King!" she exclaimed. I chuckled at her excitement. It felt nice that she was proud. "And what about you? Were you always a vampire?" I asked her after a while.

"No, I was bitten by one. A couple of months later, werewolves between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one were sent to The Other Side. It's also called Latum Alterum," she said.

"That's Latin. What is The Other Side?"

"It's a three-dimensional world created by the Moon Goddess. It has four domains. The Fire domain; Regnum Ignis, the Water domain; Regnum Aqua, the Air domain; Regnum Caeli, and the Earth domain; Regnum Terra. Each domain is ruled by an Alpha."

"That's dope," I exclaimed in awe. It was basically an Elemental world.

"Yeah, it really is. It's so beautiful there. Anyways, when we first went four years ago, the alphas weren't talking. It was like they all lived separately; you know. So, when I got there, I wanted them to reunite. It just didn't make sense to me. How could four different kingdoms that are supposed to work together not be communicating with each other?"

"Was it always like that?"

"No... there's this bracelet called the Potentia Bracelet. It's very powerful. It was made for one specific person, so if the wrong person wore it, calamity would hit.  The previous Alphas hid it and promised each other that they wouldn't take it. But unfortunately, the Alpha of Regnum Ignis took it and the other Alphas had to put him down. Years later, the same thing happened again, but this time we didn't put him down. He's locked up," she stated.

I looked down at her wrist to see the golden bracelet. "Is that it?" I asked. She looked down at her hand in shock. "Uh, yeah it is... how did you know?" she asked. "I don't know," I responded truthfully. The voice in my head didn't tell me. Instead, it just seemed obvious. "So, you also have powers?"

"Yes, I do. I guess you can say I am a powerful vampire." The bracelet was made specifically for her. That was so interesting. Was it the Moon Goddess that made it for her? Did the Moon Goddess even exist? "My friends and I haven't been in about two years. In fact, we are supposed to go tomorrow morning, but it seems like we won't be. What's going on?"

"Something is coming. She sent an elven goddess to warn me and now I'm warning you," I told her. "Who is s-she?" Leilani asked with a stutter.

"Oh um..." I began to say. It was weird how none of my friends knew about the voice in my head but for some odd reason, I wanted to tell my sister about it. "The voice... in my head," I replied softly.

"You hear it too?" she asked as her eyes widened. "Woah..."

"Wait... you also hear the voice in your head?"

"Yes! All the time... well... not all the time, but I do hear a voice in my head. A female voice. She tells me what to do sometimes," she said. I couldn't believe it. We had different childhoods and different transformations, but we were still quite similar.

"This is so crazy... I can't believe you hear her too," she sighed. "What does she say to you?"

"Well, she directs me. It's almost as if she waits until the very last moment to help me get out of a situation," I told her honestly. "Same. She does the exact same for me too," she replied. "Who do you think she is?"

I shook my head. "I have no idea. It doesn't make sense which is why I haven't told anybody about it... well except for you," I said.

Suddenly, I heard the door open abruptly. "Leilani! It's getting late," the masculine voice called out. I assumed it was Elias. Leilani got up fast and checked her phone. "Yeah, it is." She then looked back at me. "You must be tired. I'll prepare a room for you. We can talk more tomorrow."