The Return

Portals have always been a source of terror for me. Each time I step into one, I'm haunted by the fear of being afflicted by the glitch again. "How far is it from my kingdom to this place?" I pondered aloud. A council member, guiding me to the portal, responded, “It’s quite a distance, but the risk of using the portal is worth it. You can always peek through it first, see if you’re okay on the other side, and then walk through it fully instead of jumping in blindly.”

I glanced back at Raphael and proposed, “Shall we go then?” He shook his head, replying, “I think I’ll stay here. It will be easier for you to explain things to your family. If I need you, I’ll just use the portal.” I asked him again, “Are you sure?” He nodded and said, “I am. Thank you. Now go, and good luck with your wife.”

Suddenly, I realized that I had nothing to offer her as a gift—something that might appease her anger. I muttered, “Damn, I don’t even have anything to bring her as a token of my apology.” The council member asked, “Are you talking about Queen Freya?” I confirmed, “Yes, do you have any suggestions?” He responded, “Wait here. I think I know what she would love as a gift and also as proof of your journey.” He left me and Raphael alone.

Raphael was sitting in a corner, lost in thought. I asked him, “Is something wrong?” He sighed and said, “I wish I had a family too. Maybe someone who is waiting for my return after all these years. You’re very lucky, you know?” I responded, “I’m sorry, I don’t know if it was luck. Maybe it was fate.” He said, “A fortunate fate, like a fairy tale. One piece of advice from the wise: never let her go.” I assured him, “I won’t,” but he added, “Even if you’ll be forced to sooner or later. We have to go back to our world. Michael and Gabriel won’t let us stay away for more than a century. They might decide to terminate me or you. That sounds awful, doesn’t it?”

Scared, I asked, “Why would they terminate us? Are we enemies?” He explained, “I should have told you before, but your powers and mine are the same, just divided unevenly between us. Our power should not be shared by multiple beings. We could be defeated, and we can’t allow that. The worst part is that you’re different from me and don't have my memories. You barely know anything about heaven. And you have the larger portion of my powers. Please be careful with them.”

I was stunned by what he was saying, and I fell silent. Then I said, “I’ll try to be ready for that. How long do we have? Sixty more years?” He said, “It depends if we merge or not. It could be less than that. But I don’t know how we could do that.” I tried to sound confident. Half of what he was saying made no sense to me, and I said, “We’ll do the right thing. I’m sure of it.” The council member returned with a gift and said, “King Nox, please accept this as a gift from us. It’s a necklace specially made for you. You said you've been to the ocean, so we customized it to suit you better. Freya always loved that kind of item we heard.” I thanked him and said, "Wow, this is beautiful. I love it.” He added, “She’ll love it too. Now hurry up and get back to your family.”

My gaze shifted from Raphael to the necklace. It was a splendid piece of craftsmanship, forged from gold and elemental crystals of ice. The crystals formed pearls and a seashell, each one engraved with a delicate snowflake. The seashell had a faint reddish hue, as if the crystals had been infused with some color. I wondered how they had achieved such a feat.

I stepped forward to enter the portal. I followed the instructions carefully: head first, then hand. Everything seemed normal. But as I looked around, I felt a pang of confusion. The portal was not in some remote location but inside a familiar building. A room that resembled my palace, yet I could not place it. I crossed the portal and found myself at home. There was another portal in front of me, ready to transport me back. I exited the room and looked for clues. I spotted some stairs that led to a trapdoor. I opened it and emerged into a chamber adjacent to the throne room.

I heard voices. Vesper was speaking to someone, acting as the king in my absence. Freya was nowhere to be seen. I walked in casually and said , “Greetings, Vesper. I would like to speak with the Queen, if you don’t mind.” He did not look at me and said curtly, “The Queen is currently not accepting visits. You will have to wait.” He probably expected me to leave, but I stayed put and did not thank him. He glanced down, and his eyes widened. He recognized me. He froze for several seconds, holding his breath. Then he left the throne and approached me tentatively. He reached out his hand, as if to make sure I was not a ghost. He whispered incredulously, “Is this real or am I dreaming?” I said softly, “It’s real, Vesper.” I stroked his head gently, reassuring him that I was alive and well. Tears welled up in my eyes, and he embraced me with a fierce hug, stronger than any I had ever felt, even from Siveth. His voice trembled as he said, “I can’t believe it. You’re alive!” I hugged him back and said, “I couldn’t leave you and our family. Death was not an option for me.”

He was silent for a long time. Then he pulled away from our embrace and looked at me with urgency. “We have to tell mom right away. And Juno, Luna, and Zephyrion. They need to see you.” I nodded. “Of course. Where is Freya now?” He sighed. “She’s locked herself in her room. She hasn’t come out since you disappeared. Not even Solara could persuade her.” I frowned. “That’s not good. I’ll try to talk to her.” We made our way to her room—not the royal chambers, but a smaller one she preferred. I knocked on the door and called out, “Hey, is this the beautiful Queen Freya of the Whispering Wind? I have someone here who would love to see you.” There was no answer, no sound at all. I decided to use my shadow element to slip inside the room unnoticed. I saw her lying on the bed, asleep. I approached her quietly and took on my normal form again. I leaned over her and whispered, “Freya, please wake up.” She groaned and turned away from me. I tried again. “I have a gift for you. I hope you’ll forgive me.” She opened her eyes and saw me. Her expression was priceless. She blinked several times, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Then she closed her eyes again and tried to ignore me. I said softly, “This is not a dream, dear Queen Freya.” She opened her eyes again and then lunged at me. She bit my neck hard and didn’t let go. She wrapped her arms around me and slammed us both against the wall behind me. I didn’t say anything. She was still biting me, and it hurt like hell. Blood was dripping from the wound, but she was licking it up. It felt strange and pleasant at the same time, but it was just her way of reacting. I hugged her back and said, “It would be nicer if you didn’t pierce me with your jaws, maybe, Freya.” She didn’t stop, and then she started crying too. I said, “Don’t cry, or I’ll cry too. I’m back, finally.” She drained too much blood from me. The bite was too deep, and I couldn’t stand up anymore. I felt dizzy, but she held me in place until I blacked out. For some reason, my blood didn’t turn into white smoke as quickly as usual.

I woke up with her still holding me near the bed and the door open. All my children were there, watching me as I came back to life. Freya had stopped biting me and was nuzzling my neck instead. I looked at them and said, “Hi, Zephyrion, Luna, and Juno.” As soon as I said that, a new face appeared from outside the room. The head of a young female wyvern peeked in shyly. I knew right away who she was: “And you must be the soulmate of my son, aren’t you? Nice to meet you, I’m Nox.” She blushed and hid outside again. Then everyone joined the hug except for Vesper, who had already had his share earlier. Luna said through a vision connection that Juno also shared, “I thought you were dead, dad. I can’t believe you’re still here. The vision connections stopped working after you left.” They had all grown up so much. Zephyrion looked almost like a full-grown adult now. Luna and Juno were more like teenagers than children. I said aloud to everyone, “I missed you all so much. I’m sorry for everything. I’m glad to be alive for you. And again, I’m sorry.” Freya finally spoke and said with a trembling voice, “Don’t apologize, please.” A cry of joy escaped my lips. I couldn’t hold it back any longer. It was the most powerful emotion ever to be reunited with my family. They still loved me after all this time. I felt like a legend who had returned from the dead. A feeling that words could not describe.