The water around them was now calm, quiet again and Leira felt it, she felt that spark in her, the old her left am energy in her, powerful and in control and she felt ready for every battle yet to come. Leira exhaled, filled with relief, filled with this certainty that everything was going to be fine and they were going to make it, she was going to be her again.
She sat on the boat with her fingers making circles on the surface of the water, the same place that the shard of light dissolved into her, in that moment, Leira truly felt at peace
Kael was beside her, rowing the boat and watching her closely, after what the Veil Keeper told him, he was more determined than ever to keep Leira safe. He wanted to see the love of his life again and that little encounter they had assured him that she was waiting for him too.
He stayed quiet, he just let her sit and feel everything.
Leira looked up at him. "That was… I don't even know how to describe it. I felt everything, the power, the light, the heat, all of it. I feel her inside me, it's like the echo woke her up."
Kael gave a small smile. "It did. That's you, Leira. That's the power you possess inside you, you're remembering who you are… what you are."
She looked at her hands, curling and straightening the out again slowly. "I didn't think it would feel like that, I couldn't control anything but it felt like I didn't have to, like I could do anything."
"You can," Kael said quietly. "And you will. You're stronger than you've even began to see."
Leira smiled a little, shaking her head. "You know you say these things like you've seen me do them before."
Kael's eyes softened. "Maybe I have."
They both laughed, this was different for them. I mean yes, they would lighten up with each other and let a smile out here and there but something had change. It was as if the Veil Keeper's reveal brought them closer, they began talking like old friends, not just… lovers.
The boat slowly rocked back and forth over the water, Kael had stopped rowing so the boat moved gently, carried by the current. The water stretched endlessly with no land in sight, but they didn't seem to mind that at all.
Leira leaned back slightly, she started looking at the stars above them. "You know, I really want to meet her," she said
Kael turned. "Who?"
"Me… I mean the other me, the real me." She said softly. "The woman before all this, before the other lives, before everything. I want to see her, I want to know why she did everything she did, what gave her the strength to make the choices she made."
Kael's voice was calm and steady. "You will. When this is all done, you'll be whole again, and when you meet her… you'll understand everything."
Leira exhaled, and looked down at her reflection in the water. "I really hope so."
They both went quiet but it wasn't uncomfortable, it was actually peaceful. They didn't need to say anything else really, they just sat peacefully, enjoying the slow motion of the boat.
Time passed slowly and they talked a little over that time, about little things. Leira told him stories about her life before meeting him, how she loved sitting outside during storms to watch lightening because it was the most beautiful thing to her, how her cousins used to tease her for being too serious. Kael listened and smiled every now and then.
He told her things too, about how long it had been since he last saw her, how the world had changed while she was gone, he didn't go into details but his voice was filled with this subtle sadness, he spoke about some memories that still hurt.
At some point, he made a small joke and Leira laughed so hard that she had to hold her side, then she went silent again while wiping tears from her face she didn't even realize were there.
They were getting closer, not just to the next echo but to each other, every time the crossed to another one, they talked a little more, trusted a little more and this time was no different, in fact this time felt like the closest they'd ever been.
Hours passed like that, the air got colder, and a thin mist began to rise around them, it came slowly like smoke rolling on water.
Leira looked around. "That's not normal, it?"
Kael looked up at the edge of the boat, slowly standing up. "Most likely not… we may be at the next echo."
Leira sighed. "Yup, I thought so."
The mist got thicker, beginning to surround them until they could barely see the water. The light from the moon slowly began to fade and everything turned into a soft gray.
"What did you say this echo is called again?" She asked after a moment.
Kael nodded slowly. "The Endless Crossing."
Leira frowned. "That sounds… exhausting, what does that mean?"
"I'm not sure," Kael admitted. "But seeing that this is the fifth echo and they all seem to be worst than the last, this may not be easy."
She took a deep breath and exhaled softly, trying to calm herself but the name lingered in her mind, The Endless Crossing, it sounded like something that would take a lot of their time, like something that exists to slow them down.
As the floated further in, the mist began to shift, the water under the boat began to move, not like normal waves, but in slow and deep pulses. When Leira leaned over to look, her reflection was gone
Instead, the water reflected the sky, but not the one that was above then, this sky was brighter, fuller and filled with moving images.
At first, she thought she was imagining it, but then she saw herself, standing on a beach with sunlight hitting her face, she was smiling. And Kael was standing beside her, they look happy, peaceful.
"Kael… look," she whispered.
He followed her gaze and froze. The water showed another version of him, older, alone and walking through a destroyed city, then it changed again, another version, one where Leira wasn't there at all, he was sitting on a small boat, like the one they were on, the the seat beside him was empty.
Leira swallowed hard. "Are these… our former lives?"
Kael's voice was quiet. "No, they're not. I think these are what could have been."
The images kept changing, Leira saw her sister, she was older, happy, laughing with someone she didn't recognize. And then another version, she saw herself sister kneeling beside a grave, crying. The name on the head stone was hers.
Leira's breath caught. "That's…"
Kael shook his head. "Remember Leira, those are not real. I think these echoes are using the reflections to test you, they'll show you things to confuse you, to pull you apart.
But it was already too late. Leira's pupils had turned gray, she couldn't look away from the water, from the images it showed her, it was as if she had been compelled.
The water rippled again, and another image appeared, this time, it was Leira… but different. She was dressed in gold armor, her eyes were cold, she raised her hands as if she was commanding an army.
"That's me?" Leira whispered softly, not able to take her gaze from the water.
Kael didn't answer.
The reflection looked up suddenly, and smiled. That seemed to have broken the compulsion because Leira blinked, shaking her head and stepping back. "Did it just…"
The reflection's hand pressed against the surface of the water, a faint glow spread outward, slow at first, then faster, like cracks running through glass.
Kael grabbed her by the wrist. "Leira, don't move."
But before she could respond, behind her, something had slowly come out of the water, one of the hers from these images, then something sharp and cold pierced through her back.
She gasped, her eyes widened with shock, the pain was instant and deep, it burned like acid was spreading through her veins, she fell down to her knees while clutching the left side of her stomach.
"Leira!" Kael shouted, catching her before she hit the floor of the boat.
Her breath was shallow, her vision began to blur, the mist got even thicker and the reflection moved much faster."
She looked down and saw it, the reflection of herself half way out of the water, holding a dark blade, it looked and moved like a flame but the fire was black.
Leira whispered softly. "Kael…"
He tried to hold her steady. "Stay with me!"
But the poison was already spreading. She could feel it crawling up her spine, turning her insides cold.
The reflection stared back at her, its expression was unreadable, calm, almost gentle. Then it smiled again… and sank into the water.
Leira tried to stretch her hands toward it, but her arm wouldn't move, her fingers were trembling, her pulse was gradually slowing die, the mist was closing in.
Kael's voice was the last thing she heard, it sounded so distant.
"Leira! Hold on!"
Then her eyes flickered shut…