Her eyes sprang open and she looked at Lunis. “I’m walking through the waterfall. That must be the way.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The raging waters poured over the tall cliff and smashed down on the lagoon water, sending droplets all over the pool and banks. As Sophia edged closer, she felt the spray and it was sharp like little dull needles. But even a dull object can do damage.
The flat rock where the waterfall hit was slick with moss. Sophia took each step carefully, her head to the side as she prepared to step through the waterfall. She wasn’t sure if she should dart through, in an effort to minimize damage, or if she needed to step, like the Warriors and Councilors did when passing through the Door of Reflection into the Chamber of the Tree.
Her heart pounded in her throat as she tilted her head to the side away from the spray. It intensified as she neared, and took over her vision. The water was cool but it burned her face when it hit.
You can do this, Lunis encouraged in her head.
She smiled, grateful for the dragon’s words at that eleventh hour moment.
I’m doing this, she thought.
I’m here for you, he stated, again trying to be supportive.
Her smile faded. There was support, and there was lip service. She loved Lunis, but he was wrong. She was in this alone. There were times that he could be there for her. That he could save her. They’d experienced so many of those times already. But in this, Sophia was alone. She had to step through the waterfall alone. What she’d experience would be hers alone. And whatever came after that, she’d have to deal with by herself. All Lunis could do now was watch, and they both knew that.
Sophia held her breath and moved as close as she could to the waterfall before stepping through it. It fell in a thin sheet that created a mirrored surface. Now that she was this close, she admired the way the water sparkled with tiny little lights. Prisms radiated off its surface in various places. It was beautiful.
What wasn’t as attractive was the explosion the sheet of water made when it hit the stone, violently sprayed up, and created a rush of noise.
Sophia allowed herself a moment to appreciate the sentiment of the water being both beautiful and chaotic. An elegant force and also one to be respected. It had the power to quench her thirst and also break her neck.
She hoped that it simply cleansed her soul, but there was no more time for stalling. Sophia had to take the plunge and step through the waterfall.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The spray was so strong that it forced Sophia to close her eyes as she stepped forward. The slick rock under her soaked boots nearly sent her off her feet. She clenched her hands by her side and strode forward, entering the waterfall.
Sophia expected the crashing water to hit her like an avalanche and knock her down as it assaulted her head. Burying her in the water of the lagoon. Drowning her instantly.
What she experienced was exactly the opposite.
When Sophia stepped through the waterfall, it was much like how Liv had explained going through the Door of Reflection. It felt like she was walking through soft water. It covered her instantly, and gently wrapped around her face and hands as if giving her a hug.
She smiled, relieved by the experience and grateful she wasn’t dead.
But then she realized that she didn’t know where she was anymore. Instead of stepping through the waterfall to the other side of the lagoon, she had entered total blackness. She didn’t know where Lunis was. She didn’t know where anything was. Suddenly, she felt blind and deaf. Even the sensation of the water on her skin disappeared.
Sophia felt nothing at all, and it was absolutely terrifying.
Chapter Thirty
Sophia opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. She tried to pull in a breath, but her lungs didn’t work.
Am I dead? she wondered.
Was this what nothingness felt like?
It wasn’t uncomfortable, but to not see, hear, or feel anything…
But I have my consciousness, she told herself. That was meaningful to her. Because it meant she was still her.
A flash assaulted her vision and nearly blinded her.
Sophia was simultaneously grateful for the blinding light and repulsed by it.
She was grateful to see something. To have eyes that could be blinded. But the white was so bright it burned.
Then colors wove into place, like brush strokes on a canvas.
A rustling sound replaced the silence. The absence of feeling halted, and a warm breeze filled the air around her. The scent was chemical and burned Sophia’s nose. Images took shape and showed Sophia what had to be her very worst nightmare.
Chapter Thirty-One
Lunis stood beside Sophia on top of a building in the middle of a city she once knew very differently. The pair looked out at Los Angeles and gazed at the burning buildings, the devastation, and the absence of life.
Smoke filled the air, but Sophia didn’t cough. She also didn’t cry. Even when she saw the dead bodies littering the ground, she didn’t shed a tear. She recognized the bodies of dragons and various other magical races. They were all dead.
Instinctively, Sophia knew everyone in the city was gone. There were no sirens in the distance. No planes in the sky. No one coming to rescue them. There was no one left.
A war had wiped everyone out. The only ones who remained were Sophia and Lunis.
She realized then that her greatest fear wasn’t what she thought it was.
Like the Door of Reflection, the waterfall served up Sophia’s worst fear. She’d expected it to be death. At first, that’s what she thought she was experiencing. Although she hadn’t wanted to think about it, she thought she’d see Lunis dead in this vision.
However, his death would mean hers since they were linked together through the chi of the dragon. But there were worse things than death, she knew now.
Surviving when everyone you loved was gone—that was worse.
Being the one left to tell the story, that was a curse.
But Sophia wasn’t going to be cursed. Not now. Not ever.
She looked directly at her dragon and shook her head. “How did this happen?”
He continued to glare out at the war scene. “We stopped seeing the world the way we envisioned it and started seeing it the way it was.”
Tears ached in her throat. “We lost faith in the planet becoming a better place.”
He nodded.
“I have to fix this,” she stated with total conviction.
He gave her an expression that spoke of ancient wisdom. “Then see the world the way you want it to be. Remember, you must see it to believe it.”
Sophia pulled in a breath and closed her eyes. In her mind, she replaced the images of burning buildings and overturned cars and scorched roads with the city she loved. She saw Los Angeles with bright blue skies and diverse architecture. Sophia envisioned the beach and the people, laughing as they strode down the boardwalk in Santa Monica. She saw the House of Fourteen, protected by Warriors and Councilors. And beside them, she could clearly see the Dragon Elite, standing strong and brave.
The images of the world buzzing with life and love was so strong in Sophia’s mind that sudden tears overcame her. They ran down her cheeks, warm and graceful, and fell on her collarbones.