CHAPTER 257: QUAFARS VI

El?

This time I heard my own voice, ridden with uncertainty and a little hope.

El? I tried again, not minding that I was now the object of attention.

Distantly, I was aware of Diana moving closer to me—as if, in doing so, she would be able to hear El speak when the latter finally decided it was time to put me out of this misery.

Was it just a figment of my own mind? Was I just hearing my inner self admonishing me to choose to let go rather than letting guilt fill me up?

I turned to Makeh. She was beside the injured Quafar, hand on his forehead—the only one not looking at me.

I knew the reason the next second.

You don’t know my voice still.

El.

Tears of joy filled my eyes—two slipped past, streams moving gently down my cheeks, meeting at my jaw.

I was too stunned, too overwhelmed to even speak.

I numbly walked to one of the chairs in the seeming hall and sat down.

Diana sat beside me, taking my hands in hers. "Is she awake?"

I only managed a nod.

I had pictured this moment a thousand times over the past few days I lost my other. I had pictured myself shouting in joy at the restoration, and other times shouting at her for leaving me when she had promised to stay.

But I had never pictured being this numb—this too happy to speak.

El? I tried again, needing to be sure.

’I am happy to meet you again, Maya. It seems like a thousand ages. And of course, I miss you too.’

A chuckle burst forth from my mouth, my hands clasping Diana’s tight.

"Thank you!"

Diana knew I was communicating with El, and from the aura I sensed around her, I knew she would have loved to hear El—to know what this strange being sounded like.

"Diana is enthusiastic to meet you. She almost screamed my head off when she found out you were gone."

El laughed. ’Send my regards to her.’

"Why not send it to her yourself." I wasn’t sure of what I had said until I said it.

This time Makeh looked at me with raised brows."How did you know your other could do that?"

She could do it?

"I was just making small talk," I answered truthfully, guessing that she hadn’t been able to read off my thoughts because El was back.

Thank you, girl! I chanted, despite not knowing if my other was male or female. Well, a guy could never get my back like El did, so surely she was female.

Why would the goddess saddle me with a male talkative?

El’s response was to laugh—even as I felt the energy thrum around me, this time directed at Diana, whose eyes widened as she understood what was happening.

I didn’t. For the life of me, I couldn’t.

I was only aware that there was some sort of connection between Diana and me—my mind and Diana’s; I could even see the thread of white, shimmering light.

I watched her open her mouth, even though no word escaped from it; watched her close it; watched her eyes shut as if she was immersing herself in a feeling.

And I wondered if that was how I looked when I communicated with El, when I found her for the first time.

Then Diana smiled, and chuckled, and I knew that El must have said something funny.

Suddenly, I was curious to listen in on their conversation. El had blocked me out.

So I tapped on their connection, wanting to be let in.

Makeh scoffed—she must have known what I was trying to do—but I couldn’t care less, since El had no issue with it.

She let me in, as a matter of fact.

’Maya is the worst host to be saddled with.’

I snorted. These two were gossiping about me.

’I’m sure she has her good sides,’ my sister replied.

I didn’t think she knew I was in their connection. I was like a shadow, allowed to listen but not to interfere.

"If you three are done with your reunion, you’d better return to the surface before you are being sought for."

I jerked as the meaning of Makeh’s words dawned on me. We could have been here for hours, even days.

Makeh laughed. "Calm down, Maya. This isn’t the forbidden library. Time is slower here."

I let out a breath of relief, severing the connection between El and Diana.

"We have to go," I said, when Diana met my gaze with a quizzical look. "Mother may start searching for us soon."

I reverted to Makeh. "You promise that he will be fine?"

The Quafar laughed. "Of course I will be. I am stronger than I look, young lady."

I smiled—genuinely this time—and gave him an appreciative nod. "Thank you."

"Let’s go," I said to Diana, getting to my feet.

"Wait." I paused at the threshold, causing Diana to stumble into me.

"Sorry," I muttered, steadying her. "How do we get to the surface? We sort of fell into your abode."

Makeh looked at the human boy, who sighed and walked towards us—and past us too, without a glance in our direction.

"What’s his deal?" Diana asked me.

I shrugged and pointed to the witch. "Ask his mother."

But Makeh was already tending to the Quafar, trusting that her adopted son would take us to the surface.

Diana gave up with a sigh, said goodbye to her new friends—who enthusiastically waved at her—and then followed after the boy.

"Will I see you again, Makeh?"

"When the time is right," she replied, lifting her head, meeting my gaze.

"Who is calling the shots here? When you spoke about secrets..."

"You are not to know yet, Maya. Let it go. Just try and keep what I’ve told you at the front of your head, including the one I gave you in the forest when you were with your friends."

A pause.

"Beware of the queen and her children. They shouldn’t be your friends."

Having a feeling that she was done talking for now, I wished her well, and walked out of the hall—eyes catching Diana before she disappeared into the shade where we had come out from when we had first landed here.

I quickened my footsteps; even though the boy was harmless, I didn’t think Diana would be comfortable alone with him, seeing as the latter was quite strange—never mind his troubled past.

Boy, was I wrong!

Somehow, the boy had fallen for Diana’s charm, if what I was seeing as I stepped into the shade was any indication.

They were both feeding a horse I hadn’t seen when we had landed. They were smiling. No words—but there was some friendship brewing here.

"I see you made another new friend," I started, sauntering further into the shade.

The boy, however, closed up instantly, as if my voice had drained him of sunlight.

Diana and I exchanged cursory glances.

"You don’t like my sister?" Diana’s voice was soft, tender, yet prodding.

"I don’t want to like her," the boy answered, and rushed off, head bowed as he ran.

What the hell?

I was tempted to meet Makeh and ask more questions, but I doubted she would be forthcoming with the answers.

"That is strange. He doesn’t want to like you?"

Tell me more, Diana, I mused, looking in the direction he had run off.

"Do you get a bit frustrated with the puzzles surrounding you, or is it just me?" Diana spoke after a few seconds of silence.

"It’s not just you, sis. It’s not just you," I replied, standing before the haystack our faces had been in—was it hours ago? I didn’t know how much time had passed.

"While you both were being friends, did he tell you how we are supposed to get out of here?"

Diana shook her head.

I sighed audibly and reached out to El.

"Hey, what’s the way out of here?"

’Just lay down on it—the same position you had found yourself when you first appeared here.’

My nose scrunched up in disgust. I should do what?

I looked at Diana, who raised a brow—what is El saying?

"She said we should lay down on the hay, face down... the same position we had been in when we arrived here."

Diana’s face squeezed just as mine. She shook her head. "No way."

I could understand the vehement no. Seeing the horse in the next box, we could only imagine the amount of faeces, the amount of—

’Don’t you want to get home? Laura will soon come find you. She is getting suspicious.’

Damn! I moved first.

I opened the box door, stepped in, and let it go—letting it swing in and out.

"Aren’t you coming in? We have to go together."

Diana still wore her expression of disgust as we both lay down on the hay and—right at the same time—put our heads down in the smelly hay.

Makeh will pay for this! I vowed terribly, counting seconds. Nausea pushed up my system and when my head swam at the third second—and then I was on the forest ground, Diana beside me.

We immediately turned to our sides and vomited. Only liquid came out of that thrush.

And just when we thought we had escaped from the experience unscathed, we heard—

"Bloody hell!!"

Oh goddess, help me.