Eternity (26 page)

“You saved his
life, Isadora. I only gave you an idea of how to do it. You didn’t
answer my question. How did you do it?”

“I did the best
thing I could think of at the time. I didn’t want to cut open an
artery or anything because it would take too long and it would make
a mess, and I figured suffocation would cause me to suffer more
than I wanted, so I jumped off a cliff. It took time to get there,
but the actual dying was fairly quick.”

“That still
sounds unpleasant. Does Jack know that you died to save his life?”
Anna asked.

“Not at all,
and I’d like it to stay that way,” I said. “He’d probably feel
guilty or something, and I don’t want that. I’d do it over again,
even if I died permanently.”

Anna smiled.
“He’s lucky to have a friend who cares so much. It took a lot of
courage to do what you did.”

“I wasn’t
really thinking much about it at the time, so I don’t think courage
had anything to do with it,” I said. “There was actually something
else I wanted to talk to you about as well. The first time we
talked, you said I had a soulmate. Why?” It had been bothering me a
lot since I jumped off the cliff.

Anna looked
surprised. “I told you that because it’s true. You can check for
yourself now, since you’re more powerful than I am. Have you?”

“No, I haven’t.
I didn’t believe you were telling the truth. I’ve been alive for
over five thousand years, and I’ve never had one before. Neither
has Amun, so I always assumed that it was never going to happen. I
still believe that it will never happen.”

“Well, if you
don’t believe me, why don’t you check yourself?”

“I don’t think
I can,” I admitted. “I’m not incapable; I just don’t want to know
anymore. Most people die not long after their soulmates if they are
together, but if I meet my soulmate and he dies I won’t be able to,
and it would destroy me. I’ve been through enough as it is.”

“But what if
he’s immortal? He could be a vampire, or maybe there’s a new god
that you don’t know about,” Anna reasoned.

“If that’s the
case, then I don’t have to worry about it now. Not everyone can be
as lucky as your parents anyway. They must be very happy together.
I’m glad Kalinor finally found his soulmate. We were good friends
long ago, before he decided to sleep. I haven’t seen him since he
woke up.”

“They are very
happy, and I’m sure they would like to see you. If you do visit
while you’re here you should take me with you. I miss them, and I’d
like to see them, but I hate flying in planes and running or
swimming takes too long.”

“I definitely
will,” I told her. “I think we could become great friends. It’d be
nice to know someone else who will be around for a long time.”

Anna smiled.
“It would be wonderful. We’ll have to stay in touch.”

“Yes, we
should. I have to go now, though, because I have a few other people
to talk to this morning. I’ll get back to you later.”

I left Anna and
headed toward the stairs that led underground. Adrian was being
held in one of the locked rooms used for werewolves during the full
moon, which I found a bit extensive, especially since he hadn’t
even started the fight. He was being guarded by Victor, who let me
in to see him without any trouble.

When I opened
the door to the room, Adrian jumped up from where he was sitting on
the floor. When he saw it was me he swore and turned away from me.
He was actually scared of what I was going to say because he
thought I hated him, per usual. He expected me to yell, scream, and
cry. I just cleared my throat, which made him cringe.

“Would you turn
around, please?” I asked, since he was facing the wall. He
reluctantly turned, but he wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“Adrian, I
don’t blame you for what happened. Jack said himself that he was
the one who started it.”

He finally
looked at me, but he was very upset. “I thought I’d actually killed
him, Juliet. I would never have been able to forgive myself if he’d
died. Is he doing okay? I just heard that he’d live, but they
didn’t tell me anything else.”

“Then you’ll be
happy to know that he’s completely healed,” I said. “There won’t be
any lasting physical damage.”

Adrian looked
surprised. “How is that possible?” he asked.

“I healed him
myself. It seems I have the ability to do that as well. He came
very close to death, though. It was a scary thing to see.”

“He’s really
lucky he has you,” Adrian said.

“You have me
too, you know,” I told him.

Adrian sighed
and leaned against the wall. He slid down until he was sitting on
the floor, and he looked down at his hands as he spoke. “How can
you still love me after everything I’ve done to you? I almost
killed you and your best friend. No one should be so
forgiving.”

“I know what’s
in your heart, Adrian,” I said. “I see no evil there.”

“So you don’t
judge people at all by their actions?”

“No, I don’t. I
don’t think people should be punished for their mistakes unless
it’s in their nature to be cruel. When you have a good heart, the
guilt you feel is enough of a punishment.”

“But guilt
doesn’t change anything. By the time I feel guilty, it’s too late
to take back what I’ve done.”

“I know, but it
won’t be like this forever. Like the rest of your kind, you’ll find
your strength.”

Chapter
33

What had
happened was all over the school by later in the day, and the talk
lasted over a week, though luckily I was left out of it. What I’d
done that night remained a secret known only by the teachers,
Heather, Melissa, and Anna.

It was decided
that Adrian would be allowed to stay at school, mostly by my
persuasion, though he was under the same restrictions as he was
before. Jack was remarkably unaffected by his experience, aside
from feeling bad about attacking Adrian. His punishment was a
little more severe than Adrian’s, and it involved therapy and
janitorial work, as well as also being in isolation. He didn’t
complain though, since he felt it was deserved.

Things
continued on, and as the end of the school year approached everyone
became busy studying for exams. I tried my best to act as normal as
possible, but it was difficult because of how much I had changed.
All of my school work was effortless, and I had no need to study,
which left me with a lot of free time. I spent time with my friends
when they were free, but when they were busy studying I would go to
various locations around the world. I owned many properties, which
I went to, and some businesses. I had my own small company to look
after my fortune and expenses, and they had taken care of
everything for me well enough.

Even though I
tried hard to seem normal, and I used my powers as little as
possible, people still noticed a change in me. Jack commented on it
one day when we were hanging out in his room. Even though he was in
isolation, I had no trouble getting in to see him. Thankfully he
never questioned that.

“Are you okay?”
he asked me.

“Yeah, I’m
fine,” I replied. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know,
but you’ve been different ever since the fight. You used to be so
much happier, and much more curious and eager to learn. Now you act
as if nothing is ever exciting, and you always look depressed, even
though you try to hide it. It’s like you’ve aged a hundred years or
something.”

I carefully hid
my shock. I should have known that the person who knew me best in
this life would be perceptive of the change in me. He was certainly
right about the aging part, though he was off by a few thousand
years.

“Jack, I’m
fine,” I said again. “If I’ve been acting at all differently, I
assure you it has nothing to do with you.”

Jack just shook
his head. “Whatever,” he said.

I knew that
Adrian was noticing the same thing, though he didn’t comment. He
internalized it instead, and he blamed himself, which hurt me. I
started to realize that Anna was right. Even though I loved him, we
weren’t meant to be together. Our relationship had become painful
for both of us, and I was being selfish by staying with him because
he did indeed have a soulmate, which meant I was keeping him from
the person he was supposed to be with. I knew I had to end our
relationship, but it was a hard thing to do, and I wanted to make
sure he was happy.

On the weekend
not long before the end of the school year, I decided it was time.
Before I went to see him, I stopped by the library and picked up a
book that I thought might be useful. I also decided that I would
have to tell him the truth about myself in order for him to truly
understand, and so I could take him where I needed to. I was also
going to let him make the final choice himself, and I knew he
wouldn’t pick me. I was okay with that.

“What’s that?”
he asked when I entered his room, which was the one in the north
wing he was in before. He motioned to the book I had tucked under
one arm.

“There’s
something I wanted to show you,” I told him. I walked over to the
bed beside his and opened up the book. It didn’t take me long to
find the right page. Adrian stood and joined me.

“Soulmates?” he
said questioningly, scanning the page.

“Read it,” I
told him. The book was an old textbook from a third year course
that was almost falling apart, but it was still readable. We sat
and read the page together, though I already knew what it said.

The concept of
soulmates has been around for centuries, but it was never widely
believed, especially by the general public. It was not until the
early thirteenth century that the idea was confirmed by Amun
himself, but still few people valued the idea, and many thought it
gave people unrealistic expectations. Soulmates, however, are not
just a concept. They are a fact.

Everyone is
born destined to be with someone else, whether that person has been
born yet or not. Because so many people die early, many people lose
their soulmates without ever knowing it. Many others never meet
their soulmates because of the physical distance that separates
them. Some people have to wait a very long time for their soulmates
if they are immortal or are destined to become so. Because of all
of these factors, finding a soulmate is an extremely rare
experience, which has contributed to the disbelief surrounding the
subject.

There have been
many descriptions over time of what it is like to meet one’s
soulmate. Some describe the attraction as a seemingly gravitational
force, and others as an invisible rope, but all agree that it is
one of the most powerful feelings in the world, and it is
unmistakeable. The love between these people is strong enough to
withstand any force that life can bring them, and usually becomes
their main reason for living, which is not always a good thing.

Children
between these couples are common. Some people believe that they
tend to neglect their children because they are so focused on each
other, but that is purely a myth. The children of soulmates are
actually more loved than most because the parents see the children
as an important part of the relationship and as a part of each
other. The children are also generally happier because they grow up
in a loving environment.

The problem
with relying so much on another person does become apparent,
however. When one of the couple dies, the other usually follows
either immediately or not long after. Sometimes one will live on
after the other, but this only ever happens when there are
children, who serve as an incentive to continue living. Despite the
risk, however, everyone ever asked say it is completely worth it.
Studies have even been done in the village of Morta, where one can
communicate with the dead. Having spoken with many deceased people
who had lived with their soulmates, the people there have found
that even after death, soulmates are happy to have each other, and
some who did not find their soulmates in life find them in the
spirit world.

“Do you think
we’re soulmates?” Adrian asked when he had finished reading. He
looked at me intently.

“No,” I said.
“In fact, I know that we aren’t.”

“Well, why are
you showing this to me?” Adrian asked, sounding confused.

“You have a
soulmate, Adrian, but it isn’t me. I love you, but I’m keeping you
from the person you’re supposed to be with. I think it’s time you
met her. Her name is Mariella, and she lives in Florence, Italy. I
can take you to her.”

He didn’t
really think I was serious, despite my solemn tone. “That’s a bit
far away, and we have no way to get there. It’d be a waste of time
anyway.”

“Adrian, I’m
quite serious, and I can take you there right now, if you’d like,”
I said.

He smiled,
still not believing me. “Sure, Juliet. Let’s go to Italy right now
to meet my soulmate. Lead the way.”

He was being
sarcastic, but I did what he said anyway. I stood up and pulled him
up with me. I then grabbed his hand and psychoported us both to
Florence. We ended up in an alley because I hadn’t wanted anyone to
see us appear out of nowhere.

Adrian was
immediately disoriented and almost fell, but he caught himself in
time. He spun around a few times in shock, taking in our
surroundings, which were much different than the ones we had left.
He felt like he was dreaming, but he knew he wasn’t.

“How did you do
that?” he asked. He sounded breathless.

“I’m Isadora,”
I informed him bluntly, which only succeeded in making him more
shocked. “I might have told you sooner, but I didn’t even know it
myself until the night when Jack almost died.”

“You know, that
kind of explains a lot,” Adrian said, once he had recovered.

I smiled. “I
suppose. Now would you like to meet your soulmate or not?”