IN FULL COLOUR - Dark Fantasy
Chapter 41

Gabrielle

Axel had finally sat down next to me, on his own couch. His posture looked relaxed, although his muscles remained tense and his face weary. The energy around him a deadly shade of black and midnight blue. An eerie, reminder of his dark presence in the atmosphere of my once calm and peaceful room.

I studied him and took a slow, deliberate breath, bracing myself for his rejection. His blonde, messy fringe was hanging to the side, over his forehead, the ends of it touching his thick, light brows. He was straining his eyes, unblinking as he examined the painted wall which stretched out before us.

“What sort of gift?” He asked at last, exhaling slowly and steadying his elbow onto the armrest of the purple couch. He kept his arm propped up, his strong, calloused hand in the air, as he idly pressed his fingertips one by one to his thumb, lost in thought. He still hadn’t turned to look at me. All he did was stare at the wall. The wall I had painted over a stretch of probably eight years, maybe more.

“I-I can see things other people can’t.”

“What sort of things?”Again, he refrained from looking at me, his voice gruff.

Had he already made up his mind? Was all of this too strange for him? Too secretive?

“I can see people’s energy fields.”

I waited for him to respond.

Nothing.

Just brooding, serious Axel staring at the wall.

“It’s like your aura, I guess. Every person, or, every living being has one, even plants and trees. It is the glow of energy surrounding an individual, a mere reflection of the mass of what lays within one’s thoughts, one’s heart.”

For a second, he stopped fiddling with his fingers, lingering with the tip of his ring finger pressed to his thumb.

“It enables me to read people’s moods, their intentions, how they might react to things.”

He started fiddling again. His face void of any emotion. I couldn't read him.

“How does it work?” He asked, voice rough, low, serious.

“Well, the energy emanating from oneself is like giving off heat in your immediate environment. It radiates off your skin. My gift allows me to see these energy fields depicted in colour. Light, warm colours, such as yellow, orange, or white, usually indicates positive feelings. Happiness, hopefulness, delight.” I wanted to add the word love to the list but bit my tongue just in time before it slipped out.

“Darker, cold colours indicate the opposite. Feelings such as jealousy, envy, hatred.”

I could see his jaw ticking. The gears in his head working overtime.

He didn’t say anything, so I just continued, “the darker the shade, the heavier the mood. Everything else in between is a mixture of the two.”

My fingers were shaking now. Why did it bother me so? What he thought about me?

I swallowed, “I can see your mood right now.”

He smiled ominously. Eyes still focused on the wall. A lethal, wolfish grin. “And what is my mood exactly, Precious Wolf?”

My heart started beating. Faster and faster. He had never referred to me with such blatant mockery. Precious Wolf, he said. Like I thought the world of myself. Tried to blow my own whistle by telling him my secret.

Shifting uncomfortably in my chair and carefully debating my next choice of words, I decided to let it slip for the time being and focus on the matter at hand.

“Hostile,” I answered, lifting my chin.

He chuckled. Low and deadly.

The dark, malicious tendrils wafted out of him like he was deliberately sending them to come and taunt me. For someone so light in complexion, he certainly hid darkness within him quite well. His inside the total opposite of his outside. Those light, powder-blue eyes the world saw when they looked at him, was nothing compared to what lay inside, what he hid from everyone else.

“Tell me more about them,” he jerked his chin upward, gesturing to the wall.

Where do I even begin? And how much do I tell him?

“They are all creatures of the Light and Lightning Kingdom. Locke’s father is their king. King Gaute. They live inside the mountains around us, beneath us. A cave, guarded by magic and unforgiving mountain ranges.”

Axel cringed when I said the word ‘magic’ but kept quiet. Listening. So, I carried on.

“There used to be seven great kingdoms. All belonging to ancient Fae Kings and Queens. They ruled over the earth and everything that crawled on it. All things magical, that is. Humans were never considered as part of any of their kingdoms. They belonged to a class of their own, mostly because no one wanted them. They were unpredictable, disloyal and cunning. The kings and queens had no way to enforce rules upon them, so they were cast out, forced to survive on their own, without the help of magic or any of the royal bloodline’s gifts. The humans soon realized that it was safer, better for their survival as a race to group together. Form small communities, which initially led to small towns, cities and eventually, strong, unbreakable armies. The humans grew in numbers much quicker than the fae ever could and before long, war broke out. Hundreds and thousands of both human and fae forces were slaughtered. Cities and regions wiped completely, not a single soul left.”

I had begun talking faster and faster without realizing it, not until I had to stop to catch my breath.

“Not all of the seven kingdoms survived the great war. And the ones that were left weak and unguarded became prey to some of the larger, stronger kingdoms. Power-hungry kings and queens battled for ownership over the last remaining inhabitants of their kingdoms. Husbands betrayed their wife’s, sons turned on their father’s and kingdoms split. Relations were broken and some entire races perished. Kingdoms crumbled. And in the end, only three remained.”

At last, Axel turned to face me, “there are THREE of these kingdoms!?” He almost yelled, pointing at the wall in disbelief, worry lines already edged deep into his forehead.

His eyes burned into my very soul. I felt like my chest was constricting. Like I couldn’t breathe.

“Yes.”