Finding His Soul Teaser

“You want to take me to Avalon?” Sera Neilson shrieked. She couldn’t believe her ears. Of course, of all the unbelievable things she had heard over the last month, uprooting her life in the midst of disaster to visit the mythological place that she was apparently the princess of shouldn’t be all that unbelievable. 

It’s not like she was expected to believe she was really an immortal faerie, and that she had to choose between two dragons, and the fate of their home depended on her decision.  

It’s not like she was expected to believe that her father, whom she had never known, was a demon that assaulted her best friend when they thought he was just a typical teenage guy. 

It’s not like she was expected to believe that Evelyn, whom she thought was her grandmother, was really a several hundred year old witch that was responsible for the protection of the Neilson family. 

Oh wait. Sera had been expected to believe all that. 

All that and more. 

“I have school,” Sera argued. “I have a job.” She tried not to think that she should actually have two jobs, but it’s not like she would be welcome in Zac’s tattoo shop anytime soon, if ever. 

It was hard to believe that it was only yesterday that Zac, Sera’s boyfriend, had attempted suicide by slitting his wrists while he was alone in his apartment. No, Sera corrected. He had succeeded in killing himself, but his friend Rob was an Avalonian elf with a remarkable healing ability that happened to be near his apartment at the time. He had been too late to just heal Zac’s wounds, but Rob had been able to literally bring Zac back from the dead just moments before Sera had arrived with Lexi—her best friend and also Zac’s little sister--, Trevor, and Kieran. 

“I want you to see it,” Trevor explained to her, his voice pulling her back to reality. “It might make you feel better,” he added. 

Trevor and his twin brother Kieran were dragons. Actually, Trevor’s real name was Tierney, but he changed it every few lifetimes to sound more modern. Two thousand years ago, Tierney, Kieran, and the faerie Serefina were practically inseparable. Both dragons were madly in love with the faerie. 

When they learned that Tierney would rule over Avalon, the brothers began to fight. Serefina had attempted to keep the circle together, but in the end, she was unsuccessful. As punishment for their behavior, Serefina was sent to the mortal realm as a human with no memory of her time on Avalon. Every eighteen years, a new Neilson was born. Tierney and Kieran had to wait patiently until their Serefina was reborn. 

“I don’t deserve to feel better,” Sera disputed. She had been the reason that Zac had hurt himself in the first place, and he had had no problem pointing out that fact when he woke up in a pool of his own blood. She couldn’t get the vision of the pure hatred in his eyes out of her mind. 

It wasn’t exactly her fault, but nothing could stop Sera from blaming herself as much as Zac did. She had already been dating Zac when she learned the truth about who she was—the faerie princess of Avalon. She was still with Zac when she was abducted by Drew, Zac’s former best friend. Drew was also the incubus that had fathered Sera and assaulted Lexi. While she had been held captive, Drew had convinced her that Zac had been working with him all along to make sure Sera didn’t choose to be with Tierney. When she thought back to the player Zac had been in high school, she couldn’t help but almost believe Drew, so once she was rescued, she refused to even talk to Zac.  

Originally, Sera’s decision about who she wanted to be with would determine the fate of Avalon and all the mythological beings that originated from there. If she chose Trevor, she would rule Avalon alongside him. If she chose Kieran, Avalon, the one safe haven for the creatures, would be destroyed, but all the beings would retain their powers and immortality on Earth, eventually ruling over the humans. If she chose to be with someone else, like Zac, not only would Avalon be destroyed, but all the Avalonians would lose their magic and immortality, becoming human and eventually ceasing to exist.  

Some crazy problems to put on the shoulders of a sixteen year old girl. 

At least that would have been the fate until yesterday, when Kieran announced that Trevor had found a loophole, meaning Sera’s relationship decisions would no longer affect Avalon. 

Now Sera wasn’t sure what she wanted. When she admitted to Lexi the real reason she had been avoiding Zac, everyone insisted that she talk to him. Just after she had agreed, they had all received the text message from Rob. 

Sera could still smell the blood that covered the apartment. The memory of him lying in the puddle would be forever burned into her memory and made her sick to her stomach. He was so pale, she had been certain he was dead. 

“I can’t go,” Sera finally told Trevor and Kieran. “I can’t leave Lexi alone. What if Drew comes back?” 

“We didn’t exactly plan on leaving her here alone and defenseless,” Kieran replied. “Lexi is more than welcome to come with us. As long as she doesn’t mind flying on a dragon to get there,” he added with a smile. 

Sera didn’t know what to say. She was running out of valid reasons to stay.  

Zac hates me, she thought. Maybe I should just go and see this place. 

Sera was still getting used to the idea of being a faerie. It had only been slightly over a week since the first time her wings erupted from her skin. Everything was still new to her. 

“I could really go to Avalon with you guys?” Lexi’s voice broke through Sera’s thoughts. 

Trevor nodded. “Most humans aren’t allowed, so you would be the only one,” he explained, “but I can make an exception for you.” He had already known that Sera would never agree to a visit if it meant leaving Lexi behind. Besides, Sera was right; the mortal wasn’t safe with Drew still in town. 

“Sera, let’s go! We need a break from everything going on here! Let’s just get away for a while,” she pleaded. 

Sera knew there was no way she could get out of the trip once Lexi was onboard with the idea. “We can’t go for long,” she conceded. 

Lexi squeaked with excitement. “When can we leave?” 

“Not so fast,” Sera insisted. “We have school. You have cheerleading. We have to find a way to explain to your parents where we are even going. They are probably going to hate me because of what happened with Zac. We don’t even know for sure if my grandmother will even let me go.” 

“Evelyn won’t be a problem,” Kieran assured her. “I’m sure she’s actually expecting you to go there at some point.” 

“And don’t worry about my parents,” Lexi added. “They probably wouldn’t even realize I’m gone. I don’t think they even know about what happened to Zac. They were serious when they cut him out of their life. You are more family to me than they are anyway. School doesn’t matter. I don’t care about cheerleading. I’m sure you can get some time off of the bowling alley, and,” Lexi snapped her mouth shut before she could continue. 

“And it’s not like I have to worry about helping out at the tattoo shop,” Sera quietly finished for her. 

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” 

Sera shook her head. “It’s okay.” She slumped into the nearest chair and was silent for a moment. “Fine, we’ll go,” she sighed, admitting defeat. 

“Yes!” Lexi exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Sera. “It will be great! Remember all the trips you went with my family on? All the summer vacations?” 

Sera attempted to force a smile. She remembered all too clearly the many trips she had accompanied the Schaffer family on. The countless trips to the beach. The amusement parks. They all made her think of Zac. 

She couldn’t share Lexi’s enthusiasm. She couldn’t help but feel that the trip was a bad idea.