The Messenge (Iva and Nick) novel Chapter 422

I Don’t Care

Lori stayed beside Iva until the trembling finally stopped.

It took almost an hour.

Every time Iva seemed to settle, another question returned, another frightened look crossed her face, and another wave of confusion threatened to pull her back into panic.

Lori never left her.

She sat beside the bed, speaking softly, reminding her where she was, telling her that she was safe,

that she was not alone, and that whatever had happened, they would find a way through it.

Eventually, exhaustion defeated fear.

Iva’s eyelids became heavy.

Her breathing slowly steadied.

Lori brushed the damp strands of hair away from her forehead and whispered that she could sleep.

A few minutes later, Iva finally surrendered to a deep, exhausted sleep.

Lori quietly left the room.

When she entered the adjoining sitting chamber, Caleb was standing beside the windows with his

back toward her.

He had not moved.

He turned when he heard her.

“How is she?”

“She is asleep.”

Caleb closed his eyes.

“Deeply?”

“Yes.”

He exhaled shakily.

“At least she is resting.”

Lori studied him.

“What happened?”

Galeb looked away.

“I don’t even know where to begin.”

“Start with this morning.”

He was silent for several seconds.

Then he told her everything.

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He told her about waking beside Iva, about their hands intertwined, about the happiness he had

felt when she remembered him.

He told her how Iva had remembered their life together.

Then his voice became darker.

“And then her eyes turned violet.”

Lori’s face tightened.

“The genie.”

Caleb nodded.

“It was controlling her again.”

“What did it say?”

“That I had been given a taste of what it felt like to have my mate back.”

Lori’s stomach twisted.

“And then?”

“It demanded the stone.”

“The Velinthra.”

“Yes.”

Lori stared at him.

“It said that if I don’t find it, I will never have Iva back.”

Before Caleb could say anything else, the doors opened.

Rana entered first.

The moment she saw Caleb’s expression, her face changed.

“What happened?”

Behind her came his parents, followed by Attia, Lori’s mate, who had clearly been summoned when word spread through the castle that something had gone terribly wrong.

Rana immediately looked toward the bedroom.

“Where is my daughter?”

“She is sleeping,” Lori answered quietly.

Rana’s hand went to her mouth.

“Sleeping?”

“She finally calmed down.”

Rana looked at Caleb.

“What happened?”

Caleb knew there was no point hiding it.

He repeated the story.

By the time he reached the part about the genie, King’s expression had become increasingly grim.

“The Velinthra,” the King repeated.

Caleb looked at him.

“You know it?”

William did not answer immediately.

He walked slowly toward the fireplace.

His face had gone pale.

“I know what it is.”

The Queen looked at her husband.

“William?”

The King stared into the flames.

“The Velinthra is not simply a stone.”

Caleb’s expression hardened.

“What is it?”

“It is an enhancement stone created in the ancient realm.”

“The genie said it could give it something.”

William nodded.

“Power.”

The word seemed to darken the room.

“What kind of power?”

“The kind that should never belong to a creature like that.”

Atia moved closer to Lori.

“Where is this realm?”

William turned toward Caleb.

“That is precisely the problem.”

Caleb waited.

“The realm where the Velinthra was created is known as the Genie Realm. It exists outside our world, separated from ours by boundaries that were established long before the Lycan bloodline existed.”

Caleb’s jaw tightened.

“Can I get there?”

William looked at his son with an expression that was almost painful.

“You need to be careful.”

“Why?”

“Because the Genie Realm is not a place for the faint of heart.”

Caleb didn’t move.

William’s voice lowered.

“It is well known that no one who ventured into that realm was ever able to return.”

Rana’s face drained of colour.

“No one?”

“No one.”

Caleb stared at his father.

“What happened to them?”

“We don’t know.”

“Then how do we know they never returned?”

“Because every expedition ended the same way.”

William walked toward the table.

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“There were records. Ancient records describing portals opening and warriors crossing into the realm. None came back.”

The Queen whispered,

“Some believe the realm itself changes those who enter.”

Caleb looked toward her.

“What does that mean?”

“No one truly knows. Some legends say the realm feeds upon memories. Others say it feeds upon identity. There are stories of people entering with their names, their families and their histories, only to become something else entirely.”

Lori looked toward the bedroom.

“So the genie wants Caleb to enter a place where people lose themselves?”

William nodded.

“And retrieve a stone that may be guarded by creatures older than any supernatural kingdom we know.”

Caleb’s expression remained determined.

“I need to go.”

His mother turned toward him.

“No.”

“Mother-”

“No.”

Her voice cracked with emotion.

“You have already watched Iva suffer enough.”

“I cannot sit here while that creature controls her.”

Queen’s eyes filled with tears.

“And what happens if you go there and never return?”

Caleb looked toward the bedroom door.

“Then at least I tried.”

Lori shook her head.

“There must be another way.”

“I’ve already tried every way I know.”

Caleb’s voice became raw.

“I watched Iva remember me.”

His eyes filled.

“I watched her look at me like she finally knew who I was.”

He swallowed.

“And then, minutes later, she looked at me like I was a stranger.”

Nobody spoke.

Caleb continued.

“I cannot accept that.”

William looked at his son for a long moment.

“You understand what you are saying?”

“Yes.”

“You could die.”

“Yes.”

“You could become trapped there.”

“Yes.”

“You could lose yourself.”

Caleb’s eyes hardened.

“I already lost the woman I love once.”

He looked toward the bedroom.

“I am not going to lose her again without fighting for her.”

Rana began to cry silently.

The Queen stepped closer to her husband.

William looked at Caleb with the expression of a father who desperately wanted to stop his son

but knew that doing so might destroy him more completely than allowing him to go.

“You are willing to enter a realm no one has returned from,” William finally said.

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