Despite the official start not being announced yet, progress on the planning arrangements was already underway for the new city ‘Tramonto.’ Engineers were measuring and flagging the area according to the plans. The Emperor's day was set to begin with a morning walk with Prince Alessandro, followed by a meeting with the senators on the advisory board to discuss matters to be presented to the Senate. His afternoon was reserved for working on his speech.

  “Have you thought about your speech to the Senate tomorrow?” asked Emperor Sephianos as they walked past the engineers working along the deserted streets of the ruined old city. “We need to be on the same page in terms of persuasiveness.”

  “I’ve been thinking,” Alessandro answered, imagining how easy life would be if there were no Sumerian struggle. How simple it had been before all of this. His heart ached at the thought of his aging father, burdened with a major crisis in his later years. The Emperor was sharp for his age, but his body no longer held the same strength. A good life, a balanced diet, and the advanced wellness technologies of Ars Pheria could extend human life to around one hundred and twenty years at most. The Emperor was nearing the end, but not there yet.

  “The Senate will be frustrated that they weren’t informed about the Sumerians sooner. We need to begin by explaining the reason for the delay.”

  “I will take full responsibility for the delay,” Emperor Sephianos said. “I’ll explain the slow progress in our understanding of the Sumerians and that we didn’t want to cause unnecessary panic. We were nearly certain they posed no threat, then we received the news of a coup.”

  “We couldn’t possibly have expected a coup, given the high level of civilization the Sumerians had. But obviously, technological advancement doesn’t always align with political progress,” Alessandro said. “I will emphasize that we must work together from this point onward to find a solution to the problem, together. It’s time we collaborate as we always have.”

  The Emperor had always been proud of his children. Even when they didn’t follow the same rational thought processes as he did, he took pride in how they could stand their ground against him. He was already planning his retirement, once the Sumerian issue was resolved; Alessandro was ready to take on the responsibility as the new Emperor. If Perla had accepted the duty years ago, she would have already been Empress. But as long as Perla held her stance, Sephianos was confident the Senate would recognize Alessandro’s potential as the next Emperor.

  “Alessandro, I want you to promise me,” said Emperor Sephianos. “If things take a turn for the worse and I’m not there to make the decisions, I need you to…”

  Marcus interrupted the Emperor’s words, running toward them in a hurry. His heavy breathing was audible even from a distance. The Emperor immediately sensed the urgency in his approach.

  “Sire, forgive me for the interruption,” Marcus said, catching his breath. “Your Highness and Prince Alessandro must come to the Palace immediately.”

  “What’s the matter, Marcus?” asked Alessandro. “What is it that can’t wait?”

  “Please, you must come and see for yourself,” Marcus replied. “I did my best to keep it discreet, so you would have time to decide what to do.”

  “Did you inform Lady Perla?” asked the Emperor, thinking the matter might concern the Sumerian ship nearing Ars Pheria.

  “This is a separate matter,” Marcus replied, his voice lower. He shot a concerned look at Alessandro, as if he wanted to say more but refrained in front of the Imperial assistants. He walked alongside the Emperor and the Prince toward the vehicle waiting to take them back to the Palace.

  Marcus had always been like a son to Emperor Sephianos. As an orphan, he had lost both his parents to the dark fume when he was just a child. Though the illness was rare at the time, Ars Pherians were aware of its horrors. But it was almost unheard of for a child to be left alone, orphaned by such a cruel fate. The Emperor, moved by Marcus’s grief and orphaned state, took him in without hesitation, raising him as his own in the royal palace. In time, Marcus became one of the Emperor’s most trusted.

  Ten years older than Alessandro, Marcus had always been taller and more imposing. His physique, muscular and solid, was a stark contrast to the elegant, refined ideal of Ars Pheria, where being bulky was neither fashionable nor admired. Yet, Marcus didn’t care. He believed in his strength fiercely, and in his heart, he knew that whatever future awaited him, it would be monumental.

  Marcus led the Emperor and Alessandro through the quiet corridors to the Emperor’s private chambers. As they entered, he gave a firm gesture to the assistants, who quickly filed out, leaving them in solemn silence. He shut the doors behind them.

  Alessandro’s voice broke through the stillness, sharp with urgency. “I think you can tell us now, Marcus. What is going on?”

  Marcus hesitated for a brief second.

  “Sire…” he began, “Someone from Earth passed through the portal to Ars Pheria. She is here. Right now. In the palace.”

  The words hung in the air, their weight sinking into the room. Alessandro’s brow furrowed, his thoughts racing.

  “Three Ars Pherians saw her this morning,” Marcus continued. “She was wandering around the Portal Hill Gardens. All of them have been ordered to keep this strictly confidential. I... I found her myself, took her to Lady Concetta. She is being taken care of now, but…”

  “How is this possible!” Alessandro was startled. “Who is she?”

  “Ms. Ava L’Ambert is here,” Marcus said, his words setting off a bomb in the middle of the room. Alessandro's face drained of color, as though the blood had fled from his skin, leaving him pale as the white roses in the blue-and-gold vase beside him. His eyes widened, but no words came, just a heavy, choking silence that gripped him in place.

  Emperor Sephianos, ever the pillar of composure, took a deep, deliberate breath, his hands steady as he reached for the water pitcher on the table. His fingers trembled ever so slightly as he poured, his face giving nothing away. He offered the glass to Marcus, who helped steady it as the Emperor drank slowly, trying to anchor himself.

  Alessandro’s heart thundered in his chest. Ava. The name hit him like a wave. How had she crossed the portal?

  “Tell me everything I need to know, Alessandro,” Emperor Sephianos finally broke the silence, his voice calm but weighted with authority. He took a deep breath, his eyes not leaving his son. “I apologize... I should have listened to you more carefully. I should have been more attentive. You had been busy with an important matter on Earth and I can sense all is related.”

  Alessandro looked at his father, his heart heavy with guilt and frustration.

  “Father, it’s not you who owes an apology,” he said softly. “I didn’t know what I got myself into... and then it was too late. I was with Ava in California when Marcus found me. She must have found a way to follow me here.”

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  "She passed through the portal on her own..." The Emperor repeated the words, as if needing to hear them again to fully comprehend the significance of what had just occurred.

  Alessandro nodded, his hands trembling slightly as he spoke. "Yes. I don’t know how she did it, but Ava has always been... unpredictable. She must have found a way, whether through something or someone, to get here. I never thought... never imagined it would come to this."

  "She is no ordinary Earthian," Emperor Sephianos said sharply. "She didn’t get lost in the portal. Tell me everything you know about her."

  Alessandro finally found the moment he'd been waiting for to come clean to his father about Ava. He recounted everything he knew about Ava, the dark fume, and Ghull. But he didn’t mention how he’d lost control of himself, overwhelmed by his emotions for her. He spoke of the healing light she possessed; the same light she’d used to heal him. He didn’t mention the way he’d cried in her arms. Instead, he focused on Perla’s investigation into historical documents, including the Ottoman doctor’s writings about a sickness that struck those who spoke of Ghull. He shared what Ava had told him, what Princess An had revealed to Perla about the Sumer Queen, and the troubling parallels in the Ottoman archives. All of it could not be mere coincidence. There was something, or someone, that could explain the existence of the portal. A being who could shed light on the abduction of Romans, Sumerians, and perhaps others they had yet to uncover. Ghull could hold the key to the answers they sought.

  "Let me speak with Ava and learn what she knows," Alessandro said, his pale face slowly regaining color. "She will trust me. Once she’s ready, I’ll introduce her to you and to all of Ars Pheria."

  Contrasting with Alessandro’s pale face, the Emperor’s was flushed with stress. "All right, talk to her and tell me what she says," he said finally. "This puzzle is getting out of hand. We need to lay all the information on the table. Come back to me later today, and we’ll figure out how to handle this. I just hope no one finds out about her before we make a decision." Before he could finish his sentence, Emperor Sephianos coughed a few times and reached for his water.

  "I will ask Mother to visit the palace and accompany you today," Alessandro said, his concern evident in his father's obvious distress and difficulty breathing. He would feel reassured if his mother Dr. Aurelia could assess the Emperor’s health. He instructed Marcus to ask his mother to attend to his father. Then, Alessandro made his way to the main chamber of the palace to find Lady Concetta. It was hard for him to contain his excitement and joy. If he could make a wish from a genie in a bottle, he doubted he could come up with a wish as improbable as Ava being on Ars Pheria.

  Alessandro asked Lady Concetta to bring Ava to his meeting chambers, keeping his expression as neutral and composed as possible. The windows of the room overlooked the bay and marina. White sails, anchored in the marina, gleamed under the warm sun like pearls on a necklace. The room itself was richly adorned in shades of white, blue, and green, reflecting Prince Alessandro’s personal taste. He wore a white and beige senator’s uniform, complemented by a white cape fastened at his shoulder with a red rose, similar to his father, the Emperor. His long fingers were adorned with emerald and sapphire rings, the colors echoing the deep blue of his eyes. Those eyes, now fixed on the door, gleamed with anticipation and excitement. A knock sounded, and Lady Concetta entered, alone.

  “Prince Alessandro, Lady Ava is asleep in her room. Would you like me to wake her?”

  “No need, let her rest. I’ll see her later this evening,” Alessandro replied while his heart sinking. “In the meantime, can you attend to the Emperor? He’s expecting Lady Aurelia soon, and I’d like you to be there until she arrives. Also, please check his medication with the nurse to ensure he’s on schedule.”

  Of course,” Lady Concetta replied. “I’ll attend to him right away.” She hurried out of the room toward the Emperor’s chambers. Alessandro listened to her footsteps fade away before he left the meeting room and made his way toward the guest quarters. He paused in front of the largest guest room in the corner wing, straining to listen. Silence. He opened the door carefully and peeked inside. Ava was asleep on the bed, dressed in her Ars Pherian outfit. The faint shimmer of her colorful fumes lingered in the air, carrying a scent of rose liqueur. Alessandro glanced around to ensure no one was watching, then slipped into the room. His heart would not bear to wait one more hour before seeing her.

  The calming effect of the rose liqueur seemed to have eased Ava’s anxiety, helping her fall asleep despite being in a completely unfamiliar place. Alessandro quietly lay down beside her, his gaze fixed on her as she breathed softly in her sleep. Her skin appeared even paler than before, a soft glow emanating from her, like a faint halo of light. The emotional fumes she emitted were much less vibrant than they had been on Earth, now flowing through the pale glow in gentle, pastel hues. He watched her for a while longer, mesmerized by the serene sight, until her eyes fluttered open.

  Alessandro couldn’t help but smile broadly when he met her green eyes. He gently caressed her hair, his hand brushing through the strands, before pressing a soft kiss to the corner of her lip. Ava reached for him, pulling him close, she buried her face in his curly hair, taking in his scent, making sure he really was him. Then she pulled herself back, frowned her brows and shot a handsome slap on Alessandro’s cheek.

  “Vaffanculo Alessandro ha?” she said in a trembling voice. “Fuck you Alessandro! Who wrote that?”

  Alessandro could come to his senses faster if he was the persona he usually was while on Earth, but on Ars Pheria in his Imperial suits, Prince Alessandro was having hard time gaining control of the situation. Ava was clearly mad, but she still risked her life to follow him all the way to the portal and to Ars Pheria. He tried to open his mouth to explain.

  “Ava, let me tell you all…” but Ava interrupted again, her eyes filled with tears, her voice trembling with anger.

  “I helped you, I believed in you, I healed you and I risked everything for you! You left me and now you sneak in my room to kiss me like I am not on an alien planet and everything is fucking normal!” She stood and walked over to the window in a fury, while tears kept coming down.

  “Please let me explain..” Alessandro followed her.

  “Explain! Please explain how all this happened! And explain who the hell is Luna!”

  Oh shit! Alessandro was ready to explain all but not Luna. It was a night of great mistake, and he had no explanation for that. Alessandro kept silent trying to gain composure and find a way to calm down Ava. Unfortunately, his silence was driving her to a deeper madness. Her sobbing was heavier, shaking her body trembling.

  “I am so sorry,” Alessandro finally said. “I never meant to hurt you. I was abducted from your home by my own folks, to be brought back to Ars Pheria because I refused to follow my father’s orders. I didn’t write the damn letter. I would come back to you when I could cross the portal again.” He got closer to Ava and hopelessly held her shoulders tight between his hands and looked into her eyes.

  “Please let me,” he begged, and he held her even stronger when Ava wanted to get away from his grip. He pressed Ava towards his chest and held her tightly, his one hand behind her head and one on her back.

  “No.. no. no. Ava, let me, let me, please…” he kept begging until Ava gave up punching his back with her free hands while sobbing on him her face buried on his chest.”

  When Ava finally calmed down and turned her red eyes up to face him, Alessandro kissed her wet cheeks, tasting the salty tears. He kept kissing her face until his lips met her swollen red lips. Finally, Ava let down all her guard and kissed him back thirsty for his warm taste. Alessandro opened the lock of the rose shaped pin and dropped his red imperial cape on the floor. Gently, he took down the strips of her silk white dress, causing it to drop down on the floor next to his cape.

  Ava laid naked on the soft blanket as he removed his uniform, then climbed next to her. He kissed every inch of her body from her legs up to her neck, hissing the words “Forgive me,” his warm breath causing Ava goosebumps all over her body. Ava pulled him and kissed him, embracing his body in her arms that Alessandro hoped that this was a sign of forgiveness granted at least for the time being.

  Intoxicated with the pleasure of having her in his arms again, Alessandro was more than ready to release his new intense emotions he had been experiencing. He forgot about being on Ars Pheria or being a prince, he was on Earth again as a reckless cello player.

  Jealousy, the darkest of all emotions.

  Consumes every light, every hope, every bloom.

  However mighty, however holy, however powerful,

  Jealousy poisons all that existence feels.

  Once the sweet and gentle breeze of the poison creeps in,

  The heart sinks in a deep blue and the mind storms in a thunder.

  I, the loyal Ghull of the Asaha, would never let jealousy consume my mind.

  My eyes nevertheless, always watch who holds her.

  My heart... forever gasping in darkness.