Page 29 of Wings of Destiny

I fell asleep like that as my body slowly slid to the floor, knees still close to my chest. Streams of tears caressed my cheeks as I dreamt of Seth. And Libby. And…me. Left all alone. Again.

Chapter nine

Erin

I woke the next morning sprawled on the floor, shivering, my back aching, and head pounding.

That’s what I get for sleeping on the ground. And bawling my eyes out for no reason other than being dramatic.

I groaned as I sat up and arched my back, aiming to stretch out the kinks, then rotated my head from side to side to crack my neck.

Crossing my legs, I brought my elbow to rest on my knee, leaning my chin into the base of my palm. I stared at my bare mattress across the room, my eyes unfocused, my dream from the night front and center:

He was there again, the man from the first dream. His back faced me with his hands clasped behind himself, looking out over the surrounding mountain scape.

We stood atop a mountain range, seemingly at the highest point. The sun was setting, casting various shades of pinks, purples, and reds across the sky. A single beam of yellow shotthrough the middle, piercing its way through the horizon. It was breathtaking.

“It’s beautiful,” I said.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him nod.

“Who are you?” I asked, the curiosity getting to me.

“That is not of importance,” he responded flatly.

“Okay…then where are we? And why? Why are you here, again?”

The man turned to me, his expression blank. “I am here…to assess how you are progressing and…your abilities…What you have uncovered thus far…,” his eyes trailed the length of my body, as if searching for something. “As well as a message.” His amber eyes shot up, a fire blazed within them, burning a hole through me.

“You must be careful. There are things coming. Trust the light that finds you in the dark. But. Be wary of the darkness that appears as part of the light.”

I huffed. Cryptic much? “Okay, message received, mystery man. Can you tell me how I get my power, the electricity, lighting, or whatever, to work? Because, I got to be honest, I tried and it left me worse for wear.”

The slightest smirk played at the edges of his lips. “For that, you must dive inward. Look to the mirror and you will see, for there is so much more beyond the shallow depths at the entrance to your soul.”

And then he was gone.

As much as I didn’t want to go out and face Seth after having an emotional breakdown, I needed coffee in my system to get my ass in gear.

Upset over a text.

What am I, twelve?

And as I thought it through, especially if I took into consideration what Libby had said about themnotdating, I wasmore than likely just reading into it way too much. Coffee didn’t automatically mean adate.

I shook my head.

I’m getting worked up again. Just mention it and ask about it.

Don’t make a big deal out of it.

I stood up and made my way over to my unpacked bag of clothes. I grabbed a T-shirt with one of my favorite bands plastered on the front of it, a pair of black leggings, my front-zip sports bra, and a pair of panties that had seen better days. With my clean clothes balled together under my arm, I padded across the hall to the bathroom to hop in the shower.

Erin, there are so many things going on that are far more important than suddenly having a little crush on Seth.

Things like, you know, figuring out the whole lightning power situation and why thirteen people are missing.

Seth came grumbling out of his room at the same time. His hair tousled, midnight blue eyes bleary, his stubble along his jawline slightly thicker than the night before. “Morning,” he mumbled, his voice gravelly.

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