Page 7 of Visions of Darkness

I crawled into bed that night. Exhaustion weighed me down, no doubt thanks to the wound that would take me at least a week to fully recover from, even though the scar would forever remain on my back.

Another of the many I was covered in.

Chest and stomach. Arms and legs. A jagged one that marred my right cheek.

I curled my arms around my pillow, and my spirit shivered, angling toward the one place where I truly belonged. Where I didn’t have to hide or pretend.

My eyelids fluttered, and my breaths shallowed out as I began to drift.

There was always a bare space in between. A sense of anticipation.

One of joy and fear and purpose.

Weightless.

Timeless.

Light and darkness flickered at the edges of my sight.

Then my soul flashed, and I flew.

Chapter Three

Aria

Tearsith

Aria appeared at the edge of the meadow. Peace echoed through her being, palpable and alive as she stood at the periphery of their sanctuary. Floral scents rose from the red vingas that sprouted from the fertile ground, tasting sweet on her tongue as she inhaled the comfort of this place.

Lush woods hugged the field, and light streamed through the leaves of the soaring trees surrounding Tearsith in a hedge of protection. It dappled the expansive clearing in natural warmth, in a comfort unlike anything found in another place.

The air was misty and written in a hue of silvered blue.

Here, it was a haven.

A moment’s harmony before they descended into the darkest place.

On the bank of the small brook with crystalline waters that ran along the far end of the meadow, her Laven family had begun to gather at their great teacher’s feet, the way they did each night. There were about two hundred of them, and through Ellis’s teachings, from his own vague understanding, it was believed there were many more Laven families spread over the world. Each drawn together by Valeen’s call on their lives.

They all donned the same uniform they appeared in each night, the material of the fitted pants and long-sleeved jacket brown and thick.

Aria paused as her attention sought out one thing.

She didn’t have to search. She was drawn, her heart and soul pulsing out to meet with the energy that rippled back.

Pax stood at the back of the crowd, facing her, as if he had sensed her arrival.

His hair was a shock of white where it wisped around his face. A face carved into severity. The angle of his cheeks and jaw were harsh, the slash of his brow hard and fierce. His mouth was somehow plush. A soft contrast against the abrasiveness.

Gray eyes that were the same color as hers burned with white fire. So intense they made her shake. Somehow, they softened as they took her in when she stepped from the dense foliage and into the grass-covered clearing.

Sparks of energy arced between them as she began to walk toward her Nol, who moved for her at the same time. It was a connection that she had only ever experienced with him.

They met partway, and he took her hand. Warmth spread through her body.

A flame.

A balm.

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