Page 54 of Fear the Flames
The feeling of sand dancing over my skin begins again, and I know I don’t have much more time with him, so I ask the question I won’t have the guts to ask when I wake up. “Did you like getting my letters?”
I see his earnest grin in between my slow blinks. “Best part of my day.”
“Why didn’t you write to me the first week?”
His smile falters, and his fingers pause briefly before resuming their strokes. “I didn’t think you’d want to hear from me.”
“Cayden,” I manage to form his name while my eyes fall shut for the final time, “I think I missed you.” I don’t know if I’ll ever look too deeply into my emotions, but I know I didn’t like being away from him for two weeks, and I also know I don’t want him thinking that I don’t want to hear from him.
I feel the bed shift, and something soft presses into my forehead, “I think I missed you too, angel.”
ChapterTwenty-Five
Cool water laps against my body while I float in a lake. My dark brown hair fans out in the water around me, and my satin night-slip clings to me. I let myself revel in this feeling of unfamiliar peace before opening my eyes.
The night sky stares down at me as bright stars make the inky black void shine. I push the water back and forth, gliding my hands through the silky surface. To the left is a familiar mountain range. I’m in Aestilian, floating in the lake where I learned to swim. It’s the place where I would hunt for the prettiest shells and rocks in hopes a mermaid would befriend me.
The snowcapped mountains kiss the stars in ways I never could. A loud voice booms from the sky just as I’m about to reach forward to grab a star.
“Did you see who the fuck did this?” snarls the voice.
Lightning litters the sky, and I shoot up in place, now wading in the water rather than floating. No, I realize while staring into the sky, it’s not lightning—the stars are falling.
“I’m going to find them and make them suffer in ways they never thought possible,” the voice snarls again.
The stars splash in the lake around me and rain down on the shore. Some even ram into the mountain, making them shake. A mixture of snow and rocks tumble down from the peaks and crash into the lake. Fear spreads through my chest when waves of staggering size barrel toward me. My arms cut through the water while my feet swiftly paddle, but there’s no outswimming the waves. They soon overtake me and sweep me under. Water burns my throat as I descend deeper into the endless pit below me. My hands keep clawing their way to the surface, but I feel like I’m swimming through thick syrup. I keep pushing and thrashing my limbs until I break the surface, gulping in large breaths.
“Elowen!” My head turns toward the shore; I hear someone calling my name. I hear it through the waves, through the avalanche, through the falling stars—it’s as clear as if the voice is right in front of me. “Elowen,please.”
The waves calm around me; and I feel something feather-light brush against my cheek and slide through my hair. I reach up and wrap my hand around something warm, leaning my head into the warm touch on my cheek. My thumb rubs the warmth I clutch, echoing the comfort I’m receiving. The voice along the shore is the same voice that made the stars fall and the mountains shake, but now it’s beckoning me to come closer.
It breaks through the chill the lake injected into my bones and embraces me like a blanket, reaching something deep in my body and igniting something I’ve never felt. It’s a feeling I don’t know how to describe, but I know I want to feel it more.
I want to be near that voice. Something is tugging on the back of my mind, imploring me not to get closer because the voice is dangerous. I should swim away from the voice and hide in the mountains, but I can’t ignore my desire.
The shore is even colder than the lake. My satin night-slip and hair are soaked; they stick to my cold body as the wind whips around me. A shadowed figure that looks like they’re spun from the night sky is sitting beneath a tree, on top of a blanket surrounded by gorgeous flowers. My teeth are chattering, and my body is violently trembling.
“Come here, angel. I’ll keep you warm,” the darkness gently commands, and I comply.
My shaky legs carry me up the shore and toward the darkness. Most people would run from darkness, but I can’t shake the feeling that it’s exactly where I need to go. I sink to my knees and lay my body on top of the figure. It should be cold and uninviting, but this darkness is anything but that. It’s inviting and safe. A pair of strong arms wrap around me, and my cheek presses into something warm while I wrap my arms around the figure beneath me.
“I’m here,” I whisper. I stay here, perfectly content, while darkness intertwines with my hair and dances down my spine. I don’t know how long I’ve stayed here, but the darkness starts to fade, and the sun begins to peek over the mountains. No, I don’t want this to end. I want to stay here in the realm of dreams with my darkness.
Another voice comes from over the mountains. “The reports…downstairs…” I catch bits of a soft feminine voice.
“I don’t want to leave her,” my darkness confesses. I tighten my hold. I don’t want my darkness to leave me either. The darkness chuckles but doesn’t move.
“It’ll only take ten minutes,” the feminine voice speaks again.
Much to my dismay, the darkness starts to shift. I curl my body toward the fleeting warmth, but it soon disappears; the only warmth that remains is a feather-light touch on my cheek. Tree roots wrap around my wrist when I try to reach toward the darkness.Come back,I want to say, but the words die in my throat.
“I should have assumed you’d be fussy.” The darkness chuckles again, and something is placed next to me. I tug it closer and inhale the familiar scent from the soft object. “I’ll be right back, beautiful. Don’t go anywhere.”
The warmth disappears from my cheek, and a feeling of loneliness wraps around my heart. I yank my hand free of the tree root that restrains me in tandem with the sun fully rising over the mountain and blinding me with its rays.
ChapterTwenty-Six
The first thing I see when my eyes snap open is a warm, soft pillow. I’m clutching it like a bear clutches a tree. It smells delicious. My sleepy eyes start to shut again while I shove my face into the cinnamon and pine scented bundle of warmth.
