Page 107 of A Conduit of Light
SherememberedClairanniaandFiguerah, their excitement uncontainable next to her resistance, and yet they had accepted her anyway.Forthe first time, she had been accepted as an equal and loved as a friend, admired for her spirit and her wit.Shehad been one of them, a part of something special for the first time in her life, and they had loved her for who she was, not for who she was supposed to become.
Andshe rememberedRevich.
Asblisters opened on her hands and face, her conduit ring brilliantly illuminated on her finger, she remembered the man she loved.
Imagesof their most intimate moments settled into her skin as warm as his lips had felt on hers.
Herattraction to him had been immediate, and though she fought it off fairly well, using sarcasm and sharp replies as a shield to his charm, she had given in finally, watching him waist deep in that pond—both of them vulnerable and free.
Rev.
Yes, she remembered him.Theman whose heart she’d held, the one who’d offered to hold up hers, never questioning her light, but basking in the warmth of it instead.
Theone who had taken all her faults and fears and laid them out bare saying, “Yes,Isee these, andIlove you.Notregardless, not in spite of them.Ijust love you.Allof you.”
Why?
Whythe lies, the deceit?
She’dnever get to know.She’dnever be able to ask the sky who held her.Shewas going to die here in this forest, the place which had given her new life, a new beginning, and an understanding of the woman she was.
Thewoman she wanted to become.
Thewoman she’d never get to see.
Karuswas tired.
Shefell to her knees, her strength waning as she bore the weight of her duty, pushing the fingers of one hand into the healed soil, extracting every ounce of power she could to continue.Shewatched as her long, unbound hair turned white in pieces of brilliance, illuminated and blinding from the sun she held.
Shescreamed, holding on just a little longer.Theend of her torment drew nearer.
Andas her memories continued to fade, like the wisps of smoke from an extinguished flame, the bluest of eyes she had ever seen flashed in her mind, and then…nothing.
Sheremembered nothing as she heard a name upon the night-kissed breeze.
Karus.
Karus.
Karus.
Chapter48
Rev
Thebranchesthat cut his cheeks were sharp as knives, and the roots that snagged on his legs were relentless in their efforts to stop him.
Buthe ran on.
Likehe would never see her again, he ran on.
Likehe’d never hear his name on her lips, or feel the brush of her hair across his chest, he ran on.
Hebounded over fallen trees in his path, over rocks and bushes, ignoring the sudden shock of power—the sudden gasp as his head filled with clarity, with knowledge bound to theBaronofFelgren, intruding into his thoughts with a question he would not yet answer.
Itcould only mean one thing.Heimlenwas dead.
Buthe ran on.
