Series: Charmaine Pauls
Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 70056 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70056 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
This morning is particularly nice, the air cool and fragrant, the bridge ropes damp from the night’s dew. The midday winds will arrive soon, but for now, the air is still and calm, the dark sky just beginning to glow with hints of orange and pink. The only sounds out here are the songs of the small winged dragons and the roar of the waterfall, though if I strain my ears, I can still hear the goings-on inside the palace—the never-ending whispers, plots, and intrigues.
There are many in that palace who regret keeping me alive.
Some of them would like to try and remedy their mistake.
I sigh and lean onto the thick woven rope ringing the platform. When I was a child, I loved to hang on this rope, my feet dangling over the edge as I swung back and forth between safety and danger, between the boring stability of the bridge and the lethal tree-height drop below it.
I never fell, but I could have.
Maybe should have.
The entire kingdom would’ve rejoiced.
A distant screech of a dragon reaches my ears, pulling me out of my morbid mood. I clench my teeth and step back from the rope. It’s been happening more lately—the random darkening of my thoughts, the growing numbness inside me. For several seasons, nothing has brought me joy, and I know that eventually, the numbness will spread until everything ceases to matter.
The sky lightens further, and I inhale a deep breath, dragging fresh morning air into my lungs.
What the dragon?
Confused, I take another breath.
There’s something in the air. Something almost… sweet. But it’s not a smell. More like a vibration.
I inhale again.
What is it?
I can’t pinpoint it, but the sweet vibration is stronger now. I can feel it with my entire body. It’s as powerful as the eastern storms that tug at the very roots of the trees, yet nothing around me is moving.
All the movement is within me, inside me.
I’m vibrating from within.
Vibrating so fast that I’m hot.
No, not just hot. Every part in my body is on fire.
I grip the rope in front of me, the edges of my vision darkening and expanding at the same time. The sensation is surreal, all-consuming. I’m here yet elsewhere. I’m falling apart yet being made whole. The scorching vibration expands, filling me, deafening me, blinding me, hijacking all my senses, and when it dies down, I’m different.
I’m… not empty anymore.
My skin prickles all over, as if lightning shot through my veins.
No.
It can’t be.
I can’t have found my mate.
She’s dead.
They told me so, and I knew the truth of it when I looked for her. She was nowhere to be found on this world, our connection severed, destroyed.
But like the scrolls say, the soul doesn’t lie—and mine has just recognized hers.
She’s here, somewhere nearby. I can feel the pull of her being. It’s like a dragon’s claw has hooked itself deep into my chest, but instead of pain, there’s an ache, equal parts sweet and terrible, an exquisite longing that permeates everything I am.
I’m not cognizant of my body moving, of my feet taking me to the wall of water guarding the entrance to the palace, but somehow, I’m there. The water particles dissolve before me, and I pass through the waterfall and stride into the Great Hall.
“Gaia!” My shout shakes the palace walls as I turn in a circle, looking for my sister through the thick layers of wood and stone. “Gaia!”
I don’t know if my sister hears me, or if someone tells her that I’m looking for her, but a swirl of purple lights appears in front of me. Regally, she steps out of the portal, flicking her dark braid over her shoulder with an impatient gesture.
“Yes, brother?” she drawls. “How may I be of help?”
I grip her slender hand. “Come with me. Now.”
It won’t help much, of course. The rumors are already flying like embers on the eastern winds, but I need to maintain at least a semblance of secrecy for now. To that end, I shepherd her into my quarters and seal the entrance behind us before activating the shields.
By the time I turn to Gaia, she’s tapping her foot on the floor, looking irritated. “Well?”
“I need you to find someone for me.”
She blinks at me. “Who?”
“A woman. I can sense her, but I don’t know where she is.”
She frowns. “What woman? And what do you mean, sense her?”
I stare at her, stone faced.
She gasps. “No! Aruan, that’s impossible.”
“Is it?” I reach out and take her hand. “Here, feel it.”
Her eyes go wide as I feed her the sensations in my mind. She gasps again and yanks her hand away, then covers her mouth with her palm as she stares at me, shock and fear battling with disbelief on her face.
“Aruan… That’s—” She takes a step back. “I don’t know what to say.”