Chapter 29
Kiara's fingers were the only part of her visible as she peaked her head around the corner of the building she hid behind. The shadows swallowed her as she narrowed her gold eyes and stared at the doctor across the street.
The night was chilly and filled with danger lurking in the dark spaces between cars and buildings. The street lamps gave an unpleasant yellow spotlight to the spot Dr. Banks stood under, taking long drags of his cigarette. Kiara's attention stayed glued on the man as he pulled out his phone and dialed a number. His head tilted back and he stared at the apartment complex he stood in front of.
"Yeah," Dr. Banks spoke into the phone. "It's me."
Kiara leaned a bit out of the shadows.
"I'm going in," Banks continued. "Be here in ten minutes......no, don't worry.....yeah I checked already."
Kiara pulled back into the darkness as Banks ended the phone call and dropped his cigarette. He stepped on the small lit ambers and crushed them under his feet, creating a mess of ashes on the pavement. The man took one deep breath before pushing his hand into his pocket and stepping into the building.
As she watched the man disappear, she wanted to follow him inside. But just as she was about to take a step out into the shadows, her body began to tingle and her limbs began to feel like led. Kiara groaned under her breath as the tingling intensified and she began to fly through the gaps of space.
________________________
If it wasn't for the way Hayden's heart beated under her palm, Nora would have hated the silent woods surrounding her. She stood caged in his arms as she tried to calm her breathing....but his scent was having the opposite effect. Nora shut her eyes and tried to focus on her breathing.
Each breath she took was sweet torture. Her lungs filled with Hayden's light cologne. He smelled of spice, rain, and ....all the things Nora couldn't name but knew were unique just to him.
"Are you okay?" Hayden asked, standing as still as possible. Nora flinched as his lips brushed lightly across her temples as he spoke. "Sorry."
"It's okay," Nora said, her voice a bit breathless and lost.
She pulled back and lifted her lashes. Hayden lowered his gaze and focused on her eyes.
Still beautiful, Hayden thought to himself as he tried to count the mountains and hills in her brown eyes.
"Where are we?" Nora asked, lifting her gaze farther up to the green trees.
"A few miles from my house," Hayden said. "This was the first place that came to my mind when I opened the portal."
"Do you come here a lot?" Nora asked. "It's beautiful."
"I used to," Hayden watched Nora look at the world around them.
He had the woods memorized. But as they reflected on Nora's eyes, it was as if he was seeing them for the very first time through her mind. Hayden's heart started to beat faster as questions built in his mind.
Did she notice how the green was so much darker here than anywhere else? What about how light the air was? Did she hear the stream a bit farther up north?
"What happened?" Nora asked, lowering her gaze.
"Nothing," Hayden wanted her to keep looking at the woods.
"What happened at the palace?" Nora asked. "Something was wrong."
"How did you know?" Hayden asked.
