One Eternal Ember

Chapter 20

Malakai

I've never been so interested in anyone until this woman. It's not a simple curiosity, it's far more primal. Obsession is not even close to what I feel. It's absurd, the lack of self control I experience when she's in my presence. She lures me in with her interesting eyes, and the way the energy in a room burns every time she enters. It's quite embarrassing actually, to be so completely devoured by the woman I know nothing about. I nearly chuckle at my own pathetic tendencies. I reach behind my head, and untie the silk bands of my mask, pulling it down and holding it like it's made of glass. I glance over at her, and study the planes of her face that her mask doesn't cover. Where did she come from? My eyes roam over her feminine jaw, her dark brows, her long beautiful, abyss hair that rustles in the summer breeze.

My mother always lectured me as a child about staring, but I can't seem to help myself. If staring could break down who a being is, I would've understood her by now. Gods, mother would be so utterly embarrassed at my behavior. I smile to myself, and lift my gaze to the millions of stars.

"What are you smiling about?" She asks, her voice carrying on the wind like silk.

Of all the things she could ask, she asks what I'm smiling about. How ridiculous. "I come to this exact spot to clear my mind. It's just odd to no longer be here alone." Which is true, but that is not what I'm smiling about.

She sighs and lifts her hands to her mask and unties it, removing it from her face and setting it on the grass. "I hate this country, but this view is beautiful. I would be a fool to let my hate blind me to that."

I study my hands for a few moments then glance at her. "It has its moments."

The breeze then kicks up, and midnight blossoms flow past us bringing in the scent of spring. She then turns to me, and when our eyes connect, my soul burns. What is this feeling? There must be something truly wrong with me. Her eyes widen slightly, and that's when I know she feels it too.

"What is that?" I ask her. If she feels it too then maybe she knows what it is.

"What is what?"

"That burning sensation every time I look at you."

A few moments of silence pass, then she responds. "So you feel it too?"

"Yes."

Her eyes study mine, searching for an answer she doesn't have. It infuriates me. How can she feel the same thing as me and neither of us know what it is?

She looks away again, and the burning stops. Relief floods my veins. "I've never felt it before." She responds quietly, her words carrying on the breeze. "My mother used to tell me when we meet the people tied to our fate we will know. She used to say when she met her best friend the energy changed. She knew instantly Larissa was her soul sister."

"The energy?"

"Yes. She described it as two stars colliding and then everything was different. It was like meeting someone you never knew, but loved almost instantly."

"Do you think that's what happens with us?"

"Yes." She shifts her body towards mine and her eyes almost glow. "I think we're tied somehow. I just don't know how."

I watch her silently. There must be something different about her if she killed King Garou and survived. A thrill shoots up my spine. What could it possibly be? She returns her gaze to the stars, and I use this moment to run my gaze over her. Her ears, rounded. Her features, human. Her hair, coarse yet smooth. Her hands, primarily her fingers, normal. Nothing about her is inhuman. Anger floods through me, and I push it down.

She's hiding something. The dark voice whispers in my ear. Panic rises in me, and I shove it down. You know something is different about her. I shake my head and rub my temples, refusing to acknowledge the darkness. I can tell you what it is. I fight to control my breathing and inhale the midnight air, taking lung full breaths. If she noticed my panic she hasn't let on. A cold sweat begins to form in my palms, and I will the shadow wind to caress my skin. Warmth spreads through my senses, calming my panic.

"I knew that was you."

Surprise flows down to my fingertips and back up to my shoulders. Could she know? I look to her to find her watching me. "What?" I rasp.

She cocks her head to the side, her eyes lighting with predatory intent. It sends pure thrill up my spine, I clench my fists to keep my composure. "That wind. Every time you show up, the wind is there. It feels like a cat rubbing along my shins. Is it a gift?" She studies me in the dark, the moonlight heightening the hazel ring around her eyes.

"If you want to call it that." I clench my fists, relax my hands, and repeat.

"I'd be grateful for any gift at all." She responds flatly.

I frown, staring at my hands. "Not all gifts are what they seem."

"Like the RENX?"

I grin at her, baring an elongated canine. "Clever aren't you, Little Beast."