Fingers ghosted over her cheeks. Warm hands ran down her arms, then back up again. She sighed deeply as she was roused from sleep. Her mother's hands as familiar as her own.
She had always loved those hands. Wished desperately that hers would be just as soft and kind when she grew up.
"My dearest Elora," her mother hummed. The sleep-tousled hair was smoothed back from Elora's scrunched face with a gentle sweep. "It's time to wake up, darling."
Elora groaned in muffled protest and cuddled her tired body further beneath the blankets. She didn't want to wake up. It was warm beneath the comfort of her bedsheets, and she wasn't inclined to leave them anytime soon.
A kiss fell to her cheek. Elora was exhausted enough to roll away, pulling the sheets up over her head.
Her mother urged her gently, tugging at the bedsheets until cold air swept over Elora's legs. A chill slinked down her spine, making her shiver. The soft warmth of blankets was soon replaced by a pair of arms scooping her up tight like something precious. Elora sighed contentedly, burrowing deeper into her mother's chest when she was lifted from the bed.
She couldn't remember the last time that she had slept proper in her bed. Even so, she couldn't find it in her to be mad about ending up in her mother's arms either. Though she hardly heard the words her momma whispered against her hair.
Elora yawned, her own arms draped over her mother's shoulders, head fitting into place beneath her chin. Her mother always smelled of something delicate and sweet. Like the wildflowers that scattered the meadow behind the house. Father claimed the weeds a nuisance. Elora always loved their color.
Something wet touched Elora's arm, making a frown tug at her little lips. She blinked the tired haze from her eyes and leaned away in the slightest to get a look at her mother's face. Small droplets streaked her pink cheeks. Tears, Elora realized with a jolt. They were tears.
It startled her. She had never seen tears on her mother's cheeks. Clouding the bright green of her eyes. What could her mother possibly have to cry about?
She was the most perfect momma. The prettiest and nicest and she had the warmest hands. Why was she crying?
Elora touched her fingers to one of the tears, wiping it away with her thumb. Dampening the bandages on her hands. Her mother's chest shuddered, and a strange, pained noise came from the depths of her throat. The frown on Elora's lips deepened.
"Momma..." She didn't like the way sadness looked on her mother. Too devastating for such a beautiful face.
Tears were for broken cookies and scraped knees and melted ice cream. For sad things and for hurting. She couldn't piece it together.
"It's okay," her mother whispered, tucking Elora's face back into the crook of her neck. "You're okay."
Elora huffed out a little breath, concern rising up in her as they rushed through the halls. Her brows smushed together. Worry mingling with confusion as she watched doorways race by over her mother's shoulder. Why were they running?
A sideways glance showed her the jet-black sky beyond the window, sprinkled throughout with dainty winking stars. It was still night. Way past her bedtime.
Perhaps they were going out back to catch fireflies as they used to when Elora was younger. She held onto the pinprick of hope though she doubted the reality of it.
Her mother's arms tightened, and she took the stairs two at a time. Elora could feel her momma's heart racing against her own.
"I'm scared," she breathed. Not knowing exactly what made her say it.
YOU ARE READING
Of Man and Beast || Nyx Archeron
Fantasy|A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES| Sequel to "Touched by the Flame" The girl who fell from the stars was a monster. She only had to figure out how to hide it from the world that wasn't her own. Nyx Archeron was born of magic. He need only learn to contro...
