Light Within

Chapter 2: Where Silvia is Kidnapped from a Bar

"There are more colors in the world than just blue, white, red, and ..." Duncan's words filter out. Splash, splash. He thrusts a set of oaky oars into a serene pond. Stars ripple on the waves; the moon, shaved into a thin archer's bow, bounces across the surface of the water. His hot breath comes out in wispy puffs while the boat slices through liquefied sky. City lights glow on the horizon, and streetlamps cast their flickering light from the shore.

"There's also eris, which is like red," he says. "Luphine, too. And gold, a mix between them." He sets the oars down once they drift through the center of the pond. "Silver is like a special type of grey. Then there's vira, and ydrix, which are types of blue. Or so I've been told. I haven't seen most of these colors myself."

Silvia leans into the wall of the boat. She taps on the wood and watches the rolling reflection of stars. "I want to see them someday." She locks her gloved fingers together. "So, our three-month anniversary warrants that we return to the site of our first date?" She angles her gaze to the boat floor. "Duncan, I ... I'm sorry for being so careless—"

"Don't apologize. Not tonight," Duncan says. "You already know what's so important." He beckons to her. "Look at me."

Silvia looks at him, his colorful eyes practically glowing in the monochromic darkness. Red, such an attractive addition to his strong features. Does she only love him for that hue? She searches the rest of his face, tracing his firm, square jawline. She follows the high bridge of his nose, up and around his dark eyebrows—avoid his eyes—and to the long dark hair that brushes his neck. No, she loves him for all of him, not just his blessing.

Duncan stoops and presses a delicate kiss to her lips. "Gale willed for this to happen." He peers at her with brilliant sparks. "Do you believe that?"

She believes that. She has to believe that. If she doesn't believe that, then why is she even here? Silvia tightens her jaw. She draws a stuttering breath. "It ... just ..."

"What?"

"We broke one of His laws." She bites her finger. "We did it before we were ... and now we ..." Her breathing quickens. She rests her hand over her abdomen. "D-D-uncan, I made you—"

"Hey." Duncan settles on Silvia's side of the boat, and it lurches under his weight. He adjusts himself carefully and laces an arm around her side. His gloved fingers fit in the slots between her ribs. "It wasn't anything major."

"It was!" Silvia fans cold air against her burning face. "Duncan, we've created life without permission from the Church, without permission from Gale." She squeezes her eyes shut. "I don't know if I can live with this on my conscience. They'll call us dragons!"

"Silvia, we're not worth that title." Duncan pecks her cheek. "We didn't follow Rimis in the Life Before. Nobody will know about this secret but us."

"How will they not know?" Tears blur Silvia's vision. She frantically brushes them away, and after she does, she spies a small, velvety box in Duncan's hand. Wait—is this happening? She fixes him in a wide-eyed gaze. Her thumping heart makes a permanent residence in her mucus-slicked throat.