Chosen - A Children of the Gods Short Story

Chosen - Final scene

The night air was cool. It felt good on my heated skin. The distance was far and my stride brisk, but I was grateful for the time and the effort. It helped to burn off the doubts brought on by my conversation with Lizanne.

My heart leapt into my chest when I spotted the glow of the fire in the distance. Would Niko already be there? What if he changed his mind? I picked up the pace, slowing only when I was just outside the ring of trees that circled the site.

As before, I slipped in quietly and remained at the edge of the crowd gathered around the fire. Searching the faces for Niko, I spotted him. Slowly, I slipped around body after body, making my way closer to the front. Just inside the light gathering at the front, I stopped and watched Niko as he made his way around the crush of people, stopping and speaking with a friend here and there.

I could tell he knew I was there and watching by the way he avoided looking my direction. Sometimes he would stop and smile at nothing at all. Was this flirting? I had heard older people speak of it before when they did not know I was listening. Is that why it made my stomach flutter when I thought he would look at me, only to watch him smile and duck in the opposite direction?

Finally he glanced up, staring me in the eye. My breath caught. Now or never, I thought. Skin language was not one I spoke well. I had only ever tried it a handful of times before and never with desirable results. Maybe I never wanted it enough before because I felt the tingle immediately. I thought of the things I wanted to say and pleaded with him to hear me.

He took a step forward and I dropped my head, hair spilled around my face. Fear was a thing, alive and beating in my chest like the drums that played the very music I was hoping Niko would dance with me to. I blinked, breaking our connection, glancing quickly around to see that no one noticed.

I did not see anyone watching us, but that did not mean our exchange had not attracted attention. I slipped away toward a woman passing out flowers. She held out several and I reached for a white one, a lily. My favorite.

Another hand reached for my flower at the same time and we touched. I looked up into Niko’s soft brown eyes. In them I saw everything that I wanted, that I was feeling myself, desire, defiance, fear, but above all else there was hope. He took the lily between his fingers.

“May I?” he asked with a shy smile.

“If you would be so kind.”

Tilting my head so my ear was exposed, I held my breath. He brushed the hair away, softly laying a hand on my neck as he slipped the flower behind my ear. My skin tingled under his touch. He was touching me, something that was nearly forbidden. It was over too quickly and he stepped back.

“Beautiful.” His voice was so low it was as if he breathed the word.

I let out my breath finally. “What do you think?” I asked the woman.

“The gentleman did not do you justice with his reserve.”

I flushed and curtsied, nearly forgetting myself. “Thank you.” I turned to Niko. “Thank you.”

Finding myself lost again in his eyes, the woman cleared her throat. I flushed again, curtsied and stepped away, hoping he would follow. I was not disappointed. I could hear his footsteps only a short distance behind, just enough not to draw attention.

The music was building toward something or maybe it was something inside me that was building. I turned to face Niko. He froze. I thought I could see something in his eyes also. Words of warning from the Halorans ran through my head. They said music was dangerous, it could influence people to do things they would normally be too sensible to do. Timid, I thought. We were all too frightened to do the things we wanted to do.