The Betrayal

Chapter Twenty-Three

I gazed into his eyes, completely entranced by him. If I could I would brush my fingers across his skin for hours, watching the stars on his skin illuminate.

But, I couldn't. My gaze fell to the ground and I removed my hands from his neck, pulling them back into my lap. After a few deep breaths, I regained the composure I seemed to lose so effortlessly with him. "Why don't you teach me about divine teleportation? You said you'll teach me and I'm holding you to it."

Truth was, I wasn't sure I'd be able to concentrate when the white specks were glistening against my moon's light. I pushed the thought away and jumped up, taking a few steps away from him. I needed to control myself. I didn't need things becoming awkward between us.

He stood next to me, his gaze falling on the ground next to me for a moment almost in disappointment. "Alright." He dusted himself off, shaking his head, and stood in front of me. His eyes ran up my face until they captured my gaze. After taking a step closer to him, he brushed his fingers across the sides of my face. "Clear your mind. Your mind won't let you practice, if its thinking about too many other thoughts. Push the pups, Damon, Luca, your mother, even me out of your mind for a few moments while we practice."

Taking a deep breath, I pushed the nagging thoughts away.

"Close your eyes," he prompted.

My eyes fluttered closed.

"Imagine you're standing in the front yard. Feel the grass beneath your toes. Feel the wind gently blowing against your skin. Hear the soft howls of your wolves in the distance. See the moonflowers that line the driveway and the dirt road."

My mind fabricated the very vision as he spoke it. In my mind, I was in the front yard glancing at the scurrying squirrels that raced alongside the glowing moonflowers; I heard the quiet chatting of wolves in the distance and their howling deep within the forest; I smelt the oak perfume that the forest wore to entice me.

"Feel the lightness in your fingers, in your arms, in your legs and toes. You are as light as a feather, My Radiance."

As he spoke, my fingers tingled feeling much lighter than I remembered.

"Now, leap into the air as if you were leaping in the front yard."

In my mind, I watched myself jump into the air and then I jumped. My feet came off of the ground.

It felt as if the clouds were tickling the bottoms of my feet, like I was standing on heaps of cotton candy, like a mountain of feathers were underneath my feet. My body felt so light – light enough to make me think I was floating.

My heart sunk in my chest when the feeling passed, and my toes touched the dirt once more.

"Open your eyes," Aeron's soothing voice spoke.

Once I finally opened my eyes, my heart stopped. I was in the front yard. Oh, my goodness. Did I really just do that?

A smile tugged at Aeron's lips, a chuckle rumbling from his throat and my heart tightened. I couldn't believe it. "I want to try it again," I said.

Closing my eyes, I thought of my office. The stone floor. The wooden desk. The scent of oak and pine. I leapt into the air and opened my eyes. A giggle escaped my lips and I twirled around taking in the sight of my office. "This is so cool!"

Suddenly, Aeron appeared next to me, leaning against the desk, arms crossed over his chest. "I see you're enjoying your new power."

I nodded at him. I was doing more than just enjoying it. I was loving it. "It will help me." With this power, I could do more than just eliminate wasted time, I could get places faster to help the ones I care about the most.