She felt blessed, like the Stars themselves had granted her this. There was no limit, no rules or constraints. She was boundless; she was home, safe and secure in his unbreakable embrace.
~
Shackled in an abrupt and demanding upbringing, Althera is...
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Somewhere in Valentine's dream, a bell tolled. It was a tragic sound, lined with sorrowful guilt. He waited, and the silence once again embraced his surroundings.
Under what looked to be a thickness of trees, Valentine stood, hair disheveled and eyes wide. He was on a dirt path. Or what was left of it anyway. There was an abundance of trees cloning in around him, creating enough cover to conceal everything within reach of his eyes, shadowing over his form like soldiers as he glanced around, taking in the greenness, the freedom, and the wild sensation burning up inside his body - his soul.
He planted a foot before the other, testing the sturdiness of the ancient soil, and then began his ascent. The hill was steep and snaked endlessly upward, arching in a tameless blur. Above him, a hawk screeched as it circled its prey, wings cutting through the cloudless sky. Valentine continued trekking up the path, ignoring the soreness of the muscles in his legs. The chime of the faraway bell once more tore at his ears, sending an ache arrowing into his chest. He squinted his eyes and kept climbing.
Lush, evergreen pines stood on either side of him as he scrambled up the rolling hill. Something about the icy scent and smoky cloudiness was familiar to him. He'd smelt it before - he was sure. But he carried on, treading past the untamable foliage and underbrush, racing along as the dirt sprayed around him with every thump of his boots against the unyielding ground. He was moving faster, and the control he'd had over his body was gradually dissolving, drifting out of his reach. His feet were acting on their own accord, taking him through the shield of trees. Valentine's breath was coming out in gasps, and his heart - his urgent, hammering heart - sped up with each step forward.
And even as he resisted the compelling force that drove him onward, he still couldn't help the disbelieving groan of horror that burst out from within him. A dark wave of agony mixed with the feeling of grief and regret he didn't know existed inside of him flooded his mind, drawing up an excruciating sharpness to overcome him. He felt the hate, the fear, and the sadness in the memories - memories which were not his - that flitted across his eyes. He saw the brutal images, covered and layered with a thick film of fierce, blinding red that ripped at his core. His knees buckled, and he choked.
But then it just stopped. All that whirlwind of pain and remorse dissipated, and just like a wisp of thin air, it vanished from the grasp of his fingers - floating off into nothingness. The ground stilled beneath him.
And then he saw a castle.
It wasn't huge, but the black, ghastly bricks that made up the building gave it all its power and monstrosity. Pointed spires fingered the graying sky overhead, a jagged silhouette against the colossal snow-capped mountains that guarded the castle, glistening like radiant diamonds underneath the sun, which flared with arrogant brilliance.
The curling trail he'd been following narrowed, and traces of frost laced the edges, giving off a soft, iridescent glow. It led directly through what was left of the thinning, naked trees swathed in ice and snow and toward the structure ahead, gently coaxing him forward. His boots crunched against the pale, silvery flakes as he gave into the voice that commanded him, persuaded him, whispering dangerous thoughts into his head. Unblinkingly, he obeyed their orders, listening to the shrieks, the murmurs, and the muted, velvety voice of a woman singing.
