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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Althera could swear she heard someone saying her name. It wasn't a frantic cry that alarmed her or a call that desired to get her attention. It was a soft mumble, like the person uttering it didn't want anyone to hear them. She tried to blink, but her eyelids refused to move, to give in. There was a blinding light that pierced through the layer of skin, forcing her to squint against it. Her limbs were heavy as she tried to raise them to block the light. A groan escaped her lips – the murmuring ceased.
She tried again, but her arms still disobeyed her. Her lungs were dragging in deep breaths through her nose. The light intensified, and she let out another whimper.
The flare was like the surface of water and she was drowning, because her throat was closing in and her body was being dragged down by an invisible force, pulling and towing, the vice-like grip icy and powerful. She kicked and whirled and fought, but it was pointless. She'd never thought she'd miss that angelic light so much. It was fading away from her, only an orb of fire now, mocking and sniggering at her as she was perishing in the most painful and sufferable way. She opened her mouth, aghast and quietly stupefied. There was a flicker of an exhale before her lungs burned out, contacting painfully, every ounce of her life and energy ebbing away. The world evaporated before her, that crown of light wavering in the shadows of the surface she longed to reach smiled gruesomely before the white scars of the faint night sky strewn with harmonious stars blinked out.
And then there was no more pain. No more mutters of chaos and destruction in her head. No more voices purred her name. No more. There was nothing. Just a misty, deadly, and pacifying silence that snaked out of her, rocking her like a mother with her infant.
But then a touch that felt so human and light and feathery grasped her stiff shoulders. Her eyes flitted around in their sockets, still hurting beneath the lids. Was this reality? Was she still floating unconscious on top of the swaying water? Was she alive? The same musical voice she'd heard before exclaimed something loudly, and she made a low sound from the back of her throat as the noise bellowed in her eardrums.
Had someone come to save her? An angel, perhaps, sent by the Stars to guide her up? Had she been set free, unchained from the shackles of the water that brushed her skin? Free from the manacles of agony as she felt herself die without mercy? She could almost hear the beating of wings, feel the warmth of flesh on hers as she was hauled up, and taste the sweet nectar of the clouds in the sky, welcoming her gently.
"Althera? Oh, Althera, wake up." Her senses cleared. The voice she heard wasn't that of the angel. It was urgent and sad, like the tune of a funeral dirge. "Please."
Desperation, anger, hatred, weariness, and something more. Something that made her want to reach up and feel for herself if he was really there. Her mouth opened, but no words came out.
"Please, Althera, answer me." If she hadn't known who it was that was speaking, she would have believed the person was sobbing and weeping out of sheer despair at the state she was in.
