Lightning Bringer: (Lighting Seeker Book 2)

How it Feels

Golden hair made of pure sunlight. A knowing smile that reached to a pair of blue eyes, the color of the sky. Silent lips paired with a set of calloused hands that made words. The image of Sky filled Vale's mind, strong and comforting. Pulling her away from the cold that chilled her bones and into a warm memory.

You can't stay here Vale, Sky signed. You need to keep going.

Vale ignored the tickle in her lungs and shook her head, signing back. Not without you.

Sky's eyes filled with a sadness so deep,  that it broke Vale's heart. I'm not here Vale. And if you stay, I won't be where you are going either.

The image of Sky began to blur. Wait, Sky! Stay with me.

He began to fade, vanishing into the colorless water. I can't. You have to find me. Don't give up on me Vale. He transformed into a swirl of dark water, his golden hair bleeding away, leaving behind nothing but cold.

I won't. Vale insisted. Her lungs suddenly burned, reminding her that Sky wasn't real. That the warmth was actually pain spreading through her chest at her lack of air. That if she didn't find the surface, she was going to die.

She kicked wildly, pulled through the water by a strong current. Her boot hit something hard. The bottom. Pushing off of it, she moved for the surface, and broke through, taking in a lung full of air, her teeth chattering.

The current pulled her forward, down the river that cut through the middle of the city. A combination of neon and old gas lamps lit up the night. A quilt of steel structures, marble columns, and brick buildings made up a hodgepodge of eras that didn't belong together. But that was the thing about old cities, people traveled to them because they held onto their old traditions, a sight that was once considered normal, now either condemned as barbaric and behind the times or something precious to remind them of a simpler time.

A shadow ahead caught her attention. Dash, bobbing in the water, still and unmoving. Vale swam towards him, her pace slower than she liked in her large dress. Another reason this thing sucks.

When the dress threatened to pull her back below the water, she used her metal arm to rip off the top layers, trying her best not to think about all the weapons that were going to be lost at the bottom of the river as she yanked off the bustle. She began to swim again, moving much faster this time.

She spotted a set of stairs next to the sidewalk that led directly into the water. Wrapping her arm around Dash's neck she tugged him slowly towards the stairs. Then with a surge of adrenaline, she pushed his torso up onto the bottom stair and pushed herself up after him, pulling up his legs.

She collapsed to the ground, taking long, hungry breaths, trying to calm her wild heart rate. When Vale had taken a moment to arrange her thoughts, she sat up and looked down at Dash. He was drenched, water droplets trickling down his ink-black hair, and down his unusually pale skin, sliding down his strong jaw. His lashes clung to sparks of light as dusty beads of liquid caught the glow of the neon.

Vale was relieved to find that he was breathing. Giving him mouth to mouth at the side of the road, half undressed wouldn't go unnoticed and she didn't want to be seen. The blood had been mostly washed out of his clothes, but the bandage was gone.

Vale reached down and began to rip off the final layer of her dress, leaving nothing behind but a corset covering a chemise and a pair of white drawers. Vale ignored the blush that rose in her cheeks as she replaced his bandage. Yeah, we need to get out of here.

...

Vale stared up at the broken-down brick building, unsure. This is the place, but it doesn't look like a safe house. But she knew better than to judge it by the outward appearance. She had been a part of the rebellion long enough to know how well they all hid in plain sight. Dash, half-delirious, nodded off slightly, his arm slung over her shoulder.