Soulless (Maiden of Time Book 2) (36 page)

Seventy-Nine

Separation

The first golden rays of sunset touched the horizon and danced across the clouds, painting them orange. Kiren nodded for Miles to join him on the outdoor bench, his nearly mended leg propped up.

The lad halted next to him, rubbing the back of his neck. “You should send me away.”

Kiren tried to meet the boy’s gaze, but Miles shifted.

“Is there something you wish to tell me?” Kiren asked.

The youth’s nostrils flared. He paced down the porch and back, tearing both hands through his flimsy hair. Kiren turned his gaze back to the setting sun, giving his protégé all the space he needed. This request was certainly due to Miles’s guilt about what happened with Bellezza. He had never taken a life. Kiren had always been so careful, keeping Miles away from the heart of the conflict.

Miles groaned. “I just, I can’t be near you. I can’t. I’m sorry.”

Miles fired off across the yard.

Kiren jerked after him, but halted. The boy’s guilt must be tied to the fact he’d acted to save Kiren, and every moment together would only add to his pain until he reconciled the act. Miles would reach that state, eventually.

Kiren had to trust the boy and let him go.

Eighty

History

Alexia took three months. She rested and watched over her husband, enjoying every second, always weighed by her secret sadness. Everyone made a full recovery and departed except for Regin who flirted ceaselessly with Mae, her laughter frequently echoing through the inn.

Alexia too prepared to leave. She and Mae conferred every day at length, training in linguistics and necessary survival skills such as building a fire, identifying wholesome herbs and plants, cooking, and techniques for building a temporary shelter in the open. She was ready. Despite her unease, she had the assurance she would have one friend on the other side, one who may not know her yet, but whom she could trust.

Kiren watched her through all these efforts—when not called upon by his duties. His silent gaze was filled with sorrow which he attempted to cover by smiling.

It was when he gasped and pressed his ear to her stomach that she knew. She was with child. The time had come. He waited on her, filling her every whim, his sorrow stinted by the wondrous miracle of life and an eagerness to serve her.

She said her goodbyes without a word and finally executed the last part of her plan by asking Kiren to take her back to the woodland haven. He was hesitant but agreed.

They arrived at noon. Leaves littered the earth-grown bed, flowers wilted and dead, a chilly breeze cutting between the trees.

Kiren wrapped his arms around her, warming her against the season.

She turned to him. “I need you to do something for me.”

“Anything.”

She swallowed. This would not be easy. “I need you to let me go.”

His face froze, mouth just barely open, brows low and slightly quirked together. He leaned back, diving into her eyes. She allowed him to see everything, her struggle for the last many weeks, the resolve to leave, and her hopes for a brighter future.

“Not yet,” he wheezed.

She swallowed a lump that felt impossible to move. “Kiren, I have to go.”

He stilled. His widening waves cut across her, their desperate undertow dragging her forward. “Alexia—”

“I have thought this through at length, and I must at least try. You will be able to stop Deiliey because...because my death will not result in yours.”

His shoulders drooped. He reached for her chin but his hand fell limply to his side.

She slipped closer.

A tear spilled down his face, his cheeks twitching with emotion. “I told you I was the most selfish creature. I do not want to let you go.”

His tears loosed her own in a cascading torrent. “I do not want to leave you!”

Catching her face between his hands, he smoothed the hair back and leaned in. His breath curled across her lips. “You are my better in every way.”

“Then you understand?”

He sucked in a breath between clenched teeth. “My head understands. My heart will not.” He kissed her, hard, the world exploding inside her mind. She saw him struggling through the decades, searching for a glimpse of her, lonely and frustrated by failure after failure. It broke something inside of her, and she was no longer certain she could do it.

Kiren pulled back. “I will not stand in your way.”

She searched for new resolve. “Perhaps if—”

He pressed a finger to her lips. “You are right, Alexia. You must go.”

“I have to take your pendant.” Tears blinded her.

He nodded. “I have the false one. No one will ever know.”

“I will know!” Her sob broke free and he kissed her, walking her backwards. The back of her knees hit the mattress. She sat and he leaned over her, laying her back. She slid a hand across the chain about his neck, turning an imploring look up at him.

He grunted and lifted it free with one hand, looping it about her neck. She surrendered herself to him, savoring every touch, every shiver of pleasure, every texture and taste, knowing these would be her last.

At last he held her, his nose nestled into her hair, his breath warming her neck. “I wish I could protect you through this. I hate that you will be forced to bear our child alone. I should be there to...”

She squeezed his arm.

“Mae will not be who she is now. You must remember that, but she needs you.”

She pulled his arm tighter around her.

“You will not see many whom you recognize, but be patient with those you do. Recall that they still have five hundred years to become who they are now.”

Alexia rolled to face him.

He wouldn’t meet her stare. “And there may not be Soulless in that time, but there are dangers. You are capable to face them, but you must be wise in whom you trust. I...” His chest rose with a shaky breath. His arms tightened around her, lips finding her ear. “You must watch the sky. It is said the night the Soulless were born, a pillar of light shone. And this land, hold to this land. Where the inn now stands, that is where they were spawned—where life was scorched from the earth never to regenerate.”

She nodded. She could do that.

“Promise me,” he rasped, “no matter what happens, promise me you will return.”

Tears erupted. Although she yearned to give him the comfort he needed, she could not.

He wiped away the tears and kissed away the sadness. An hour disappeared within the protective ring of his arms, and it was not enough. She wanted another. And another.

Alexia waited until his breathing evened out, then slipped from his grasp and off the bed, careful not to look at him. If she hesitated now, she would never go.

Wiping new tears from her eyes, she wrapped trembling fingers around the dull metal charm. Energy buzzed up her arm, a stampeding herd of wild horses, almost knocking her off her feet. She steadied herself on the bedframe.

Opening herself to the sunburst of power, she inhaled. Every cell of her body filled to bursting, saturated with a strength no person should ever possess. She could erupt into flight and leave the jealous earth behind her, borne on the wings of this unexplained force. That, or explode into flame and light the entire earth with her radiance.

But those were not her gifts.

She reached into time, and the line stretched infinitely further than it ever had, like a rope suspended in space that faded into the distance. She pulled it toward her, hand over hand, thumbing over the days, weeks, years, hauling herself into a new century, then another. A glow appeared on the horizon, one that neared with every tug. It was an instant—she knew instinctively—that had changed history forever. It drew her with curiosity, with excitement, as if her very body resonated with the same frequency. Fascination buoyed her spirit.

It was where she belonged.

The moment shimmered before her, just below her fingertips, casting its warmth between her hands, shedding long shadows across her face and dress. It begged her to reach inside and become one with her destiny. Every instinct called to seize the instant.

She hesitated. Glancing back the way she’d come, she gazed through the mounting darkness to Kiren, upright now, his chest heaving, his blue eyes drowning her in their desperation. Her throat closed off, soft tears welling in her eyes and rolling down her cheeks.

He was all she wanted. All she’d ever wanted.

Still, she couldn’t bring herself to stay. That future was not one she could embrace, not yet. Her path lay in the past. Hers was a duty no other could complete.

His mouth moved, words swallowed in the void between them.
I will find you.

She didn’t know if it was possible, if she’d ever see him again, but she hoped. Like the sunrise beneath her fingers, she hoped to one day find her way back to this moment.

“No matter when I am,” she vowed, “I will always be yours.”

She seized the light.

Epilogu
e

Miles halted in the road and lifted his head as a chilly breeze trickled across his cheek. He straightened and squared his shoulders, listening to the insubstantial whispers wrapping around him.

One path in exchange for another.

He dreaded that he’d chosen an irredeemable road.

The draft curled over his skin again, launching goose bumps down his arms. He lifted his voice, “Do not make me regret helping you.”

A wicked giggle burst out of oblivion.

Coming Soon

Book 3 of the Maiden of Time series

TIMELESS

Acknowledgements

It’s awe inspiring to see my second book in print, and my first thanks goes out to you, the reader. Thank you for giving me a reason to share my stories with the world. Thank you for demanding a sequel after reading Moonless and all your enthusiasm.

Huge thanks goes out to my editor, Bethany, at A Little Red Inc., for her fantastic guidance and incredible eye.

To my fabulous critique partners, thank you Rachel Hert and Misha Gericke. 

My amazing sister, Cindy, thank you for being my second reader and talking me through the rough patches. Mom, for encouraging me even when I wanted to sleep rather than write, thank you.

All my blogging pals, thank you TONZ for helping me spread the world and being your fabulous selves. You rock!

Incredible thanks goes out to my rockin’ Daydreamers Anonymous, WS4U friends, and Write On Build On writers. Your daily support and encouragement has been a life saver!

My amazing kids, I thank you for your patience when you lost Mom to the computer. And lastly, to my amazing husband, thank you for being my creative partner, my best friend, my heart. You are the bestest!