Soul Bound (Moonstone Saga #2)(14)
Author: Courtney Cole

He grasped my face in his hands and pulled me back to him.

“Yes, you can, Em.  We have to master this.  You can do it.  You won’t hurt me.”

His breath was on my lips, a mere inches from mine.  I felt an obscene amount of desire to simply take a breath and inhale his soul… the soul of the man that I love.  It was an unconscious need.  I fought hard against it, but it was still there, loud and clear.

“Easy for you to say,” I muttered as I swept my hands against his flat abdomen and sucked in my breath again. “You don’t have to try not to kill me.”

Brennan rolled me over abruptly, pinning me to the bed beneath us and hovering above me.  The dim light from the dawn outside gave him an ethereal feel, as though he was an angel…or a god.

“True,” he acknowledged.  “But I have to try and not be killed.  I think that’s equally as daunting.”

He lowered his head and kissed the side of my neck, his lips feather soft.  I shivered as a chill ran up my back from the light touch.  He smiled in response.

“I don’t think that’s a great plan, as far as staying alive,” I mentioned as I leaned up to meet his kiss.  “You should be moving away from me.”

“Yet I’m not,” he pointed out.

“I know,” I groaned and sucked on his bottom lip.  He moaned in response, triggering a surge of need in me that I didn’t expect and couldn’t control.  I arched up to meet him and a sudden flash of light caught my attention.  I froze and an acrid scent swept into my nose.  And then a crackling sound filled my ears.

“Fire!” I gasped, pushing out from under Brennan.

We both lunged to our feet and found that the roof to our hut was smoldering and then before we could even move, it burst into a roaring flame.  I couldn’t help but screech and point as Brennan threw open the door and raced outside.  I could hear screaming from outdoors, but didn’t know who it was coming from.

Smoke was quickly filling the small hut, so I joined Brennan outside, coughing as I stumbled out the door.

Brennan was staring at the fire, an expression of extreme concentration on his face. Within a few seconds, the fire fizzled and died.   He turned to look at me triumphantly.

“I did it!” he crowed.  “I channeled enough power to put the fire out.”

I couldn’t help but smile at his proud expression.  It was a big step for him.  He was learning to harness his power.

“Good job,” I commended him weakly.  “You’re doing great.”

He took in my expression and crossed to me immediately, grasping my elbow.

“Em, this wasn’t your fault.  We’ll figure it out, I promise,” he said solemnly.  “We just need practice.  We’ll get the hang of it.”

Behind him, Circes emerged from her hut, her cloudy eyes knowing.  She sniffed the air, sightlessly glanced in our direction and then shook her head.  Without a word, she retreated back into her hut with her long black cloak trailing on the dirt behind her.

I glanced at Brennan.  “Ignore her.  You’re right.  We just need practice.  We’ll get it.”

He nodded wordlessly.

“We should get ready for breakfast,” he said softly, leading me back into our smoldering hut.  I ignored the gazes of the women watching from their doorways and closed the door behind us.  Leaning against the door, I slid to the ground, exhaling heavily.

“What if she’s right, though?” I asked softly, staring up at Brennan.  I could feel wetness forming in my eyes at the mere thought.  “What if we can never learn to harness our power when we’re together?  We’ll destroy everything- including each other.”

Brennan knelt in front of me, staring directly into my eyes.  I concentrated on the amber flecks hidden in his as he spoke.

“Don’t ever think like that, Emmie,” he said slowly.  “We can do anything we decide to do.  And we’ve already decided that this is worth it.  We’ll fight this battle, we’ll win it, and then we’ll live happily ever after.”

I stared at him.  “That only happens in fairy tales.”

He shook his head. “No, it doesn’t.  It happens all of the time in real life.  It will happen to us.  I promise you that.”

I sighed.  “You shouldn’t make promises that you might not be able to keep.”

He sighed back.  “Haven’t you learned by now… I always keep my promises.”

His confident tone made me grin and I leaned forward to kiss him.

“I love you, you know.”

“I know,” he answered happily. “And I love you back.”

We rose from the floor and cleaned up for breakfast and I couldn’t keep the deliriously happy thoughts from my mind.  Maybe he was right.  Maybe all it truly took was the will to triumph.  And certainly no two people had ever wanted something so badly.  I had to admit that.

Brennan was dressed and ready before I was and he turned to me.

“Do you mind if I get some fresh air?  I’ll meet you for breakfast?”

I shook my head.  “Of course not.  Go ahead.  I’ll be along shortly.”

He kissed my forehead and ducked out of the hut.

I finished straightening my shift, belting it loosely at the waist. Branwyn had provided us with period-appropriate clothing so that we didn’t stand out quite so much.  Jeans and t-shirts weren’t the thing here.  Pulling a comb through my long hair, I twisted it into a knot at my neck and stuck a couple of chopsticks through it.  The chopsticks definitely weren’t period-appropriate, but I didn’t care.  I had never been one to completely conform.

There was no mirror here and I didn’t want to conjure one, so I could only guess that I looked passable.  Pivoting, I turned to head out of the hut, but stopped short.  With a gasp, I realized that I wasn’t alone.

A beautiful woman was standing directly behind me, perfectly still and quiet.  Deep red hair flowed in waves to the middle of her slender back.  She was wearing a slinky beige gown that puddled around her feet like a mermaid’s tail.  The plunging neckline exposed creamy white skin and she had deep emerald eyes that were gazing directly into my own.

“Hello, Empusa,” she breathed softly.  Her voice was feminine and sexy, slightly throaty.