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~1~
A flurry of vivid memories swirled in Alora’s head and her stomach clenched with terror. Struggling to protect Kaevin from her dark feelings, she bit her lip, strengthening the inner wall, which held her emotions inside. Where they belonged.
It’s all over. Don’t think about it.
She concentrated on the motion of the sheer curtains, waffling in the gentle breeze that blew through the windows and smelled of newly cut wood. Kaevin and Jireo had risen hours earlier, splitting logs while the air was cool, already restocking the woodpile in preparation for the long Montana winter, though it was only the first of June.
Freshly showered, Kaevin’s brown hair hung in damp waves on his broad shoulders. Saturday morning cartoons blared on the television while he lounged beside her on the couch. But neither one was watching Bugs Bunny’s antics.
She let Kaevin turn her left arm over to expose the soft underside, his finger tracing a gentle path around the dimpled edge of the grafted skin. The specialist had pronounced the skin grafts completely healed, with no further chance of infection. True, the burns were covered, and the scars weren’t painful. But as the remembered horror of their torture at Vindrake’s hand swept through her mind yet again, she knew with certainty a part of her had not healed. Perhaps it never would.
At Kaevin’s feathery touch on her skin she shivered, and he pulled away, his brows furrowed.
“I’m sorry, Alora. Did I hurt you?”
“No, it doesn’t hurt at all. It just tickled a little bit.”
“You’re sure? You know I never wish you to experience pain again. Not if I can prevent it.” His fingers probed tentatively. “The color is almost normal, but I fear it will always show. The scarring...” His voice cracked as he looked away, but his hand covered her arm, like he was attempting to hide the past.
Swallowing a sigh, Alora mentally pulled at the edges of her tattered emotional shield. Kaevin’s concern was sweet and touching, but his guilt was overwhelming. Since discovering her gift of empathy, Alora had worked hard to control her power. But as Kaevin’s soulmate, her close connection to him made her particularly vulnerable to his feelings. And keeping their emotions separate was a constant struggle.
I don’t know why they call this empathy a “gift.” It’s more like a burden. I’ve got to find some way to make him stop feeling remorse. I can’t stand it.
“Kaevin, don’t.”
His hand flinched back. “I hurt you?”
“My arms don’t hurt any more, but your guilt is killing me.”
His face paled. “I’m sorry.”
“No, that’s worse! Now you’re feeling guilty for feeling guilty. You know I have a hard time blocking you.” Alora rubbed her aching temples. “I always heard boys weren’t supposed to be as emotional as girls, but that’s just a flat-out lie.”
“I can’t help what I feel.”
Frustration swirled in with his guilt, barraging her feeble emotive guard, like a hurricane beating against a tarp.
“I hated being so helpless... not being able to protect you. It was my right to fight and die for you, but Vindrake stripped it away.”
“Kaevin...” She tried to think of something comforting to say, but nothing came to mind.
“He tortured you, knowing I shared your pain. He humiliated me as he burned you,” Kaevin continued, his voice dropping to a whisper. “What kind of man would do that to his own daughter? He has no honor.”
“Of course he has no honor, but what’s done is done. We can’t do anything about what happened.”
“One thing remains within my grasp—to kill him. It’s the only way I can truly protect you. I will do everything in my power to ensure Vindrake never has such an opportunity again. To destroy that monster is my only recourse. My only choice.”
With his determined words came another torrent of distress and fury. Alora remembered her grandmother’s most recent advice. Perhaps it would be easier to overwhelm one feeling with another than to simply wall out an emotion.
“Kaevin, will you kiss me?”
“Kiss you?”
A warm feeling swirled in her belly as his brows lifted, widening the deep emerald pools of his eyes. How she longed to swim in their depths! She swallowed hard, managing to answer with a nod.
“Why do you ask? Is your head hurting? The soulmate bond?” Again his brows knit with concern.
“Wow... you sure know how to make a girl feel special. You only want to kiss me if absolutely necessary?” she teased. “Only if my head
is hurting and the soulmate bond is depleted?”
“No, not at all.” As his eyes crinkled in the corners, he displayed even white teeth in a cheeky grin. “I’m happy to oblige, any time you like.”
He glanced over his shoulder toward the kitchen where Uncle Charles was puttering about. Although her uncle no longer complained when Alora and Kaevin kissed, the couple tried to avoid doing it in his presence. Even without her gift of empathy, Alora knew it made him uncomfortable. Anyone could tell by the constipated grimace on his face.
Kaevin turned toward her, lifting his hands to cup her face in his palms. The kiss was sweet and lingering, tasting of mint. He loved toothpaste, declaring it one of the best inventions in Montana, and would brush his teeth ten times a day if he had the opportunity.
