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Just a few more hours of reading,I silently begged my aching brain. Then we will all go for a nice sunset run on the trail near the beach no one knows about.
Diving into the next chapter with the delight of a well-stocked squirrel, I spread a cracker with peanut butter and lightly munched until crumbs filled the page. I proceeded to sweep the page clean and move onto the next. This long chapter focused on the origins of an 11th Century runestone from Sweden. Most people would’ve been bored to tears, but this shit I just couldn’t put down. My soul craved it in a way I couldn’t explain.
I swiped my phone and hit my favorited playlist of acoustic country tunes to help drown out my crunching sounds. Licking peanut butter from my fingertips, I started the next chapter nodding along, popping crackers into my mouth two at a time.
A violent, white-hot sensation streaked across my skin.
Veins of lightning flickered over my arms, then penetrated into my chest.
No, not again. Please not again.
Gasping, I clawed into the arms of my chair, spitting crumbs from my tongue. I choked on the air being ripped from my chest. Bursting out of my chair, the electric burn raced through my body and began flowing through my mind. The edges of my vision swam with murky images of the room. I stumbled to reach for something, for someone. My fingertips brushed the edge of my desk, fluttering over the back of my phone.
A harsh, piercing scream poured out of my raw throat at the scalding sensation that corroded my mind. It scorched through every muscle, every pore of my body. I fell to my knees, kneading my hands into the carpet. I let myself crumble under the blaze. Tears dripped from my nose as I bent my head to the ground, howling at the intensity of the unending bolts of energy coursing into me.
Fight it. Focus. Breathe. It will go away.
The electric agony ebbed into an unusual tingling of discomfort. Slumping to my side, I crawled into a small ball on the floor and focused on breathing air back into my lungs. The tears that had poured down my cheeks left a wet stain on the ground where I laid my head.
Cool waves of air finally entered my mouth and flowed into my chest. Each exhale became a moan of relief. The tinges of discomfort receded into tiny sparks of numbness, and I closed my eyes.
The frigid waters cooled my fevered skin and soothed the aching burn deep in my mind. Gentle currents tugged me deeper into the darkness, blanketing me in its icy depths.
My body stilled as I waited. My raven locks ebbed freely through the water, blending with the current until they were one and the same.
I recognized him before I saw him.
He lurked behind the cobalt blue veil of ocean. His perilous warmth reached my body before he extended his hand to me. His palm was embedded with an onyx black symbol. It pulsed with power—a strength that called to me. I paused and looked into his eyes.
His eyes were not just gray. They illuminated the darkness, glowing like liquid silver, twisting and raging in a deadly storm.
I could almost taste the intoxicating notes of citrus and nectar that lingered on his tongue. My hand twitched with the anticipation of touching him again, but with his kiss came so much more.
I swallowed quickly. My throat constricted at the memory.
The water tugged at my clothes. My shirt clung to my shoulders and swayed around my abdomen. The water weighed me down.
Every time we met he seemed closer, more familiar, more dangerous.
I reached for him, craving the sight of his eyes as much as his treacherous kiss.
His bronzed arms were streaked with white scars up to his neck. He came closer, not yet within reach, but I could view a thick brand cut into his bare chest. His torso was lean. His arms appeared to have been sculpted from black obsidian.
I licked my lips. Fear coated my tongue. I couldn’t be here again… I had to escape. I struggled, my hands slicing through the water, kicking away from him.
I knew what he would do.
Gray Eyes continued to grasp for me as the water pulsed around him.
I couldn’t look away from the strange marking on his palm. The lines were sharp and intricate, melding and swirling together. They looked ancient and threatening, like the man that was before me.
I thrashed in the ocean.
He was now only a whisper away from gripping my arm. His opposite hand held a dagger, slightly eclipsed in the murky waters. The knife was long and wicked, forged with a golden-tipped handle and strange markings etched down the blade.
I couldn’t control my movements. My body was not mine anymore.
His hand wrapped around my forearm, and I felt like I was being ripped apart. White lightning struck behind my eyes. My body went still. The pain was ecstasy. I was drawn to him without my consent by a force I couldn’t fight.
