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My fated mate, the person the Divine Ones have picked especially for me, just ran out of here like she couldn’t get away from me fast enough. And the truth is, I can’t decide if I’m relieved or heartbroken.
8
MIRA
My lips are still tingling the next day, and my heart jitters every time I think about it. I’ve never been kissed like that before. Singing from the rooftops has become a serious option.
What has this guy done to me? My entire body craves more. If that is what he can do to my lips, what could he do to the rest of me? I’m going to have trouble holding back.
Renxel is certainly not the type of guy who would normally turn my head. He is big, brash, and has an ego the size of a whole planet. The first night when he walked into the inn really should have been enough to warn me off him, and now I’ve gone and inflated his ego even more by kissing him.
But then I remember the look on his face when his mother was disparaging him. My parents died when I was young, but in my head, they are always the total opposite of that.
The smell from the kitchen makes me start.Shit, my lunch is burning!
I throw open the windows and doors before the alarm goes off, but my lunch is ruined.Fuck, I’m normally on it. Renxel has me losing the plot.
There’s a hiss as I chuck the pan in the sink. The tiny kitchen is full of smoke. I flap at it with a towel. I need to pull myself together.
And I know just how.
The cold mountain air does wonders for my soul. I’ve always preferred being outside. Shifting the pack that contains a picnic lunch to a more comfortable position on my back, I head up the trail.
The day is perfect. The cold bitter wind that’s been blowing for the last few days has died down. The sun lances through the trees, casting patterns of light and dark across the snowy landscape. If heaven exists, this would be it.
A movement catches my eye, and I turn and stare in disbelief. A Great Garuch leaps out of the woods and stops on the track ahead of me. It turns its head and stares at me with its golden eyes.
I am frozen to the spot. I’ve seen them in pictures and from a distance before, but never this close. Its long shaggy coat is almost mauve and glistens in the sunlight. It is offset beautifully by its long silver mane that covers its neck and chest.
But the thing that really takes my breath away are its long white wings. They lay flat against its back and shimmer with pearlescence displaying all the colors of the rainbow.
Suddenly it rears up, its front paws clawing at the air, and the noise that comes out of its beaked mouth sends shivers down my spine.
I know they’re capable of taking a fully grown Kiphian man, and really I should be afraid, but I’m so caught up in its magnificence that I don’t even consider the danger.
It stands on the track and paws the earth at its feet. The snow is hard-packed here, but it tears into the dark soil beneath effortlessly. Looking at me once more, it shakes its head as if totell me it is not going to eat me. Then it spreads its enormous wings and takes to the air.
My heart pounds in my chest as I watch it gain altitude. It scatters snow from the trees in great white clouds with the downbeat of those wide, beautiful wings.
I am elated as I watch it rise. My skin feels like it has electricity running all over the surface.I wish Renxel were here to witness it with me.
The stray thought pulls me up short. Do I? Really? How have I let him get so badly under my skin?
As I glance skyward, the Great Garuch is no more than a dot. Yes, maybe it would be nice to have someone to share special moments with. But is Renxel really the one? I don’t think I could cope with his bravado all the time.
Then I remember those moments when he let down his guard. He’s really quite sweet then. Maybe all the showing off is really just a front to cover up who he really is.
The trail opens out onto an amazing vista. This is my favorite spot when I’ve got things on my mind. I sit down on one of the benches and unpack my lunch.
The valley slopes away before me, widening out until it reaches the plains below. From this height, I'm sure I can see the glint of the ocean in the distance, or maybe it’s a huge lake.
I know there are towns and settlements down there. Thousands of people living their lives. It puts my problems in proportion when I look at the world spread out beneath me.
I remember as a child, I would look up at the mountains and wonder what it would be like to climb them. My heart sings as I realize that I’m living my childhood dream. And it is everything I hoped it would be.
The thought inspires me. The afternoon is still young. I’m going to climb the Hardashun Point trail. I know it’s meant to be one of the most difficult trails in the area. But it also has one ofthe most amazing views, and I’ve been promising myself I would do it one day.
Packing up the remains of my lunch, I head up the trail.
