Page 6 of Whispers of the Dragon
Placing it in her tote with the other things she had accumulated, she pulled out the money and set it on the counter stand, not into his waiting hand. “Grandmother wanted me to tell youhello.”
“In that case, it’s free.” He slid the money back closer to her. “Tell her I hope to see her next time.”
“I will.” Eira forced another small smile, knowing it was pointless to argue with him to keep the money since he always refused it, anyway. It only made their interaction longer. So, instead, she slightly bowed her head. “Thank you.”
“Oh, Eira …”
Kenji’s voice stopped her, and she wondered if today would be the day he had built enough courage to ask her out. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with him, per se, but something about him had her gut flipping into knots. It was probably because everyone avoided her at all costs, so him being interested had her telling herself there must be something wrong with him.
He nervously stared at her for a few moments before he simply just waved. “Have a good day!”
Thankfully, it wasn’t, she thought, waving back. “You, too.”
She headed back home; it was still early when she almost made it to the front door. The sun was still shining beautifully, so much so she didn’t think her grandmother’s bones could possibly be right, making her feel sad that her grandmother really was getting that old. So, she decided to head up the little trail she had started to create with her own footprints over the years.
Eira hiked up the mountainside toward the only place on this earth that made her feel truly safe. You wouldn’t think so by looking at it, as she took a seat on the lush grass at the edge of a treacherous cliff, but it brought a sense of peacefulness to her core. Staring out at the vast world, hundreds of feet high, wherethe cliff met the drop of the ocean, she suddenly didn’t feel so alone.
That was what she was—a loner, she thought, lying back on the grass beneath her.No, a monster.
She raised her left hand so the sun could shine down on the taut, scorched skin as she twirled it in its rays. Her skin had deeper pink valleys and higher branching veins spanning overtop, like the roots of a tree. The veins had practically turned colorless with time as they glistened in the sun from the burn, taking any little color she actually had in her skin.
As she lay here in the grass, she thought about how some parts of the left side of her body would never tan again. That was one of the things she had loved before the accident—to lie nearly naked in the warm sun, to get sun kissed. But now she lay in it covered almost head to toe, with only her burned hand and face exposed, as they were the only parts that had gotten used to it over time.
It was easier this way, to cover herself completely. Not only was the sun now harsh on her seared skin, but so were people. People were generally unkind, and children unkinder. Especially the ones at the age when she had gotten burned. So, when there had been nothing left for her after she left the hospital nearly a year later but pain, she had decided to move into her grandparents’ home.
It was far from where she had grown up, yet not nearly far enough. Truthfully, there wasn’t much farther than the edge of the sleepy little fishing village she now resided in.
Except for maybe there …
Sitting up on her elbows, she squinted her eyes to view the little, far-off island she could only view from up here that was completely covered in trees. Then, and maybe onlythen, she just might be far enough. For now, her grandparents’ home that stood toward the base of the mountain would have to do.
Falling back on the grass, Eira stared up into the blue sky. It looked so vast from up here with nothing in the way to obstruct her view. She could almost reach up and …
Raising her hand out of the sun-warmed grass, she reached for the clouds. Alas, her arm wasn’t long enough to touch them.
With disappointment, she let her hand drop back to earth as her lids became heavy. It might not have been the smartest thing to take a nap on the edge of a cliff, but with her eyes coming to a close, it was rare for Eira to find peaceful sleep …
The strangest dream lulled in her mind, and she would later swear it felt as real as when she was awake. She was dreaming of herself trapped in another body, one of a scarred girl named Chloe, when the nightmares of another life caused her to jolt awake.
Suddenly rising, she looked out at the edge of the cliff and into the beautiful water that the sun was setting upon, the blue sky now orange. It was a different, breathtakingly beautiful place altogether than when she had fallen asleep.
The fear of the nightmares that weren’t hers left her body and only returned at the sudden deep voice she heard from behind her.
“Hey—”
4
Hey, Darling.
“Hey, darling.”
Eira jumped straight up off the ground and to her feet to face the man who had managed to creep up behind her. The sheer fear that coursed through her veins that was bringing out her instinct to fight or flight became muddled when she caught sight of him.
Her need and want for a man might’ve been dormant, but she knew a good-looking one when she saw one, and this one was easily the most beautiful one she had ever seen on this side, and on the other side, of the earth where she had been born.
Well, shemightthink that about him if he hadn’t snuck up behind her with no one around in hearing distance as the sky was beginning to grow dark.
As she was reminded of the fading light, instincts kicked back in, and her chest fell heavily with quick deep breaths as she took a step backward. “Who are you? I’ve never seen you in the village before.”
