Page 77 of Rising Out of the Darkness
“I’ve always wanted to see a gods’ tree in person. It’s absolutely breathtaking.”
Declan rounded the side of me, and we both stared in awe. “It is. We used to hold ceremonies here, even bring in members of the city…until…” Declan’s throat bobbed. My hand found his and it tightened around my own.
The trunk was darker than I had imagined, but not entirely. In fact, it almost seemed like it had darkened from the roots up. I reached out in curiosity to touch the bark of the tree.
The moment my fingers touched the bark, my dynamis flared, jolting my body. A loud hum vibrated inside my head, like the buzz of thousands of beehives.
I jerked my hand back and the connection was broken. My gaze fell to my hand. A dim glow pulsed where the dynamis still swirled beneath.
“You alright?”
“The bark just scratched me a bit,” I fibbed, and tucked my hand out of sight. With a nod, he turned and walked towards a bench surrounded by pastel-toned peonies.
Confusion swirled through me almost as quickly as my dynamis. I decided whatever had just happened must have been a result of the whiskey still muddling around in my brain. As I walked towards the bench where Declan was sitting, I beheld the most alluring sight in this entire garden.
As if he could feel the heat of my gaze, his eyes rose to meet mine. Declan stared at me the same way I had viewed this garden, in awe.
I sat down on the cold stone, and he placed a hand on my thigh. Goosebumps prickled over my arms.
“May I?” His grin widened at my shocked expression, then he dropped his gaze to the dagger strapped to my thigh. I palmed my red face and nodded.
He removed the dagger, then stepped behind me towards the peony bush. With a quick slice, Declan cut off a bloom from the bush, twirling it around in his fingers as he walked back towards me. Then, he bent down on one knee and placed my dagger inside its sheath. With his other hand, he lifted the flower towards my face. “For you.”
My heart pounded against my ribcage as he rose to his feet and sat beside me. “Thank you,” I breathed as I inhaled the sweet, floral scent of the petals. “This garden is truly ethereal, Declan. Peonies must have been your mother’s favorite. There’s a bush in every color imaginable.”
“They were.” He spoke softly as his eyes roved over the bushes. “She once told me that they were the greatest symbol of the transformation of our spirit—the way that they take their time to bloom, unfurl their petals a little at a time, until finally they’re full of life, ready to show the world their vibrance.When I look at them now, I must agree. There’s no better representation of enduring life in all its stages.”
“That’s beautiful, Declan,” I whispered. “It’s no wonder why this garden is so special to you.”
“I truly thought nothing could ever outshine its beauty.” He paused, the silence unnerving, as he rubbed his palms over the top of his pants. “However, seeing you bathed in golden light, surrounded by all the things I hold dear…” He swallowed deeply. “Nothing will ever compare.”
Declan’s eyes fluttered closed, as if he was painting a mental picture of this very moment inside his mind. My heart swelled, feeling the tug in my chest from that invisible string that always seemed to pull whenever we were near each other.
The night sky beckoned my gaze. I inhaled a deep, calming breath as my eyes roved over the shadowed sky illuminated by thousands of twinkling stars. This was my favorite place, underneath the stars.
“What are you thinking about, Wildfire?” His deep voice rumbled beside me.
My mouth became void of moisture, and my tongue rolled over my bottom lip. Declan’s pupils widened underneath his thick lashes. As I bit my lip, he clenched his jaw. The air around us thickened with tension.
“I was thinking about what we were talking about earlier.”
“Mmhmm,” he hummed.
I glanced back up at the sky and his gaze trailed mine.
“Something about the night sky has always entranced me. Nobody knows this, but I’ve always feared the dark, even to this day.” I shrugged my shoulders as I divulged my secret, catching Declan’s grin out of the corner of my eye. “However, every night I gathered the courage to climb on the roof of our house and look up at the stars. The stillness of night has always felt peaceful.” I sighed, twirling the ends of my hair. “Alone, just me and thestars, I’d tell them about my day. Pouring out every secret, every fear, every happy or sad moment became a nightly ritual. As silly as it sounds, it always gave me a sense of peace, maybe even hope that the gods were up there listening to me, that I was still on the right path in my life. I’m reminded of that hope every time I look up at the sky. It’s really the perfect balance of light and dark.” I paused to steady my rapid heartbeat. “Maybe you and I are like the night sky, a perfect balance of both…”
When I glanced back towards Declan, I met his hopeful eyes, glistening with wonder, as if he already knew what I was about to say next.
“You can’t have the light without the darkness, Declan. Without the darkness of the night, we would never notice the brilliance of the stars. Someone wise once told me that it’s through our fears and weaknesses that we discover our strengths. I agree, because it’s in the darkness that our light shines the brightest.”
At the sound of his breath hitching, something inside of me broke. Every shield I’d built within myself for years came tumbling down.
Twisting my trembling hand in his tunic, I pulled him towards me. With a heart beating outside of my chest, I slid my hand around the back of his neck as I hovered my lips above his. It was now or never. Was I to be smart and think with my head, or was I going to give into the pull of my heart?
“Oh, Hells…fuck it.”
As our mouths collided, I could feel his smile spread across my lips.
