Page 109 of Soul of Thorns
Caelynn
Gentle rocking setsmy body at ease, even as my mind spins. My body is numb. Slowly, a tingle begins in my fingers. It crawls up my arms and to my chest, which buzzes with an uncomfortable prickling.
I force my dry eyes open, and I see the sky.
Midnight blue, almost black, and scattered with stars glowing gloriously. Their patterns distract me, but I can’t focus on any one constellation. It’s beautiful. I just wish I could stay still to get a better look. But my head sways, making the twinkling stars continue to move.
I wasn’t supposed to ever see the stars again.
I groan and try to pull my head up.
“Shh. We’re almost home.”
Home?
Confusion and hazy memories twist over my mind. A dull ache grows in my limbs. “Rev?”
“I’m here,” he tells me.
“What... what’s happening?” I whisper. Where is he taking me? What is home? I haven’t had a true home in over a decade. Does he mean the cottage? Does that mean we are still alive?
My veins run cold. No. We couldn’t be alive. Is this home something else? Have we somehow passed beyond? To the light the spell book told me lies beyond the darkness.
“Heaven?” I mutter, words failing me.
Rev’s chest rumbles with laughter. “Not yet, angel.”
I groan and cling to his neck. Rev is carrying me, I realize. I am cradled in his arms like a child. I curl into his chest, willing to take the moment of happiness—even though I have no idea what’s happening.
Are we okay? Are we running from the Night Terror?
Rev doesn’t seem to be in much of a hurry. I blink as the stars are hidden behind translucent white leaves, shining rays of light all around. “Where...”
I watch the leaves peacefully drifting by. Maybe I don’t want to know. Maybe I just want to feel this peace. This warmth. Contentment I haven’t felt in... well, ever.
Minutes pass, and the leaves disappear, exposing the star-scattered sky once again.
There’s a rustling and the mumbling of voices, but I twist into him, face hidden in his neck. He holds me tightly. “We need to rest. Tell my mother of my arrival when she wakes.”
