“My mother’s face. She was crying. I remember
she had a mark on her forearm, an ankh. It’s how I
knew where to put mine.” She gave a soft exhalation.
“I remember the way she smelled. I remember what she
said to me right before she left…something about a
seeker, a hunter. That if she left me, he wouldn’t be able
to find me.”
“A hunter,” he echoed, a feeling of unease stirring
in his gut.
Roxy rolled and sat up, dragging the sheet with her,
shifting so she was cross-legged, facing him. He didn’t
want to let her go. He wanted to keep her inside the
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SINS OF THE HEART
circle of his arms, keep his hands on her, keep touching her.
He closed his hand around her ankle, needing to
maintain the physical connection. To keep her close.
Like he had to make up for the years he’d allowed
himself to keep her far away.
“It’s funny. I feel like the second Gahiji’s hand went
into my chest, it was like a switch got flipped to the
‘on’ position and all sorts of memories came on like a
bunch of light bulbs.” She stared down at him. “I
dunno. Maybe I’m creating memories.
“Gahiji,” she mused. Frowning, she shook her head,
her fingers idly tracing his where they curled around
her ankle. “It’s a unique name. When I was lying there,
bleeding, I kept thinking I’d heard it before. Thathe
was the hunter. The seeker.”
“You’ve heard Gahiji’s name before?” Tension