Page 152 of Of Stars and Lightning
She turned to the voice.
Cas was dressed in a black suit, as usual. But all the exhaustion the past weeks had drawn on his handsome face was gone, his expression fully awake and radiant, and a relief to see.
She ran to him.
He met her with a crushing embrace, his face sinking into her neck, his arms wrapping around her waist as he pulled her off the ground. Sol wrapped her legs around him, pulling back slightly to peer at him.
His breath was heavy and fierce. Restrained. “Are we dead?”
Sol laughed. “Hopefully, because if not, I think I’ll regret this.”
She took his face in her hands and kissed him. Like a key sliding into its lock, a sense of utter rightness settled in her chest as he wove his free hand through her hair, pushing her closer with an urgency that left her breathless. He broke away for a moment, but his gaze never left her lips as he said, “I hope you don’t.” The arm that held her up wrapped around her waist. “I know I won’t.”
“You Xanthos are always causing trouble for us, you know.”
Cas released Sol and pulled her behind him in an instant, the parting of their bodies leaving her with a frigid shiver.
Sol blinked into the darkness. “Aunt Lora?”
Lora smiled, “We must speak, Soleil.” She wasn’t like before. She was back to her normal self, her smile gentle and kind as it had always been, and her eyes the color of the purest honey. She angled her head at Cas. “Alone, I’m afraid.”
Cas’s figure shimmered, then in a burst of mist, disappeared into the darkness.
“What—” Sol looked around in alarm.
“He’s fine, Sol.” Her aunt walked closer. “And you will be too.” She held out her hands in a silent gesture to get closer. Sol did. She wrapped her aunt in a hug, the sensation so real it was almost as if she was truly there.
Lora sighed against her. “I’m sorry, Sol.”
“For what?”
“For what comes next.”
Sol inched back. “Are you okay? Where are we? In that in-between again?”
Nodding, Lora closed her hands over Sol’s. “Listen to me. You have a great task ahead of you, Sol. You cannot afford distractions, and I will not be here to guide you.” She pulled her into another hug, one that felt too rushed. “Please stay away from Casimir Xanthos.”
Sol’s head felt like it was filled with cement. It took her several tries to open her eyelids, and when she finally did, the blazing firelight made her regret it.
With a groan, she shut her eyes.
She tried moving her arms, her legs, her fingers, but they were too heavy. The only thing that made her sure she was actually in a body was the fact it was incredibly sore. “Did you know you snore?” Cas asked.
Sol peeled an eye open and let her head fall toward his voice. Although blurry, she made out his outline beside her. He seemed to sit on a chair, and she appeared to be in…
“Where are we?” Sol croaked, voice hoarse, and throat on fire. “The healer's quarters,” he replied, shifting in his seat. “Here.”
Sol felt the cool metal of a chalice against her lips. She tried not to moan with delight at the fresh water. Her head was held up slightly by a hand, then gently laid down after she drained the chalice completely. She blinked against the light, struggling to focus.
Then, all at once, the memories flooded her.
The duel.
Lora.
Dark Magic.
The dream.
