Page 7 of Claimed By Stone
I glanced at the scroll closest to me, its ancient text still humming in my mind. "What is this?"
"What?" he asked, blinking.
"This scroll," I said gently. "Why are you reading about the ancient ones?"
His gaze snapped to mine. "You can read that?"
The haze that had clung to him moments ago vanished like the morning mist.
"Yes."
"It's in Godling."
"Iknowit's in Godling," I said with a smile.
That look of awe returned, slower this time, as if he were beginning to see me.
"What does it say?" he said, tilting his head to the side, his eyes still filled with wonder.
And I read him the first line, letting the words fall off my tongue.
“And before the Great Chasm, the Gods walked among the realm. When magic ran freely, all creatures of the realm shared it. After the Chasm, the magical factionalized into groups. Since this, the Gods have withdrawn, cutting the realm off from the source of their magic.”
His eyes snapped to mine, sharp and electric, like an idea had just dawned. "Can you say it again?"
I repeated the line slowly.
He reached for a quill and a blank sheet, his hands suddenly moving with purpose.
I couldn’t help but stare at this towering orc, all muscles and earth and myth, bent over a scroll with focused precision.
His script was neat, delicate even.
Something about the contrast of the sheer mass of him and the quiet elegance of his writing called to something deep inside of me. Awe. Curiosity. Longing.
But as I watched him, it began to feel as if he was getting farther away. It got colder. I was as if I were becoming closed in, like I was sinking beneath the ice.
I turned back to the scroll, desperate to read him another line. Just one more. Just a few more moments.
But I was already drowning.
I looked back into his deep brown eyes, needing him to see me.
He seemed to tilt his head, raising one eyebrow, his movements stretching out like time had slowed.
And then it all began to fade.
I was sinking.
Again.
Chapter 7
Thavros
When I slowly drifted into consciousness the next morning, the image of the mysterious woman was still in my mind. It was as if I knew her.
Except I didn’tknowher. Not really. Not outside dreams. Yet somehow it settled in my bones with profound truth, like it belonged to me. Likeshedid.
