Page 41 of Moonlit Guardians
“The evil inside me didn’t allow me to love anyone in the way I loved Eilish.”
“I know your story with her, Theren. I don’t blame you either. Perhaps there’s just a part of me that always hoped my insecurities were wrong, that I was worth more in your eyes.”
“Aima.” I touch her cheek with my unsoiled hand. “You have to stop lying to yourself.”
“What do you mean?”
“I remember the days of our youth as though they were yesterday. You rejected Cambion’s affection and you told him it was because you loved me.” I pause. “That was a lie, wasn’t it?”
She gets flustered and steps away from me. “You doubt I loved you?”
“You loved me, just not the way you claimed to. I think you always knew I couldn’t love you the way you wanted me to and so you chose to love because I was safe.”
“Safe?”
“Because I couldn’t love you back so your feelings would never truly be on the line. You can’t truly love someone who is incapable of loving and that’s exactly what I was… back then.”
She swallows and grows silent for a few seconds. I can see the truth swimming in her eyes and it offers me some level of relief.
“And Pyre?” she asks. “What’s his excuse for feeling nothing towards me?”
I shrug. “You fought beside each other countless times and neither of you noticed anything binding you. If he hadn’t told you who you were in your past life, you would have just carried on with your life as if you’d never known there was a link between the two of you. Stop being desperate for someone to fall in love with you and focus on the man who already has.”
I know Aima loves Kolvar. She’s just afraid of getting hurt again.
“I,” she starts.
“Give him a chance.”
She breathes in deeply and then just nods. I pull her into a hug, careful not to touch her with the hand I’m using to cast the runes.
When she leaves me to my task, it goes much faster than I anticipated. However, the sinking feeling in my stomach persists. Something bad is happening, something that triggers my body’s natural urge to run.
Fear.
I feel as though waves of fear are crashing over me. My eyes dart around, taking in the sight of my surroundings.
Eilish.
I must return to her. When I do, I find her standing with her hands on her hips, swaying back and forth as she shifts her weight from one heel to another. She hums under her breath and stares down at the map. “Have something to say or are you going to stand there and keep staring at me?” she laughs.
I take the distance that separates us and grab her by either of her arms, forcing her to look at me.
“Theren?” she questions.
“Can’t you feel it?” I ask.
“Feel what?”
I shake my head, surprised she can’t detect the same thing I can. “Something dark is rising, Eilish.”
“I don’t feel anything like that. I’m a bit overwhelmed, but…”
“We need to tread carefully,” I warn her. “I don’t know why but I feel… there’s something looming.”
Eilish brushes my hair back from my face. “Thank you for telling me, Theren. Something as seemingly small as intuition might be the thing that makes all the difference.”
I nod because she’s right. “I haven’t felt fear like this since my father succumbed to the Chasm,” I find myself admitting.
