Page 116 of Soulmateless
I squeezed between thick brushes, finding myself close to the back of the castle. I narrow my eyes at the tall structure.
It's even taller than the castle in Somnia, and much more beautiful. I prefer the white swirls framing the windows, with a women's face carved above them.
If only it were that beautiful at home. The castle there is dark and not pristine white as this one. Ours is almost black and the castle looked more tall and skinny.
I walk in front of double doors, which have matching swirls to the windows. Amias is in there somewhere.
The doors burst open and before I can even get a good look at the flash of gray, it crashes into me, knocking me to the floor. I shout when my hand burns, and glance at my attacker.
“I'm so sorry,” Black eyes stare back, like two pieces of coal were placed in his sockets. Even the whites of his eyes are no longer white. “I'm so sorry!” He pushes himself off of me, glancing towards my arms.
I'd recognize that face anywhere, even if his eyes were different. “Amias?” I push myself up, but yelp when I putpressure on my hand. I bring my hand to my face to see a red and blistered spot.
I lean closer to my palm. How did that happen?
“You shouldn't be here!” he cries, swinging his head around. “Run away before you get hurt again!”
“Amias…” I whisper, trying to piece things together.
His dark eyes stare at me, trembling violently, before he dashes off.
What happened to him?
Why were his eyes a different color? Why was he panicking? I've never seen him so afraid.
“Amias?” I call, but by then, he's already raced around the corner where I can't see him.
What did they do to him?.
I push myself to my feet, attempting to ignore the sting in my palm. I'm not sure how he did it, but I need to make sure he's okay. “Amias?”
It falls silent as I follow him around the corner. Even the sniffling had disappeared. I have to use other senses, like my sense of smell to catch his path.
I hurry towards the back of the castle. There's a little picket fence that I swiftly swing over to a garden in the back, with a glowing cobblestone path.
I can tell, even in the dark of night, that these flowers are colorful. Even now, with only the light from the path, the flowers stand out in light gray and white. It must be gorgeous in daylight.
I would gladly roll in the floral aroma around me. It's so sweet and therapeutic in spite of the situation, but I need to decipher Amias' scent from it. It's especially hard when he smells a lot like amare flowers.
I follow the path, trying to find his scent when I catch the sound of hoarse breathing. A rustle comes from a Cherry Blossom tree down the path.
I approach and peek around the trunk to see Amias pressed against it. His body shakes like he's hiding from a serial killer.
“What happened?” I whisper.
He flinches, jumping a few steps back. “I don't want to hurt you!”
I cock my head in confusion, until I notice the tentacles growing from the ground around him. They grow rapidly from as tall as my knees to towering over my head. Dark flowers grow out the sides of them, the ends of each petal pointed like teeth.
Holy fuck! Those aren't amare flowers!
A chill runs up my spine as I step back. What was he growing?
“Escape while you can!” Amias pleads. “Don't ever see me again! I don't know how to control myself!”
His words freeze me. He's not doing this on purpose. He’s just panicking.
I plant my feet in the ground. He needs me. “No! I'm staying!” I scoff.
