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With each step through my abode, the echo of my footsteps against the wood flooring mocked me. My fingers traced the smooth contours of the furniture, the surfaces undisturbed save for a fine layer of dust—a testament to the time stolen from me. I was home, but the shadow of my abduction loomed over me, haunting the recesses of my mind.
The dread of being rendered powerless lingered, a bitter aftertaste on my memory. Still, beneath it all simmered the unquenchable fire of defiance—an ember that refused to die, fanned by every breath I drew in the sanctuary that no longer felt quite like mine.
The musty scent of disuse hung in the air, its once warm embrace now tinged with the chill of absence. Memories surged like a relentless tide as I recalled the harsh clang of metal echoing in my ears, the sight of thick bars imprisoning me within the belly of the giant’s cage. Disoriented, the familiar face of a stranger had come into focus amid the sea of otherworldly beings—a Valosian unknown to me.
I had discovered Kyrran was a member of Clan Huren and despite the lifetime feud that divided our clans, our rivalry had evaporated under the shared weight of captivity as we had exchanged silent nods, an unspoken pact forming between us. In the depths of our forsaken cage, allegiance to clan had mattered little; survival had united us all.
Shaking off the ghost of confinement, I took hesitant steps through the space where shafts of the moons’ light filtered through the foliage, casting dappled patterns on the floor. Everything was as I had left it—the bed still unmade from when I had thrown back the covers for the early suns-rise hunt with Drekkor, the trunk I had flung open to change into a fresh breechcloth just before I’d left.
But the air was stale, heavy with the dust of neglect, and each object seemed somehow distant like relics of a life lived long ago. The visceral energy of battle still thrummed beneath my scales, yet here, surrounded by the echoes of solitude, it felt muted, out of place—a warrior's spirit caged in the tranquility of the past.
I trailed my fingers over the smooth surface of the dining table, my touch leaving trails through the fine dust, erasing the proof of time's passage. My home, once a haven of peace after the turmoil of battle, now felt like a hollow shell. The juxtaposition was jarring—my ancillary heart still raced from the adrenalyne of combat, even as the silence mocked the chaos of recent events.
The urge to shake off the quietude was palpable, a craving for action, for purpose. I yearned for the rush of blood in my veins, and the clarity of mind when faced with a foe. Here, in the stillness, the threat of unwanted memories loomed larger, their invisible chains still coiling around my spirit, binding me to recollections I wished to expunge.
I needed to rest. Soon it would be my turn to stand sentry, to watch over our borders against any new Nuttaki threats. Remaining vigilant was paramount.
For now, though, I was alone with the specter of an empty home and the lingering presence of her—Sarah—whose spirit wove its way around mine. The female from another world whose choice held the key to my solace or torment.
With a weary sigh, I padded over to the sanitate system tucked in the far back, shed my breechcloth, cranked on the flow of lood, and stepped under its liquid embrace.
The lood cascaded over me, rivulets tracing the bioluminescent markings on my arms and chest, mingling with the thoughts that churned in the depths of my mind. My flesh welcomed the warmth, a stark contrast to the cool, damp air of my tree dwelling, which now felt both intimately familiar and achingly distant. My hands moved with practiced ease, adjusting the flow of lood, but my hearts... my hearts grappled with the turbulence that no amount of lood could wash away.
“Sarah,” I muttered, my head falling back on my shoulders.
Her name was both a prayer and a curse upon my lips, a whisper of what could be and the echo of what stood between us. I yearned for her with a ferocity that could ignite the stars, yet the expanse of our differences was as vast as the space between Valose and Earth. How could I reconcile the pull of our spirits with the push of her desire to return home?
As the lood enveloped me, its gentle splash a backdrop to my brooding, the weight of a profound loss settled over me like a shroud. It was akin to the void left by my first mate's passing, a hollowing out of my spirit that had never fully healed. Each drop of lood seemed to carry away pieces of me, grain by grain—as if Sarah, though still very much alive, was slipping through my fingers, leaving me bereft once more.
Images of her laughter, the curve of her smile, the fire in her eyes—they all surged within me, painting the canvas of my mind with bittersweet hues. Would she change her mind and decide to remain on my world, or was I clinging to a dream that would evaporate with the rising of the suns’ light? The adrenalyne within me burned, a futile defense against the onslaught of emotions that no enemy could wield.
"Sarah," I murmured into the cascade, the sound swallowed by the rush of lood and the silent walls that returned no answer. The burden of my awakened heart beat heavily against my chest, a constant reminder of the stakes at play. For me a spirit mate had been both a blessing and a challenge—a gift that demanded everything, even when the cost was a piece of my very essence.
I turned off the loodfall, the cessation of lood a sudden quiet that allowed the reality of my solitude to press in. Droplets clung to my scales, reluctant to fall, much like my resolve—tenuous, threatened by the gravity of doubt. Survival had been simpler when it was just a matter of defending against tangible threats, not the unseen foe of a love that could save or doom me.
I snatched a towel from the pile and wrapped it around my waist, making my way to the bed. Dust rose in tiny eddies as I stripped the covers now gray with neglect. Fresh blankets, untouched since my abduction, waited in the cabinet.
I spread the clean covers across the bed, tucking them neatly beneath its corners. The scent of the mokura blossoms I had harvested just before my abduction still lingered faintly like the echo of Sarah’s spirit within me. I could feel her presence—even from afar, even without touching her.
Sarah's spirit yearned for Earth, for the life she knew before fate entwined our destinies.
Would the right thing be to let her go? The very thought constricted around my hearts like the serpentine vines of the floratrap. Sarah was drawn to me, her spirit resonating with mine, yet she fought against the pull, her inner turmoil as visible as storm clouds that signaled the rainy season.
I wanted her here, wanted her fierce blue eyes to light up at the sight of this wondrous forest, wanted her laughter to fill this hollow chamber. How simple it would be to sway her, to use the bond that tugged at us both. But that would be the act of a selfish male, one who would place his desires above the will of his spirit mate, and that was not me.
I had tasted her flesh and sipped the sweet nectar of her ripened flesh, but I would not breach her silken channel and claim her as mine until she welcomed me between her silken thighs.
She must choose me.Imust beherchoice. I acknowledged the painful truth: the choice of where her heart truly belonged was hers alone to make.
My duty to my clan called, the responsibility of guarding our borders against threats, but within the sanctuary of my home, it was Sarah who invaded my defenses. With weary limbs, I lay down upon the freshly made bed, the covers cool against my scales. My thoughts began to quieten, every fiber of my being attuned to the tiny echo of her swirling essence behind my sternum. I focused on the languid ebb and flow, letting her soothe my ravaged hearts.
As slumber beckoned, my mind teetered on the precipice of dreams and reality. Sarah's essence seemed almost tangible, a balm to the solitude that cloaked me. Even as I drifted off, I held onto the hope that she would stay and claim me as hers.
Otherwise, it made no sense as to why the Spirits had chosen an unwilling female as my mate after losing my first. Had I done something worthy of such a punishment?
Chapter Seventeen
SARAH
