The Lores of Lyra - Burning Star [Book III]

Chapter 3 - A Magical Flower

Chapter 3 – A Magical Flower

It was her year day, and Amelia was walking around the temple. Yesterday had gone so fast—the boys were busy with reporting all they could from their journey, and there was no time to sit down and talk at all. It was sad, but she couldn’t do anything about it. Joshua and Eric had responsibilities whether she liked it or not.

Today was different, though. It was still early; the sunset had barely showed its colors across the sky to the east. She wandered from room to room, enjoying the silence when she noticed someone outside. Curiosity took over, and she walked outside. The ground was wet with morning-dew, and she tiptoed until she recognized the silhouette amongst her treasured flowers—it was Eric. Even though she tried to stop herself, she couldn’t help but admire his physique. She longed to run her fingers through Eric’s long hair.

Keeping herself at bay, she cleared her throat to let him know she was there. He glanced back over her shoulder, and she noticed him standing in front of the Star Catcher.

She smiled at him. “Hey,” she said and walked over to him.

He turned around to greet her with a smile. “Hey yourself.”

“What are you up to?”                                                 

Eric scratched his head while giving her a skewed smile. “Just thinking…” Gesturing to the yellow flower, he grinned. “The first time I saw a Star Catcher was with Vega.” He averted his eyes to the ground. “She told me about its healing abilities, and I plucked it for no reason. Good thing I did—it ended up saving her life.”

Amelia swallowed the lump in her throat. Seeing him like this, in sorrow and pain over a lost friend, it made her tear up. She walked over to her favorite bench and sat down. After crossing her legs, she patted the seat next to her, and tried to send an encouraging smile. “You’ve told me about that, I think. It was on the Island of Mary—you, Vega and Joshua were supposed to find the two final pieces to open up the portal to the realm of the Black Holes.”

Eric chuckled. “Wow. You’ve been listening to your bedtime stories. Huh?”

As she felt the heat stream to her cheeks, she looked away. “You tell the best stories,” she muttered. Her heart skipped a beat when she felt him take a seat beside her. They were so close now. If she moved her left hand just an inch, it would connect with his thigh. The thought alone made her feel even warmer.

“Amelia?” Eric asked.

“Mmn?” she hummed, still looking away.

“I’m sorry for making you feel embarrassed yesterday in the courtyard.”

His words caught her by surprise. Turning her head, she looked at him with wide eyes. He was apologizing to her. Snapping out of it, she shrugged. “Oh. It’s okay—you were right, anyway. I wasn’t properly dressed to be in public.” Amelia started picking at her own nails. “I was just so excited to see you and Joshua—I’ve missed you.”

Eric nudged her shoulder with his. “I’ve missed you too, silly.”

Oh, Solem. I’ll never get this blush to go away now, Amelia thought. A gentle breeze chilled her heated face, and she smiled to him.

“What have you been up to while I was gone?” Eric asked while running his hand through his hair.

Amelia wasn’t sure what to say. She hadn’t done anything significant, just studied and waited for them to come home. Her eyes fixed on his tousled hair. Solem, she needed to get her act together. Shaking her head, she snapped out of it and cleared her throat. “Apart from the usual studying and waiting, I’ve tried to become better at drawing.”