CHAMPIONS (The Lost Chronicles of Eden, #1) [Published]

A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE: GaSolenn

He found her standing in the middle of the battleground, surrounded by the ashes of the demons she felled. She was standing still, posture relaxed, and Gabriel wondered how she could ever look so at peace in spite of the demon blood splattered on her clothes and the menacing weapon held loosely in her good hand. Her other hand was injured, wrapped haphazardly with a piece of cloth torn from her shirt, but she ignored it the way she ignored all the other wounds and cuts all over her body.

She was a warrior through and through, and peace was a luxury paid for in blood and tears, bought for her friends first and herself last.

He watched as she closed her eyes as she lifted her head to face the sun. Slowly, her lips turned up in the smallest of smiles.

Gabriel forgot how to breathe.

He had always known she was beautiful, stunningly so especially in the dying sun. He watched as she bathed in its rays for a few more seconds that seemed to Gabriel like forever, and then she opened her eyes and the peace on her face was gone, replaced by the hard, fierce look she was famous for.

Still, Gabriel stood spellbound, mesmerized by the way her brown eyes turned into gold whenever they caught the light, and one glance was enough to cause palpitations in his poor, besotted heart. The light settled on her not quite like a halo, but a brilliant, blinding beam that threatened to set her on fire but never quite won, because she was the fire. She was the furious flame that razes everything standing to the ground (including him), turning all beautiful things to dust and ashes (like his heart), and leaves nothing but burnt earth (and broken hearts) behind.

But he had learned that from burnt earth, something new could rise again, and he realized that hers was the fire that cleanses as much as it destroys, and suddenly he realized that it was alright to fall in love with her, if it meant catching even the smallest of embers she always left behind in her wake.

Because growing up, all Gabriel had seen in his dreams were water, deep, dark waters, and it was always cold. It was cold in his sleep and cold even when he was awake, when his dreams were pushed back in his mind, but never quite forgotten. The cold terrified Gabriel just as much as the waters did, but whenever he was with Solenn, her fire was so strong, so fierce, so bright, that they pushed the cold away and turned the waters to harmless vapor.

"Gabriel?" Lukas' voice on his earpiece broke the spell. It was followed by a wave of static sound. "Gabriel, Solenn, you there? You copy?"

"Uh, yeah," he said. "Yes, I'm here."

"Finally! We've been trying to reach you since we heard the first sounds of battle, but the Link got busted when the demon waves hit. Mateo was furious. Expect that we will be having demon-proof communication devices by the end of the week. Anyway, you okay?"

"We're good. The ambush surprised us, but we recovered quickly."

"Anyone hurt?"

"Nothing life-threatening. The usual scratches and wounds."

Lukas clucked his tongue. "Meaning, you're all going to bleed all over my hospital's sheets again."

"Only the captain. She got the worst hit."

Lukas sighed. "Doesn't she always?"

"I heard that," Solenn's voice snapped over their communication link. "And because of your lovely attitude, Lukas, I'll make sure I'll drown all of your immaculate white sheets in blood."

"Always a pleasure to hear your lovely voice, babe," Lukas quipped. "Always a pleasure."

"Whatever. Die," Solenn said. "Is Mateo there?"