Clarity

Prologue

      I lifted my head slowly, my gaze settling on the glimmering sky overhead. Hot tears traveled down my cheeks as I took in the scene. It was indescribable—calling it anything less than ethereal was an insult. The moon shone brilliantly far above and the sight of the stars streaming through the thick blackness of the sky overhead was breathtaking. Despite the endless stream that flowed down my cheeks I was still able to see everything perfectly.

      The crescent moon, so close to being gone for the new moon, was shining down upon the vast lake. The pooling water joined together the eight various rivers that snaked across the lands, dividing them and causing a deeper separation than what already existed. This was the center of everything—the place where all was joined in peace. It was a place for love and happiness. It was a place for serenity and grace.

       The stillness of the surface broke suddenly, circles forming. The shift caught my attention and drew it away from the lit sky. The shimmering surface shuddered with thin, wispy grey clouds that faded the reflected crescent in and out of view, distorting the images with circular waves. The circles grew and warped before being disrupted by the western winds that battled to return to their home in the east.

       My hands brushed against the ground as I tucked my legs under my body. My gown slithered over my pale calves, brushing the mossy earth, but I didn’t pay it much mind past a half-second glance. The grass was slightly wet from the storm that had swept through the land about an hour before. It had left the ground with that perfect feeling of softness. That kind of softness that made you want to lie down and remain there for days and days, reveling in it.

       “Are you ready?” The soft sound, barely a whisper, reached my heart before touching my ears. My chest constricted at the sorrow underneath the calm tone. “We don’t have to do this. If you’re aren’t ready then there is still time to wait.”

       I shook my head gently, my black locks tossing back and forth in bouncing waves as my hands rose to wipe away my tears. There could be no going back—no waiting. I was already in this place longer than I was meant to be. Staying past my time was cruel to those who weren’t so lucky.

       “No,” I replied quietly in return. “I think we’ve waited long enough.”

       I smiled gently to myself, my heart pounding erratically in my chest as I took his outstretched hand. His burning fingers wrapped around my wrist, setting fire to my cool skin. The feeling of his touch set me aflame, thrusting my body into an array of emotions that only made my heart race far faster than before. I didn’t dare to look into his eyes. I knew what they would do to me—what they had always done to me.

       “I love you,” I went on, my gaze fixed on the ground, not ready to see the agony in his beautiful eyes. The agony that I caused by being here when I wasn’t meant to. And, with that knowledge, I couldn’t muster my voice to reach past the level of a quiet murmur. “You know that, right? You know that I won’t ever stop?”

       My gaze lifted ever so slightly to his lips as they curved into a small smile. The sight had my own lips doing the same before his head dropped down, his nose brushing my own. My lungs filled with his scent—jasmine and a blazing fire. His fingers tightened around my wrist, pulling me closer and engulfing me in his hot flames. It sucked every thought from my mind, encompassing my entire being and drowning me in the ever impressive heat that always raged on within him.

       And then his lips finally touched my own. The touch was featherlight, just a brush but enough to inflame me, causing dangerous feelings to swirl in my stomach. I knew those feelings all too well—had given into them many times and each time was greater than the last. It was as if he had put his own fire in my body, leaving me helpless to do anything but react to his inferno.