Forever Entranced ~Book Two Of The Soul Bound Series

Chapter Sixteen ~ Nightmares

Snow, a wet blanket of frozen water that covers mountains and spans through forests. The one thing that surrounded my life at this very moment without a shadow of a doubt. I reached up, placing two fingers against the skin of my neck, still astounded by the fact that I no longer had three nasty gashes running along it.

Sleep never seemed to come easy when I needed it most. I feared sleeping like I feared the monsters that lurked in the dark night of the north. My fingers trailed over the necklace West had given me. It was to protect me, dispel any nightmares away and allow me to finally get a good nights rest. The only problem was getting my eyes to trust their surroundings enough to close in the first place.

I sat on a thick branch of a pine tree I had decided to climb, my legs dangling over the sides as my eyes wandered to the stars that twinkled above and the bright waning moon. Below me on the dry dirt beneath the cover of the lowest pine branches lay Illius and West, their backs supported by the trunk. Their soft snores barely audible.

"How did you get all the way up here?" Killian quietly grunted as he gripped a branch hanging above him and placed his foot on another. He pulled himself up with another grunt and seated himself on a branch beside mine, "You made it look so easy, I figured I'd follow you up. I didn't know it was going to cost me any lingering energy I still had in my body." He chuckled, keeping his voice low as not to disturb the snoozing demons below.

I continued fingering the necklace around my neck, my eyes casting towards the sky again, "Are the stars here in Oblivion the same as the ones in the mortal realm?" I wondered aloud.

"'Course they are," Killian stretched out his arm, pointing towards a set of stars, "There's the little dipper, and there's the big dipper."

A smile grew over my lips, "What about the other constellations?"

"Honestly, those are the only ones I know how to find," He shrugged, letting out a small laugh.

I returned the laugh and then we fell into a silence. An owl hooted in the distance and I looked down at the bark of my branch, picking at it, "How did you come to know my aunt?" I abruptly asked, suddenly curious.

Killian sighed heavily, "I guess you could say Amber and I were high school sweethearts." I raised a brow at him and he chuckled, "Your father never approved of our relationship, but that never stopped us. At least, not until we were both graduated. She felt a duty to the angels and in turn she left me. We went our separate ways. I moved to New York for awhile and joined some covens. Got into a bit of trouble, made some new friends and enemies. Then, out of nowhere, on an evening like any other, she came knocking on my door. She told me about you, how her brother and sister-in-law had gone missing. She needed my help to conceal you, hide you from those that would harm you. Of course I couldn't turn her away, so I aided her. I helped her protect you. That's all she ever wanted for you, you know?" He gave me a sad smile, his green orbs meeting mine, "To keep you safe, to help you have as normal of a life as possible. She never wanted any of this for you, but you can't hide a Soul Bound I suppose. You're too crucial to Oblivion's survival."

I studied his face, my heart clenching with a mix of joy and confusion, "You still love her don't you?" My question was blunt, but I didn't regret asking it.

He nodded, "I always will," He admitted, taking a deep breath, "She's more of a woman than I could ever hope for. She'll never be with me again, she has always put her duty before her heart. Besides, I don't even know if she feels the same way about me. It's been years and a lot can change in that amount of time."

I felt sad for him, and I felt even more sad for my aunt. It was true, she always put her job before anything else, even if it meant hurting the ones she loved. But that wasn't true anymore, was it? She had helped me to not only leave Heaven, but break out with five demons in the process. I placed my hand comfortingly on Killian's shoulder, "If there is one thing I know about my aunt, it's that once she loves someone, she never stops loving them. No matter what."