Rebirth: The Awakening Of A Witch (29 page)

The excitement I felt instantly swallowed me as my eyes finally caught sight of that small hill we both love. I
managed to run faster, actually making it only a few steps behind him. He always wins even when he has to
occasionally
stop
in order for me
to keep up with
him
. When his hand finally grazed the tree, he
happily jumped up and down.

“Touchdown!” he shouted, continuing his bouncing act with both his fists pump
ing
in the air.
I ignored him and just
lay
on the grass,
gaz
ing up at the most beautiful tree in the world. I was
so
used to Adrien’s happy dance
by now so I just waited
un
til he tires himself.
I smiled up at the blues and greens of the marble tree
that we both cherish
,
clos
ing
my eyes
as I once again
breathe
d
the air in. M
y smile widened when I felt him
settle
down beside me.

“Adrien, how come we
always
find each other? Playing fake hide and seek isn’t fun at all,” I complained.

“Dad said it’s because you’re going to be my wife someday.”

“
What does wife mean?
”

“I don’t know. Maybe it means we’ll be friends forever,” he answered
,
and I felt him smile as the words left his lips.

“I really like that. Until we’re able to play hide and seek properly, let’s be each other’s wife, okay?” He laughed at that and I opened my eyes, frowning at him as I
leant
my elbows on the grassy patch
,
so I could
turn and
look at him. “What’s funny?”

“Skylar, you’re going to be my wife. And I’m going to be your husband. We can’t both be wives. That’s too redundant,” he explained as he laughed again. In the end
,
I joined him, not understanding what he meant at all, but his laugh was infectious
,
and I love it when he’s happy. It
pleases me
, too.

I sighed as I
lay
ba
ck on the grass, smiling up at the shade of the marble tree as the last rays of sunshine were biding us farewell
. They made the
entire
tree
glimmer
as each
soft
beam of sun touched the leaves, scattering a beautiful light
display
of blues and greens everywhere
around us.
Adrien held my hand as he scooted closer to me until both our shoulders touched each other.

“Adrien, you’ll be there tomorrow when Aunt
Lynn performs that ritual, right? I won’t go if you’re not there,
”
I stated as I
felt my
lips
pout
again
.

“Of course. I promised you, didn’t I? I’ll be there. Then maybe after that my mom will let me marry you
,
so we can finally figure out this hide and seek game,” he said as he looked at me, blowing on
one of
my pigtails so
it
tousle
d
and
land
ed
on my face. I hurriedly
tucked my hair under my head
and
glared at him.
He smiled innocently
with that chubby grin he knows I like.
I
rolled my eyes at him and
just
la
y
back down.

“
What’s marry? Is that the ritual where we’ll be husband and wife?
”

“I think that’s it. Dad said you only marry someone if you’re happiest when you’re with them
,
and if you love them,” he replied in a soft voice, frowning a bit.

“What’s wrong? Does that mean you love me?” I asked, turning my head towards him.

“Yes. I love you, Skylar. Because I’ve never met anyone else like me who suc
ks at hide and seek like you do,” he
answered with a
serious
tone
.

“I love you too, Adrien. Exactly for the same reason,”
I happily
repli
ed
as I bent my head to lean on his shoulder. He sighed and rested his head on mine as we both witnessed
the last
glimmering
traces of
our
marble tree.

I felt a smile slowly spread on my lips. That was such an adorable dream.
I opened my eyes and blinked back a few times. I instantly frowned when I realized I wasn’t in my room. Was this Elise’s room? I shook my head, immediately crossing out that last
thought
. I was about to stretch my arms out when I realized
that
one of my hands was locked.
Peering
down to
check
what it was that kept my hand
immobile
,
I instantly felt my
body fill with
warmth at seeing Adrien there.

He was sleeping, his head and arms resting on the side o
f the bed
as he held on to my hand
with one of his own
. Why was he there and what actually possessed him to hold my hand this casually
yet
again
?
I blushed even more at the situation we both were currently in. I scratched
my head and wondered where I was
once more
,
allow
ing
my eyes to rake the room, trying to solve that puzzle.

Light brown painted walls, casement windows with
dark
frames, deep orange metallic curtains,
fine
shades of wooden tiles, some antique-looking furniture, and bed covers with colorful stripes
of mossy green, black, white, and yellow—nothing
was familiar
. I really didn’t
have a clue
to
where I was.
I guess the only person who knows the answer to that
mystery
is the peaceful sleeping
form beside me.

I dropped my gaze back to him and immediately noticed how striking he is.
I didn’t have time to observe before
because of the shock of waking up beside him
.
Now that he
i
sn’t awake yet
, I have free reign to just stare at him.
I felt
myself blush again as I saw how his long, dark hair was slightly disheveled as it
rested
,
spread out on the bed sheets. His mouth was
par
tly open as he silently breathed
in
a
steady
rhythmic
pattern. I frowned when I saw his cheeks and lips. I didn’t really notice how his cheek bones were slightly high and pronounced, and how sensual his lips looked.
I knew he had nice lips, but oh
my God. People would die for lips like that
!

As I
quietly
debated o
n
whether or not to
wak
e
him
up
, my mind roamed back to that dream. I finally remembered that day
,
and I couldn’t beli
e
ve that boy
with the chubby cheeks grew up into this
heavenly
creature in front of me. I couldn’t stop the giggle
that escaped my lips
. He looked so beautiful even while he was sleeping.
If I had my phone with me, I wouldn’t hesitate taking a picture of him. I
frown
ed when a lock of
his
hair managed to escape its place
and ended up covering
one
side of his cheek, blocking some of my view of him.
I struggled in making a decision if I should pull it back to
where it belonged just so I could stare at his face much longer.

But then my curi
osity got the better of me
. I stared at him one last time before poking his cheek with my free hand.
He stirred but ignored my efforts. I poked him some
more until he finally opened his eyes. For a moment
,
he had that dazed
, sleepy
look on his face before his eyes shone a bit
as his lips
formed a small smile
.
A
nd then
almost
instantly
, his eyes
widened
at the next moment
.
When realization finally hit him, he suddenly sat up and looked at me
, his hair still ruffled from sleep
.
I could clearly see relief and happiness on his features. I
star
ed at him with a questioning look
before pointing down at our still locked hands.
He didn’t blush like I did when he gazed at our hands
. Instead, he just shook his head as he flashed me that
brilliant
smile
that I know I’ve already seen
before. The exact same one
on that cliff
before—

My breath caught
in my throat. “
Adrien, you’re alive. We’re alive!
”
I stated as panic suddenly took hold of my body.
He
instantly stood from the chair he was sitting and sat beside me on the bed, taking me into his arms as he worked his calming magic
, slowly blowing the top of my head as he
reassured
me.

“Shh…” he cooed. “It’s okay. We’re
fine
now.”

“Cole? And Elise?” I asked as my
horror
gradually left.

“They’re okay, Sky. You made sure of it
,
”
he replied
,
and I felt him smile somewhere along those words.
When I finally calmed down, that warmth enveloped me
again
,
and I was
immediately
feeling so self-conscious that he was hugging me
when he suddenly spoke again. “I can’t believe how you suddenly burst out like that. That was really awesome, Sky!
That was
, truthfully,
just
two
of the powers that only Imperials can
perform
.
”

I frowned
.
I couldn’t really remember everything. The last thing I recalled was seeing Adrien being choked to death and then something just snapped inside me. My eyes
widened so much that I almost felt like they would pop out of their sockets any m
inute. “Oh my gosh! I really did all that? I can’t believe it, Adrien!” I cried out enthusiastically as I pulled myself slightly away from him so I could look him in the eyes.
“That was out of this world! I really didn’t know I had it in me
.
”
I smiled at him and he just
returned that gesture
with that same smile he gave me when we were kids.
All at once, the dream came back to me.
“Adrien,” I began. “I dreamt… No, I saw in a vision that day we played hide and seek,” I continued on, biting my
lower
lip to prevent the laugh from escaping
, but it did anyway. “Oh my gosh. That was so funny. I finally remembered. The ritual with Aunt Lynn, the fields, the flowers,
and
that marble tree…
our
marble tree
,
”
I
e
numerat
ed as I
grinned back at him
.