The Secret Trinity: Reign (Fae-Witch Trilogy, Book 3) (17 page)

“It’s you,” I breathed softly, whipping around to face him, but everything blurred and I could only feel his strong hands catch me
as I collapsed, blacking out.

When my eyes opened, I found myself looking at the glow stars on my bedroom ceiling.  I sprang upright in bed clutching onto my heart, breathing heavily as I looked around.  What was that, I thought, as a warm tingling
sensation buzzed down my
spine.
I got out of bed and ran to the window.  It wasn’t even dawn, the moon still hung in the sky.  I put my palms on my chest trying to steady my breath as I watched the moonlight reflect off the river in a glittery silver shimmer.  I scanned the beachfront sand stretching the length of our backyard, searching for some
thing, but I didn’t know what.

Another pleasurable shudder hummed over my skin, and I closed my eyes.  What was happening to me?  It felt like I had been sleeping all of my life and now I was suddenly awake.  My nerves endings tingled
,
reviving me with an electrical current.  I pressed my lips tight looking outside again straining to see something, but all appeared calm, and then I felt trapped, like I was suddenly in a maze searching for someone
,
but I had gotten lost
and couldn’t find my way back.

I looked longingly outside at the cool river water.  I wiped the sweat from the back of my neck, wishing I could go swimming right now, but my Mom would kill me if she found out I went when it was dark.  She didn’t even like it when I swam in broad daylight, always a worrier.  I went to my dresser and grabbed an elastic hair band from the top.  Slinging my long blonde waves into a ponytail I plodded into the living room.  I caught a glimpse in the mirror on my way out and smiled.  I had spent so much time outside this summer already that my light blonde hair was only a few shades away from white.  It would only take a few more sand bar swims to make it official.

Something unnerving crept into the forefront of my thoughts, telling me not to go, but I shook it off as nothing.  I had been having weird feelings like that for days and it gave me the creeps.  I flopped onto the couch and clicked on the TV, not really paying it any attention.  I kept
mindlessly rubbing my arms to smooth out the electricity running over them, but none of my efforts seemed to help.  An hour of crappy cartoons later, I gave up and went to the
kitchen for a bowl of cereal.

“Hey sweetie, it’s six in the morning.  What are you doing up?”  My Dad said in a sleepy yawn, going straight for the coffee maker.  He turned on the pot all ready to go and sat next to me at the kitchen table munching on some fruit loops.  I shrugged, still unsure of what had roused me from sleep.  I had barely slept all night, tossing and turning for hours, so by all accounts I should be exhausted but instead felt exhilarated.

“I don’t know.  I think I must have had a weird dream or something,” I said with a mouth full of cereal.  Tom patted my back a couple of times with understanding and got back up to pour some coffee before it was even done brewing.

“Less than a month left of summer, are you excited about 8th grade?”  He asked chee
rfully taking a sip of coffee.

“When am I ever excited about school?”  I ask
ed back.

“Cheer up, before you know it you’ll be off to college, and then you can pick the classes you want to take.”  My Dad was always an optimist, and I thought immediately that I would be taking as many dance classes as I could.  I nodded, ready to go now.  Joann came through the door tying up her robe and stretching her long arms above her head.  She sto
pped in place when she saw me.

“What
are you doing up?”  She asked.

“Mom, you’re the one who
says the early bird catches the worm
,
or whatever.  I want to go for a morning swim.  It was so hot in my room last night I was sweating.”  I said wiping my forehead for emphasis, and my parents both looked at each other with peculiar expressions.

“The air conditioner was on full blast last night.  Are you feeling okay?”  My Mom said suspiciously, crossing the kitchen to touch my
forehead.

“I’m fine.  I feel great,” I assured them, ducking away from her hand on my forehead, knowing something was off but not in a way I could explain. 

“I don’t know if a swim is a good idea today, especially if you’re under the weather.  I have inventory and your Father will be at the office preparing for a big case all morning, so no one will be around until
dinner,” she said worriedly.

“I
’ve
swam over there like a billion times when you’re at work, and I already told you, I’m not sick.  I must have just had a bad dream or something.  Come on, summer’s almost over,
pllleeeaasse
.
”  I begged, and my Mom sighed.

“Oh alright, but if you feel tired at all, I want you to stop and turn back, is that understood?”  She said sternly, knowing my favorite sandbar was a good distance away.  I nodded vigorously popping up on my tip toes to kiss her cheek.  I chased across the kitchen to my Dad and gave him a kiss too before heading to
my room to change.

***

I dunked into the cold water blowing bubbles from my mouth as I rose.  The sunlight was starting to peek over the bluffs giving the sky a pink backdrop.  I shook out my wet hair and smoothed my hands over my head as I bobbed in the water.  I watched the first beam of sunlight pierce its ray over the green topped trees perched along the bluffs.  Soon vibrant colors of orange, pink, and red flooded the sky, making the murky water reflect it as if it was lava.  I looked back at my house and found my Mom watching me in the window with a cup of coffee in hand.  I gestured to the sky that it was light enough and waved, beginning my swim. 

I had swum this channel almost every day this summer when I discovered this amazing secret sandbar a couple of months ago.  The little golden gem that lay behind another larger sandbar went unnoticed since I had never seen anyone else there.  I didn’t know if it could even be considered a sand bar because it was mostly made up of woods.  You wouldn’t even know about the small beach on the other side, unless you swam around it like I did on a whim one day.  Now it was my favorite hidden spot which felt like my own personal beach. 

I swam until my feet touched the bottom and walked the rest of the way around my tiny private island, dropping into the sand on the other side.  I was beat.  I pulled off my small waterproof bag and shook out my rolled-up towel crumpled inside.  Laying down on it, I stretched my limbs.  I stared at the sky and watched the colors change, as the sun lit it up in its
entirety.  I pulled my cell phone from its
ziplock
bag and saw that it was just past seven.  The river was still, only the birds chirped in the trees.  I finally felt totally relaxed since waking at dawn, and I closed my
eyes.

A jolt of electricity pulled me upright and I sucked in a sharp intake of breath.  I stood up and whipped around, looking toward the woods, feeling like I wasn’t alone.  Heat blanketed over my skin but it wasn’t from the summer sun.  I slowly turned to face the water and looked down at my feet trying to ignore the odd feelings coursing through me.

I watched my feet as I wiggled my toes in and out of the hot sand.  My body went stiff when I felt another hum of electricity shimmer down my spine.  The muscles in my neck became rigid when I realized I definitely was not alone.  As a young girl by myself on this deserted stretch of beach I knew I should be scared, but I wasn’t.  My heart resonated toward his, calling me to his soul like a beacon.  I felt as if he was so close I could feel his breath on my neck. 

My heart began to swell, commanding me to find him, but my body remained frozen.  Something flashed behind my eyes and sand scraped down my throat.  I wrapped my hands around my neck telling myself to breath
e;
it was all in my head.  I knew when I turned around that I would finally feel whole for the first time, knowing deep down that I had been waiting for this moment since the day I was born.  I shoved down any reservations with a
hard
gulp.  I had found my other half.  How could that be wrong?  My skin tingled and I could feel his eyes on me.  He was feeling the pleasant electricity too.  I knew he felt it.  I swore I could
hear his heart beating faster.

I rolled my eyes, “Just come out of there already, you’re not fooling anyone.  I know you’re here.”  I said as confidently as I could, even though my life was about to change forever.  I heard a rustle in the trees and my heart rate picked up.  For some reason I thought he sensed it too.  I was shaking, anxious to turn and see his face, y
et terrified at the same time.

I felt the grainy sand under the soles of my feet as I began to pivot and face him coming out of the trees.  Too afraid to meet his eyes, I first looked down at his soaking wet jeans and pale bare feet standing ten feet in front of me. I could see that his legs were long and lean as the wet material hugged him, clinging to his muscles.  I slowly worked my way up to his bare torso which although broad, he had not quiet grown into it.  Water trailed down the distinct vertical
line on his abdomen, and I noticed the rapid expansion and contraction of his ribcage, g
iving away his speeding pulse.

I swallowed again, braving to look as high as his collarbone, mesmerized by the tiny droplets falling to his shoulders from his wet hair.  I took in the lines of his jaw, still slightly rounded, showing his youth, but despite his young age his vibe conveyed a comfortable confidence that I had never felt before.  He stood almost six feet tall, rivaling most freshman high school students I had met.  He must be in high school I thought, fourteen, or maybe he could be fifteen.  His raven hair looked like glossy feathers against the sunlight, his bangs falling in his eyes, covering them from my sight, as he stared at the sand. 

As
I took him in from head to toe, an absolute
hottie
standing before me, I suddenly wondered if I was hallucinating my dream guy or something.  His breath finally slowed as he watched the sand at his feet.  Something inside me told me he was different somehow too.  Even ten feet away I could sense his energy, and like mine, it was not human.  I felt as if all of the cells in my blood were firing like pistons, lighting me from the inside out.  I thought I might fly right off of the ground with little effort, even though it had been years since I could even hover.  I opened my mouth to speak, but he put up his hand, telling me to stop before a single word escaped me. 

He sighed deeply and combed his fingers through his wet hair, while slowly lifting his chin to look at me, and then, everything stopped.  I stopped breathing, I stopped moving, I even stopped seeing.  All I could take in were the liquid blue eyes that shined brighter than the most magnificent of moons.  The light from his eyes blinded me, filled me, looked right down into my soul and wrapped their warmth around it.  I felt like I had stumbled into heaven, and this guardian angel was mine, in this life and the next.  My brain finally let my lungs breath
e
, and even from this distance I could smell his sweet scent of fresh rain and cinnamon.  I put my fingertips to my mouth and realized my cheeks had become wet with tears. 

“It’s you,” I breathed. 

“It’s you,” he said qu
ietly, equally taken aback.

This boy was my other half.  My energy was his and his was mine.  Everything I felt, he felt
, and I could hear his heart
beating with mine, creating the most whimsical sound, like a magical symphony.  His blue eyes looked translucent against the golden light shining behind them.  He was absolutely otherworldly.  His soul was painted on him, on every curve of his perfect face and every raven strand of his hair.  It was as if he was wearing it, breathing it into a psychic
al
form, and it was the most breathtakingly, mira
culous thing I would ever see.

Simultaneously, a
s if we both couldn’t stand it for one more second, we dug our feet in running toward each other, kicking up sand everywhere in our path.  I leapt into his arms and he spun me in a circle as he hugged me.  He gently bent down so my feet could touch the ground but I didn’t loosen my arms from his neck.  We stayed there for
awhile
,
l
istening to each other’s heartbeats.
His bare skin against my cheek felt as
warm and electric as his eyes.

“My Soul Keeper,” he whispered, hugging me tighter.  I didn’t know what that meant, but this
being
in my arms knew far more about u
s and who we were than I di
d.  The words soun
ded right, he would always keep my soul safe.

“My Soul Keeper,” I whispered back against his skin.  He pulled back to look at me, the light in his eyes still burning bright, and I wondered if it would ever fade, or if I was the only one who could see it.  He cupped my face in his callused hands and yet the gesture st
ill felt gentle and wonderful.

“You’re even more beautiful than I had dreamed,” he said with a cute grin, and I smiled shyly.  He dipped down and gently stroked my cheek.  I could feel his breath against it and I recognized the sweet cinnamon.  I closed my eyes to breathe it in.  His face was only an inch from mine and he hesitated for a moment before our lips touched.