Aurora's Rift, page 26
part #1 of Celestial Arcanists Series
That is not what I want to hear. I close my eyes. “So I didn’t die.”
“You didn’t quite die,” Teinath says. “But it was a pretty close call.”
I look up at Ferelthin in question.
“The dagger that Ragan hit you with was poisoned,” Ferelthin says simply. “While removing it probably saved your life in the short term, healing the wound full of poison left it in your system.”
I wince. My back is still sore where the knife hit. “How come I’m still alive then?”
“Ink,” says Teinath. “They know enough about poisons to also know about antidotes. They managed a makeshift cure that lasted till you got to Elan. He did the rest.”
I collapse back into my pillows, swallowing.
Teinath looks at Ferelthin, and something passes between them that I don’t understand.
“I’ll be in my room if you need me,” Teinath says, and with a little smile, “Glad you’re still here.”
When he’s gone, I’m alone with Ferelthin. His throat keeps moving like he’s trying to clear something that won’t quite go down.
“You almost died,” he says.
“But I didn’t.” I look up at him, not sure my attempt at a smile is convincing.
“I know.” He’s quiet for a moment. “I should have been with you.”
“We had to leave. Where were you?” The anguish in my voice is raw even to my own ears.
“I told you I couldn’t always be here,” he says. “I’m so sorry.”
I don’t know what it is between us, what this feeling is. But right now I feel certain we both feel it.
Sitting up is easier this time. I reach out a tentative hand, touching the side of his face and brushing his cheekbone with my thumb. The touch of his skin sends sparks through mine.
“You’re here now. That’s what matters.” I’m surprised to find that I mean it. “We did all right.”
“You were a miracle,” he says, and I get the strangest feeling he’s not just talking about Mithrathan.
I pull my legs beneath me, scooting to sit beside him on the bed. His leg is warm against mine, so warm. He radiates heat.
He turns to me. His face is so close. His breath is soft against my skin.
I don’t know why I do it.
I pull him to me, my lips finding his.
He goes rigid in surprise, and I almost pull away, but he catches me about the waist, turning toward me in one smooth motion that brings our bodies flush with one another, one of my legs somehow over his.
The kiss makes me tremble, spreading through me like hope and better than any healing spell, washing away the remnants of pain. He’s kissing me back like it’s the same life pouring into him.
I could lose myself here, with him.
But Ferelthin breaks it, pulling back, shaking his head. “Lithrial, I am so sorry. I should not have done that.”
“Ferelthin—”
“We cannot. I cannot. It isn’t right.”
I don’t understand. “Why?”
“I shouldn’t even be here. I should never have come at all.” He looks at me like I’m the last pool of clear water in a vast, baking desert. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“Ferelthin, what are you talking about?”
His anguish cuts deep into me. “I can’t—”
“Ferelthin, what are you saying?”
“I’m Ethan!” he says, and I almost leap away from him.
“What?” My voice is shockingly quiet.
“I am sorry. If you—if you want to talk to me—” his voice cracks. “You know where to find me.”
And he vanishes into mist, leaving me in Sirethan, in the world he made.
Acknowledgements
I’ll try to keep this short and sweet. Thanks firstly to KT Hanna and Jami Nord for being excellent friends and for opening my world to this genre when I was already an obsessive RPG gamer—and for being first eyes on this book.
Thanks also are due to the community of LitRPG folks on social media and to everyone who is searching for a good story that will feel like it was written just for them.
To the devs out there making worlds for us to play in, thank you for doing what you do. I’ll be over here patiently-not-patiently waiting for the next Dragon Age.
Mahoosive thanks to my patrons on Patreon for encouraging me to go forward with this series and giving me the confidence to do the thing.
Reviews are gold to author-folk. If you leave one, we deeply appreciate it.
If you’re looking for more to read in the genre, run—fast—to check out Somnia Online by KT Hanna. Her books are fun.
To learn more about LitRPG, talk to authors including myself, and just have an awesome time, please join the LitRPG Group.
Also by Emmie Mears
Urban Fantasy
The Ayala Storme Series:
Storm in a Teacup
Any Port in a Storm
Taken By Storm
Eye of the Storm
The Shrike Series:
Shrike: The Masked Songbird
Shrike: Rampant
Epic Fantasy
The Stonebreaker Series:
Hearthfire
Tidewater (coming December 2019)
Standalones:
A Hall of Keys and No Doors
Look to the Sun
Emmie Mears, Aurora's Rift
