Imdalind 01 - Kiss of Fire

you?”
    “No, Joclyn. I have known about this my entire life.” His fingers continued to trail around my face, over the lines of my neck. The touch was warm and comforting; I was having trouble thinking straight.
    “This?” I motioned to the white expanse around us.
    “No, silly, not white spaces that lead into nothingness.” His tone was exactly like Ryland; it was hard to believe that my dreams could be so accurate.
    “Then what?”
    Ryland exhaled deeply at my question and looked around him for something, or more like he was expecting someone.
    “Tell me what happened to you.” He moved closer to me, his voice soft. My previous question lay forgotten behind me as my memory of the evening began running through my mind in fast forward.
    “I failed you, Ryland.” I could feel the tears trying to burst out, my face growing warm as I attempted to restrain them.
    Ryland leaned forward and pulled me into his lap, his arms winding their way around me.
    “You didn’t fail,” he whispered into my ear, his lips rubbing against my mark. The touch of his lips against the mark sending a slight shock through me.
    “But I went to my house, and my mom was… she was…” My voice caught, unsure if I wanted to face it, unsure if I could accept it. “And things were flying and then there was an explosion and… and I fell out of the window…”
    Ryland pulled me to him tighter, my tumble of words instantly ceasing.
    “I’m sorry, Joclyn, for everything. I never wanted you to be dragged into any of this. If I had remembered there was a window there, I wouldn’t have made the blast quite so strong.”
    He made the blast? I looked at him, confused, begging him to elaborate – but he only smiled at the look on my face.
    “Your back seems to be healing nicely, though.” He ran his fingertips up my spine, sending a warm shiver trailing behind.
    “Healing? How?”
    “The same way you are healing me, my love.” He ran his fingers up my back again, through my hair, over the soft skin of my face. His touch seemed so real, I found myself leaning into the bare skin of his chest, breathing in his smell.
    “Everything is so confusing, Ryland,” I said. “I don’t know what’s going on.”
    “It’s all quite simple, isn’t it, when you think about it?” The small smile evident in his quiet voice.
    I shook my head against him. I didn’t know what was simple about explosions and flying and… and… my mother.
    “How is it simple, Ryland?”
    “Oh, Joclyn, you are so special, and you don’t even know it yet.” His fingers trailed along my hairline comfortably. “Don’t reject what’s inside you, my love.”
    “But…”
    “You are powerful, and amazing, and confident. You may be the one…”
    “The one to what?” I pulled away from him, to look at him, but he only smiled sadly at me before pulling me back into his chest.
    “It’s nothing,” he whispered against my hair, cradling me against him until my body melded into his lap comfortably.
    I could hear Ryland’s heart beat through his chest, feel his warm breath run along my hair. I wished I could stay there forever, but instead, Ryland’s body stiffened underneath mine, his shoulder twitching.
    “I have to go.” It was almost a growl.
    “No.” I clung myself to him like a child, desperate for this small sense of normalcy to stay with me.
    “I have to.” He pulled my face up to look at him, his blue eyes deep and worried. “My father is trying to perform a Vymȁzat.”
    “Veemayzit?”
    “Yes, he is trying to get inside my brain, control me. If he finds you here…” He stopped, the pain dripping off his voice. He pulled me away from him, just far enough away to see his face as a whole.
    “Stay with Ilyan, Joclyn. The time may soon come that my father breaks in all the way, and when he does, I won’t remember you anymore. When that happens, I will only be a danger to you. But just remember that I love you; I will always love you. And locked inside me somewhere, I will always be waiting for you.” He spoke in an urgent rush; I could only stare at him.
    His head twitched to the side, his face screwing up into a pained expression, like someone was stabbing him. As soon as the pain had come, it went; he grabbed me roughly and held me in place so I had nowhere to look but at him.
    “Promise me, Joclyn!” He twitched again, but his eyes never left mine.
    “Promise what?”
    “Stay with Ilyan. Remember that I love you.” He stood,