A Curse of Shadows

I thought it was warm in here, but I blamed that on my thick sweater. Now, I’m not so sure. Kneeling, I brush my fingers over the water’s surface, disrupting my reflection on its surface. “Is this…”

My words are cut off and I suddenly can’t breathe. My balance becomes shaky and before I know what’s happening, I go face-first into the pool of hot water.

I gasp for air and my arms flail, trying to grab at the side, but instead, a vivid memory floods my senses.

Shedding my clothes, I jump into the water, giggling without a care in the world. My hair is pinned to the top of my head and a few strands fall around my grinning face. I point a finger at someone I can’t see before beckoning them toward me.

“You’re not going to leave me here all alone, are you?” I tease, standing waist deep in the hot spring, not hot tub.

“Never,” a deep grumble says. “You’re mine until the end of time.”

It’s Asher who comes into view, confidently striding into the water without a stitch of clothes on, his presence as imposing as it is comforting. His arms wrap around my waist, tugging until we’re flush together. His lips come down on mine and I swear I can taste his woodsy scent.

“Asher.” I breathe out his name, my heart pounding against my ribcage, but instead of skin, my hands find the wet fabric of his shirt.

Reality snaps back harshly. “Gods, Isla.” Asher’s concerned voice cuts through the haze of my memory. “Are you okay?”

Embarrassment colors my cheeks as I scramble up from the cave floor, muttering incoherently before rushing to grab a towel. When I return, Asher’s expression oscillates between concern and disbelief.

“You knew where to get a towel,” he observes, astonishment changing his tone from concern to a light, joyous note. “Did you remember something when you fell into the hot spring?”

The intensity of the memory—or was it a mere daydream fueled by that almost-kiss?—leaves me unsettled. How am I to explain this without sounding utterly deluded by desire?

“I, uh, don’t know,” I say, wiping my face with a towel that’s rather stiff, likely from having sat untouched for who-knows-how-long.

His hand, warm and reassuring, cradles the side of my face. “What happened, Isla? There’s nothing you can’t tell me.”

The moment those six words leave his mouth, the weight of their truth settles over me like a warm blanket.

Still, I hesitate to reveal what I saw because it’s not like anything was said to pinpoint a time or event. It was just the two of us, getting ready to go at it in the water. Something I suddenly feel like happened quite often before.

“I was in the water, waiting for you,” I finally admit. “You joined me and then…I was back to the present. I don’t know that I’d call that a memory since I looked like me. There’s no way to tell the difference.”

“Our clothes,” he says. “What were we wearing? Things have changed here, just like they do on Earth.”

There’s no hiding my blush and Asher proves that I’m right to trust him when he seems to understand what I’m not saying without forcing the words from my mouth.

“It’s okay,” he promises with a sweet smile. “No matter what happened, this is progress. I was right to bring you here and I think when my mother mentioned having you go to Lunara Academy, she was onto something as well.”

Wrapping the towel around my dripping clothes, I ask, “What do you mean?”

“When our souls are reborn, it’s not with our full memories,” he explains. “We grow and learn and as we mature, more from our past lives comes back to us. You’re already grown and mature, but you haven’t learned.”

If this is the only way to figure out why I disappeared, then I’m in, all in.

“When do I start?” I ask with eagerness.

Asher grabs my hand and starts leading us back out of the cave without attempting to dry himself off. “First things first. We need to find out about getting your friend here. I know you asked my mother about finding your phone and relaying a message, but that’s a bit more complicated given the older portal you used. We’re not actually sure where your belongings have gone…”

I gape at him. “Are you saying an entire car was just swallowed by the universe, never to be seen again?”

“Were you particularly attached to the vehicle?” His head tilts and eyes pinch at the side. “I can keep trying to locate it if…”

My hand waves, cutting him off. “No, it’s just a lot to still process. I don’t care about the car. Just Elodee.”

He gives my hand a squeeze as we keep walking. “We will find a way to bring her here, I promise. I don’t want you to worry about anything that you don’t have to if I can help it.”

Oh, hell. Can this man get any sweeter? Something tells me the answer is a resounding yes.