His Miracle Mate: Rise of the Moon Children

Chapter 3

I was in the forest on a rainy day. The day Ezra had discovered I knew all about them. I was pressed to the ground, tears streaming down my face, the blurry figure over me choking me to death.

It was going to happen, and no one would stop him this time.

Then the woods melted into a dark room. Searing pain. Fangs deep in my neck. Hands pinning me down.

My magic hissed and tried to pour out. But chains held it back. Blood trickled down my neck. I screamed and cried and twisted, but I couldn't get away. My hands burned and glowed. The darkness receded to reveal a pale face, red eyes and a sickly grin.

"Orla!"

My eyes shot open. I gasped, breathing heavily past the tightness in my chest. My gaze locked with Ezra's glowing eyes, brimming with fear and concern. His face seemed lit up in the dark room.

"Orla..." he mumbled. He was holding my shoulders, leaning over me, but his eyes were focused on my hands.

They were on fire.

I shot up, holding my hands away from him. "Oh my God, what's happening?"

My hands were barely visible under twin flames swallowing them. Ezra snatched one of my hands. I choked out a cry and tugged at it.

"It won't hurt me," he said, holding my hand firmly. After he didn't jerk his hand away in pain, I stopped struggling. We both stared at the fire. It never went past my hands, and it didn't hurt Ezra. The orange glow reflected in Ezra's dark eyes.

"Um... How do I turn it off?" I asked Ezra. He smiled, and the sight set my heart at ease. The tremors of the nightmare faded.

"I have no idea." He narrowed his eyes and took my other hand. I had to fight the instinctive urge to pull my blazing hands away from him.

Ezra rubbed his thumbs against my knuckles. Butterflies erupted in my stomach, and my magic settled down, content and safe. The fire died down.

"There," he whispered.

We laid back down, the sound of our breathing the only thing that disturbed the silence of the night.

"You were screaming and trashing around," Ezra said, his arms tightening around me. "What was it?"

"Just a bad dream." I shivered and snuggled into his warmth.

"About?"

I sighed. I had felt better earlier, but apparently what had happened affected me more than I thought.

"Memories. About that day in the woods, and about yesterday," I said in a quiet voice. It felt as though speaking out loud about it would bring forth the memories.

Ezra didn't say anything, just held me as he always did. The motion of his fingers rubbing my scalp lulled me to a deep sleep. No nightmares haunted it this time.

***

"Orla?"

A touch on my cheek. I turned my face away. The touch persisted. I grumbled something unintelligible.

"Orla, baby wake up. You have training."

The words barely made sense. "Mhm... I know."

Training... Training! Vlad's words echoed in my head, and my eyes cracked open. The half-light of dawn streamed in through the window. We were asleep in his room in his parents' place, because we still hadn't bought a bed for our own cabin.

"Training will be in half an hour," Ezra mumbled against my neck. "Are you still up to it? We can leave it for another day if you're still tired."

"No," I said, blinking hard. I had to go.