When The Heart Sings

Chapter 46

Serena's POV:

Darien raised an eyebrow, "A waygate? I thought we were going to Compass Pass?"

Saphira nodded, "We are. The waygate near your village has already been activated."

"Waygates are unable to connect to another waygate on the same planet."

Saphira grinned, "Ah, but gatemasters have the ability to do that. Everything has been set up already. We will be in your village by nightfall."

Darien was surprised. He had figured that it would take us a week or so, even at this fast pace. I watched as we approached a large arch. It just looked like a stone block arch that someone might find in some fancy gardens and I didn't see anything special about it.

A handful of Dranek stood near the gate waiting for us. As we approached the gate, one of them laid a hand on the gate and it started to hum as the inner edges began to glow. I jumped as it made a faint swooshing noise and the center was suddenly filled with what looked like faintly glowing water that rippled gently. It looked exactly the same as the waygate I had seen when I woke up on this planet.

Dozens of Dranek flowed out of the trees to pass through the waygate ahead of us. Saphira kept steering the animal pulling the cart towards the arch. I leaned against Darien uneasily as we approached the light. I had no memory of the last time I had done this.

He pulled me a bit closer, although it wasn't really possible considering I was already sitting on his lap. His fingers rubbed small circles on my arm to calm me. It was working too. The waygate didn't worry him, so I tried to relax.

A moment of weightlessness and cold, and we were through it. I sighed in relief as I looked around. This waygate was in the middle of a forest clearing. I could see mountains towering up behind us. We really were just on the edge of the mountains.

Darien relaxed. It dawned on me that he had half-expected to appear on a different planet. Such a thought hadn't even occurred to me. The cart continued down a path.

I hadn't realized that a village could be so tiny. There were maybe twenty houses all told. I halfway expected to see people come out of the houses to watch us approach, but of course, no one did. The village was empty and had been for years. As we got closer, I could see that the flowerbeds were unkempt, and there were other signs that no one had been here for quite some time.

Darien lifted me out of the cart as most of the Dranek scattered into the trees around the tiny village while a few took the carts with them. Saphira and the usual five remained with us. They had unloaded several bags of supplies for us and carried them.

Darien walked slowly through the street with his arm around my shoulders. His eyes were distant as if he was examining memories. We walked up to a house and Darien paused in front of the door, "This is where I grew up. My parents left this house to my brother and me."

Saphira put a bag down just outside the door and turned to leave, "The boundaries are guarded, so the village should be safe unless there is something hidden inside of a house. If you shout, we will hear you. Call if you need us, otherwise, we will let you relax and settle in."

The Dranek struck me as incredibly thoughtful. "Thank you."

Saphira paused and slowly blinked at the sound of gratitude in my voice. She inclined her head slightly before heading down the road towards the forest.

Darien pushed the door open and guided me through the doorway. I looked around at the various family pictures and ornaments as I went inside. Darien was also gazing at the room with a distant look in his eyes, lost in memories. I remembered that he had been trapped in that lab for years. I took a step forward and Darien let me go.

My eyes strayed to a dusty picture of a man, woman, and two kids on a nearby table. It was odd to know that one of the boys was Darien since the picture did not show his glowing eyes. "Which one is you?"

Darien walked up behind me and gently wrapped his arms around my waist as he pulled me against his chest, "The one on the right."

I tilted my head in consideration as I looked at the older child, "Well, you certainly were a cute kid."

He chuckled as he relaxed. I lifted my head to gently kiss his cheek, "Although it is very strange to see you without glowing eyes."

He swiftly lowered his head to catch my lips to continue the gentle kiss. It warmed up my heart and made my skin flush. Darien softly broke the kiss as his warm eyes looked deep into mine with love. I pushed that image to the front of my mind.

He chuckled faintly, "You are getting far too good at that. Although I am getting better at reading you."

I tilted my head in curiosity, "How so?"

He gazed into my eyes, "The contact makes it much easier. It is mostly due to practice though, the more I try to get a read on a certain person, the easier it is to read them in the future. I can read you much more easily now."

"You practice that often?"

He grinned softly at me, "As much as possible with you. Your emotions during the day are interesting and I also watch what I can of your dreams when you sleep."

"You must have been bored out of your mind when I slept."

His breathtaking smile almost stopped my heart in its splendor, "Not a single moment was boring. It was so captivating that it was hard for me to sleep knowing I would miss some of it."

I blushed, I barely ever remembered my dreams. I couldn't exactly control my dreams either. Who knows what he had seen... Darien picked up my embarrassment and scooped me up in his arms before walking over to sit on a large couch.

"Do not be embarrassed, they were beautiful. Although I must admit I am so used to seeing my eyes glow in your mind that I have started to do double takes at mirrors when I see that they are not glowing."

I chuckled lightly and leaned my head against his chest as I sat on his lap, still a bit self-conscious, "What else did you see?" I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to know the answer.

His smile had warmth and his eyes glowed softly, "Mostly myself. You really are obsessed with me, you know."

I hid my face against his shirt so he couldn't see the blush that was surely rising, "I probably could have told you that."

His soft chuckle wasn't helping. He leaned down to whisper, "The most priceless thing was the love that accompanied those images."

He could probably feel the heat of my blush through his shirt. I could certainly feel it. His arms wrapped around me as he lay down across the couch, holding me to his chest. I relaxed into his hold, simply enjoying the contact and his presence.