Flames And Starlight

Chapter 15

The sunlight pouring in from the window cast a golden glow on the room. The many different colors of paint on my pallet shined like liquid sun. I was sitting with my mother in the art room, painting like we usually do this time of the week.

My mother is an amazing artist and she has taught me all that she knows. Although, art itself can't exactly be taught, she's shown me little tips throughout the years. Lucky, I take after her and have a natural talent for it.

I find that painting relaxes me a lot. And in all honesty, I could use a little relaxing recently.

It's been two weeks since Lyria left. No matter how hard I try, I still think about her every day. Deep down I can still feel her, even worlds away.

It's like she's on one end of a string and I'm on the other. And that string, no matter how thin, still manages to stretch between worlds without breaking. Every now and then I feel a little tug.

I heard my mom take a deep breath and sigh. Our art room always had perfect lighting which was something I was continually thankful for. Apparently mom has requested the specific room for the sole reason that the sun would shine directly into it. Birds chirped their own harmonies as they flew by.

The window was open and every now and then a breeze came in and kissed my skin. If I closed my eyes, I could pretend it was Lyria and her wind. It wasn't long after she left that I realized it was her wind powers that had pushed me into the river with her. That was the day the mating bond snapped into place.

When she challenged me to spar I was oddly hesitant. Something rooted deep within me kept me from fighting her. It wasn't until she put me on my ass that I realized something was different that day. It was like something snapped the moment I hit the ground. And it wasn't anything physical.

I couldn't place the feeling, it was almost like I was experiencing every emotion possible all at once. That very instant, everything I had ever loved become small in comparison to what I saw when I opened my eyes.

I just remember looking up at her, my back against the ground, her legs on either side of my body. I looked into those turquoise and gold eyes and knew that she was something special. Something different.

I continued painting, my mind elsewhere as I mixed shades and brushed them into the surface. I could tell Lyria's mental walls were up, keeping me out. I just wish I could explain. She was there, I could feel it, but she clearly didn't want to talk to me.

"How's it going, dear?" My mother asked, peering around the side of her easel to look at me. She had a stripe of paint as blue as her eyes on her freckled cheek.

"Almost finished." I said and she went back to her own painting. After a couple minutes, she spun her painting around so I could see. She had painted the night sky as usual. It seemed like she could never run out of different ways to paint the night sky.

I was just putting the finishing details on my painting when my mother came up behind me. Upon seeing the painting, she put a hand on the top of my hand and held me close. I stared at the painting as she hugged me.

I felt so far away. Like my body was here but my mind was a world away, and my heart belonged more to Lyria than it did to myself.

I didn't even know I had painted it until I had finished. My mind had run wild and I hadn't even payed any attention to the scene I was painting.

There was the different greens of trees and shrubbery. A blue sky peeked out in between the leaves. A river ran through the forest, water rushing and swirling over various boulders. And sitting on a grey rock by the rivers edge, was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.