The Wishing Hour

Wishing -

Nine

The Present

Tightening his embrace, my protector holds me closer. Everything about him is familiar to me. He exudes peace, safety, and comfort, and being with him is home. I press my face in the curve of his neck, wanting to curl up inside him and never move.

Tonight I was closer to death than ever before, and I had been completely unaware of it. For that, I am grateful. I caught a glimpse of the creature before it injected me, and even though it was only for a fraction of a second, the hideous sight will stay with me forever.

But what is it? And why does it want to kill me?

It is time, cara. I will tell you everything.

Lifting my eyes to his face, I give him my full attention. He draws back, taking my hands in his. “My name is Sebastian. Sebastian Giovanni.”

“Sebastian,” I whisper. It thrills me to finally know his name, to be able to say it. “So you really are Italian?”

“Technically, yes. I was born in Italy. My parents decided to leave our real home, Challis, before I was born and moved to Venice. We lived here for my first nineteen years. Gideon, the man you met who helped us get here, is my cousin. He moved to the surface in 1798.” My mouth forms an o at finally knowing a little more about the blond man. Sebastian continues. “Our height caused my parents and me to stick out like sore thumbs. By my nineteenth birthday, my parents missed our home and moved back so I could begin my training. Every young man of my kind begins his training at twenty and hopes to be given the calling of protector. I was blessed to be chosen. ”

“Chosen for what?”

“To be the protector of the Woman of Prophecy.” He squeezes my hand. “It is you, Celine. You are the Woman of Prophecy.”

Woman of Prophecy? My mouth moves, but nothing comes out, and my mind is exploding with questions, but I press my lips together, allowing him to continue.

“When we are young, we are taught that one day there would be born to this earth a woman who will bear a golden son, a child whose birth would end the reign of Lord Derth, the leader of the Urchins. It has been foretold that the child's very birth will incinerate him and all who follow him instantly. They will turn to dust where they stand. He will possess the purest spirit to ever be born to this earth. When he draws his first breath, the enemy will draw his last.”

My heart is pounding like crazy. “Me? Give birth to a golden child? How is this possible?”

“You were chosen long before you came into this life. The One chose you, and he chose me to be your protector. But more than that, I am your true mate in every way.”

As he says this, I look at my hand, noticing the painless burning of the mark. Placing his open palm over mine, I gasp as heat ignites between us, traveling from my head to my feet.

I have no idea how all of this is happening or why it's happening to me. I only know that it is–and it makes complete and perfect sense. I look up into his eyes as he closes his hand around mine and the heat becomes a steady burn, consuming me.

Falling in love with him has never been an option, for my heart has been there from the first. It is real, it is powerful, and it is making itself known with force. Looking into my eyes, he unleashes his innermost thoughts. I am instantly hit with the blinding force of his feelings and the rush is staggering.

Raising my branded hand to his face, tears fill my eyes, spilling down my cheeks, and the words come easy. “I love you, Sebastian,” I whisper. His eyes grow misty as well.