9: Disappointment

2.6K 169 134
                                    

Running to the south, I picked up a scent that made my whole body go rigid

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

Running to the south, I picked up a scent that made my whole body go rigid. The smell of pinewood, peppermint and lemon wafted in the air, acting like an ignition that turned every cell in my body on fire. 

Similar emotions stirred within my ocean that Kendra had felt—they were less intense, but came from my own waters.

Instead of slowing down, as I normally would to trace the scent, it was strong enough that I followed it without hesitation. 

More pulled me towards it than just the smell—much more. My brother's voices faded the further away I ran. Common sense too seemed to fade with every meter that lay behind me, for I consciously ran closer and closer to the border. 

The forbidden border. 

Voices began to echo in my mind, some of them reminding me of all the warnings the council had said about the border to the south. 

Anyone who went beyond was always found and caught by our protectors and brought to a place no one ever returned from.

The other voices returned. They were audible but incomprehensible whispers. I stopped shortly, closed my eyes and tried to listen to what they were warning me about. It wasn't the recollection of what the council had said about going south—yet I knew they were warning me of something. They always seemed to. 

Maybe they weren't a bad thing after all...

A cold breeze slithered through the air and a strange tingling sensation crawled tantalisingly across my skin. 

Was there a protection barrier here that needed to be crossed?

Looking around, though the barriers were usually invisible to the naked eye, I still hoped to see something that explained the strange feeling I had. The trees here were tall but extremely thin, branches growing out towards the top. 

Strange trees.

Just when I was about to turn around and go back to my brothers, who were surely waiting for me, a crunch of leaves vibrated through the ground. Someone was walking close by. With the next breeze, I hoped I would be able to smell them.

Another wave of emotions slammed against my shore, drenching me in want, desire, need and attraction. Electricity followed them closely, zapping through my bones with incredible force. Then I saw him.

He was walking a few hundred meters further away, towards the forbidden barrier. No, he wasn't walking. He was strutting towards it, with his shoulders squared, his head held high and measured steps moving him closer. The profile of his face was sharp, his eyebrows dark and bushy and his nose straight. The bottom of his lip was slightly fuller than the top. 

Still, as I studied every line in his face, electricity shot into my joints, my bones, my organs, my heart and brain. It made me needy with a fiery attraction. 

The AncientsWhere stories live. Discover now