The Silver Thread (The A’aru Legacy #1)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

The night breeze slipped through the open window, gently nuzzling the curtain's veil, yet Alderian remained numb to its refreshing touch. He felt neither heat nor cold; in truth, he wasn’t fully there, his presence in the room nothing more than a faint shadow of his true existence.

What did it truly mean to be a guardian angel?

It was a question that haunted him as he kept watch over his human, day after day, night after night.

She slept peacefully now, as though deep down she knew her dreams were safely guarded.

A luminous Silver Thread bound his fate to Augustine's destiny—a tether anchoring him not just to this current life, but to every single incarnation she was destined to live in this world.

How many lifetimes had it been by now? He had long since lost count.

He carried the vivid memory of each of her past lives, yet she wouldn't even recognize his face if she were to look right at him. Cruel irony, wasn't it?

Yet, the moment she died, their roles would reverse; he would become the protected, and Augustine would become the unseen guardian at his side.

But as a human, Alderian would be just as blind to her presence.

Even now, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t summon a single memory of his own mortal lives, nor could he recall her ever watching over his steps.

They were like the sun and the moon—doomed to chase one another, yet never destined to shine together under the same sky.

For him, Augustine had always been the sun: bright and full of warmth. He looked at himself for a moment. His pale hands, his light clothes—ethereal in a way that ensured his touch could never reach her.

Other protector spirits—or A’aruin, as they called themselves—returned to A’aru, the spiritual dimension, while their humans slept, trusting their Silver Thread to alert them to any danger.

But Alderian preferred to stay with Augustine.

Even if it was only in silence, he chose her company over the bitter loneliness that waited for him in A’aru.

His only duty was to answer the call of the River Lethe, where he had to submerge himself every so often so the thread that connected them wouldn’t weaken.

Other than that, his time belonged entirely to Augustine.

Suddenly, a dark shadow seeped under the door like living liquid, pooling as it crept toward the sleeping woman.

With a look of quiet contempt, Alderian barely lifted a hand.

That single, effortless gesture was enough to banish the unwanted entity, forcing it to dissolve back into the void of the night. “Nobody invited you,” he whispered.

It seemed strange to him that these kinds of entities approached his human more frequently in this life than in any of the previous ones. He had asked other A’aruin if they had noticed an increase in the Shadows, but no one seemed to have had a similar experience.

It was precisely why he refused to leave her side; though those inferior creatures lacked the strength to truly harm her, their lingering presence was unsettling.

Augustine shifted restlessly beneath the sheets.

“What are you dreaming of, my sweet Augustine?” he murmured, sitting at the foot of the mattress.

A tender smile touched his lips, despite knowing there was no one in the mortal realm to witness it.

He felt the urge to visit her in her dreams, because it was one of the few ways he could manifest himself and freely speak with her.

The times he did, he could hear her worries, doubts, and longings directly from her own lips.

Yet, those conversations were doomed to be forgotten the next day; it was the immutable law that governed their bond.

And, even if he reminded himself to expect it, telling himself that it didn’t bother him, the frustration washed over him so hard the next morning that it took him days to overcome the longing.

Years had passed since he last dared to step into her dreams without absolute necessity, but tonight, a heavy melancholy weighed on his chest. For once, he craved to be the one comforted by her, pushing away any thoughts of the inevitable heartache awaiting him at dawn.

Stepping closer to the headboard, he hovered his hand over her brow.

In a sudden, luminous breath, his form dissolved, transforming into a brilliant silver butterfly.

He flew around the bed in playful flights, leaving a delicate trail of light in his wake.

Simple as that, he was now in her dreams.

She opened her eyes slowly, awakening within the dream like a princess under a spell.

A soft gasp escaped her as she watched him flutter above her, her hand reaching out to catch the light.

But before her fingers could brush his wings, Alderian shed his disguise, melting back into his human form.

Augustine startled, pressing a hand against her racing heart.

Outwardly, Alderian remained composed, but inside, he rejoiced in silence.

He would never tire of that fleeting, exquisite moment of wonder—the brief seconds where her entire attention belonged solely to him.

“Who are you?” she asked, just as every other time he visited her dreams. Infinite times she’d asked that question, but even though he answered every time, she always forgot.

The answer Alderian gave was never the same; it depended on the circumstances, his mood, his whims, or what he believed Augustine needed to hear at that moment.

But that night, he felt capricious.

He approached her with a wistful look hard to suppress. None of this was real, but he dared to brush her beautiful face with the tips of his fingers. Augustine didn’t step back, and that made him tremble with longing.

“Remember me tomorrow,” Alderian pleaded, his voice thick with a yearning he could no longer suppress.

Augustine looked up at him, offering a smile so sweet her eyes felt like a beautiful promise—or perhaps, an exquisite torture.

He slipped out of her mind shortly after, fully aware that the dawn would wash him away.

Forcing himself to endure the vigil, he stayed by her side until the first rays of sun pierced the glass.

When she finally opened her eyes to get ready for college, the magic was gone.

Nothing in her gaze had changed. And as Alderian stared into the familiar void of his Oblivion, he felt his heart harden just a little more.

Defeated and despondent, he prepared to vanish back to A’aru, yet a sudden wave of absurd defiance rooted him to the floor. Stepping directly into her path, he spoke in a voice he desperately hoped might anchor her.

“Look at me,” he whispered. “Look at me!”

As if answering a phantom echo, she raised her head, her green eyes locking squarely onto his.

For one breathtaking second, the world stood entirely still.

But the fragile contact shattered as quickly as it had formed.

She walked right through him and out the door, leaving his heart hammering wildly against a chest that was empty, in a room where he was entirely alone.