Chapter 51
Chapter Fifty-One
Augustine sought refuge in the embrace of that formidable divine being. His scent, his warmth, his touch—it all felt like a miracle after wandering through that empty shell. He didn’t let go; he held her affectionately, tracing her back with his long fingers.
She felt a flush of shame, aching for his touch to go beyond her back, but he seemed to have no intention of taking it further—even after she’d confessed such deep feelings without even knowing who he was. He seemed both relieved and grateful, so maybe her words weren’t totally out of line.
“What’s your name?” she asked softly.
“I’m not telling you just yet… I’m going to make you remember it.”
That promise sent a rush of emotion and anticipation through her. He pulled back slightly and smiled. Nothing remained of the murderous gaze she’d seen when they first met. Only sweetness and infinite patience. How could anyone not fall for him?
He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and, taking her hand, led her through the palace halls.
Every so often he turned to look at her, as if fearing she might vanish.
When their eyes met, he’d smile again, like a child with a favorite toy.
She felt beautiful under his gaze. Like a lost treasure, like a brilliant diamond.
“This is your room,” he said, standing before a tall white door, oval-shaped with silver knobs sculpted to look like a rosebud with its petals in a spiral.
“Everything is so stunning… it’s like something out of a fairy tale,” she said, marveling at it.
The man stared at her in silence and, without warning, pinned her with his arms against the closed door.
“You look like something out of a tale yourself. It’s unreal that you’re actually here. You’re like an enchanted princess, trapped in a spell that forces you to forget me… will a kiss bring back your memory?”
He kissed her sweetly at first, but seeing her respond, he started demanding more. His tongue caressed hers, slow and sensual, their breaths merging, their breathing ragged.
“Nothing yet?” the man asked, whispering into her ear. The tickle sent a shiver through her skin, and a faint moan escaped her lips when she felt him gently nip her earlobe.
“If you keep this up, even if I do remember something, I won’t tell you—just so you’ll keep going,” she replied, smiling. The man looked at her, his forehead resting against hers.
“You’re still you, after all. I’d fall for you all over again if I were the one who’d forgotten.”
He opened the door and ushered her into a massive, delicately decorated bedroom. She stepped inside cautiously, terrified of breaking a silence that felt sacred.
“Does this place bring back any memories?”
The man led her in front of an enormous mirror, and she caught her pale reflection. His large hands grabbed her waist with total confidence. The practiced way he touched her body made her wonder if he was a womanizer. Had he brought countless other women here before?
He watched her expectantly in the reflection. She frowned.
“Did you remember something?” he asked hopefully.
“How many women have you brought to this room?” Augustine asked instead.
The man was taken aback and didn’t know what to say. Finally, he laughed. “Are you serious? Are you jealous?”
He turned her around to face him.
“You’re so adorable like this that I’m tempted to just let it go and not have you recover your memory,” he teased, hugging her.
“But I do want you to remember me. If you did, it wouldn’t even cross your mind that there’s anyone else for me.
You’d know that our destiny belongs only to the two of us.
There are no other women, no other men, who have any place between us. ”
How easy and simple it was to be happy by this man’s side. She remembered nothing about him, but she completely got why she loved him.
In that moment, a strange sensation made the strength drain from her legs. A feeling of emptiness in her chest took over, and everything became distant.
“Augustine?” she heard the man’s desperate call. Her man… Alderian’s call.
She clung to that name as she sank into darkness.
* * *
“Augustine?” Alderian shouted desperately as he saw her gaze go vacant and felt her limp body in his arms. Never, in all the cycles of incarnations they’d shared, had they experienced anything like this.
Dying and incarnating always felt like an infinite dance where only one of them was on the dance floor.
Never both dancing, never both sitting and resting.
For both to be in A’aru while one of them still had a tether to the human world was completely unheard of.
He didn’t know how to act, or what to expect.
He tried in vain to recall what it felt like to return to A’aru after incarnating as a human. It was useless. Lethe’s Oblivion was implacable. He only had memories of being Alderian, in his eternal palace.
Aldana would forget everything—her entire existence as Augustine—even this last stolen moment they’d shared.
And what about him? Once Augustine died, would he be forced back into the human world?
He carried her to the bed and inspected her. Her features were changing subtly. Less and less of Augustine remained in her face. But she still had no wings. She was still alive on the human plane, but barely.
He needed to return her as soon as possible, but how?
Her breathing slowed, returning to a normal rhythm. And then he felt it, like an underground current, a flow of dark energy. Augustine’s presence grew heavier. In the faint gloom of A’aru’s light, wild Shadows took silent refuge beneath Augustine.
He considered eliminating them immediately. Their presence in A’aru was a sacrilege. But he stayed quiet, acting as if he’d noticed nothing. After all, they were Augustine’s Shadows, and he’d already witnessed how far they could go to protect her.