Later that night, the village was very quiet. the night was a symphony of crickets, distant laughter, and the rustle of palms. But tonight was just silent, the silence felt manufactured, like the heavy stone walls were breathing in the air before Amara could get to it.
Soren sat on the floor in the corner of the room, his back against the cold wall, he likes it that way. He hadn't touched the feast the servants had brought, piles of jollof rice, succulent goat meat, and fried plantains that smelled that gave a beautiful smell, the type soren was not accustomed to.
Amara sat on the edge of the massive, silk draped bed, her legs pulled to her chest. The silver cuff on her wrist was cool now, but she could still feel him. It was like a rhythmic tug in her marrow.
You should eat, she told him , her voice small. The Priests say tomorrow you must be strong for the Initiation. The Priests want me fat like a sacrificial ram, Soren replied her without looking at her, without even opening his eyes. "I prefer to be hungry. It keeps my senses sharp."
Amara then looked at him. In the flickering candlelight, he didn't look like a poor boy from Umudi. He looked like something carved from obsidian. "Why do the spirits listen to you? I saw the shadows move when you walked in. Even the village elders... they were always afraid of you, weren't they?
Hearing her voice again soren opened his eyes. The amber glow of his eyes was gone, replaced by a deep, hollow blackness. "Because I don't beg them, Amara. The Priests chant and offer blood because they are beggars. They want favors. I simply... am."
He stood up, and instinctively, Amara flinched. He noticed it . And he stopped midway, a flicker of something like regret or perhaps just curiosity crossing his face.
"I will not hurt you," It wasn't a promise, it was a statement of fact.
"The cuff says otherwise," she whispered, lifting her arm. "Whenever u are angry i do feel it , your anger burned me. I felt your rage like a hot coal in my stomach. she frown while answering him.
After hearing her answer soren walk toward her, slow and deliberate. when Amara saw him coming toward her again, her heart began to race a frantic beat. Because of the bond, Soren's own heart began to accelerate to match hers. He winced, clutching his chest."Stop it," he groaned, his voice straining. "Your fear... it's loud. It's rattling my bones."
"I can't help it!" she cried, tears falling from her eyes. "I was in my parents house just yesterday, Soren! My life include selling peppers, going to farm, harvesting melons,...Now I am locked in a room with a man who talks to ghosts," amara yelled at soren amid her tear."you thinking i want this...this nonsense, " i have a life, and my life does not include this...i even....even had a bethowed
Soren reached out, he ignored the invisible barrier between them. He took her hand, not the one with the cuff, but her bare hand. His skin was burning hot.
The moment their fingers locked, the room went dead silent. The flickering candles steadied. The frantic thudding in their chests smoothed out into a single, heavy, synchronized pulse. The spirits lurking in the corners of the ceiling vanished. Amara gasped, her breath hitching. The tear and fear didn't disappear, but it was dampened by a sudden, overwhelming sense of belonging. It was a psychological trap, like a Spellbound intoxication that made her want to lean into him even as her mind screamed danger. Soren leaned in close, his face inches from hers. He was looking at her lips, then her eyes, then suddenly his brown furrow as it angry at something "don't talk about another man when you are with me" he found himself saying before he could stop himself....he saw the surprise in her face before she ask him, if that is the only thing he heard..."We are the only two people in this city who are real," he whispered. "The rest are just shadows and stone." he ignored her question completely. Slowly, he lifted his head and kissed her chin. she snap her head to look at him, surprised was written on her face, He moved his hand from her hips up to her neck . He let go of her hand as abruptly as he had taken it, leaving her skin tingling and the air feeling suddenly freezing. He returned to his corner, leaving Amara trembling on the bed with the same surprised face staring back at him.
"How dare you, Amara snapped; who told you to kiss me..."i told u i have a boyfriend, do u think u have the right to do that to me, she lash out at him.
"Sleep," he commanded, his voice cold again. "Tomorrow, they will try to break us. Don't let them see you cry. The Oracle feeds on tears.
" I won't; she said in defiance " u can't and won't tell me what to do , in fact keep clear away from me" soren stood up again and Amara wanted to run from the bed" u won't mention that you have another man in your life before me again; he told her in anger before he could stop himself again...at this point he didn't not understand what was happening to him , why he was angry and reacting to the fact that she has another man .
Amara decided to keep quiet this time around... laying down to sleep still watching his silhouette against the moonlit window, she realized one terrifying truth, She wasn't just afraid of the Oracle . She was also afraid of how much she wanted Soren to hold her hand and kiss her again. She was scared .... truly scared...Amara couldn't not sleep that night..she kept tossing and rolling on the bed, she was not used to this kind of luxurious bedding or luxury