Though Alara had meant it when she said she wasnât going to tattle, it still wouldnât help him if someone else stumbled upon them- and if that happened, more likely than not itâd get back to her father and then sheâd be the one in trouble for being in the company of a human. She couldâve decided to save herself and leave the man there, as if sheâd never seen him, but somehow that didnât sit right with her either. Besides, what he said about being out in the forest, in the quiet, it resonated with her- she couldnât deny him a moment of peace considering what he must go through on the daily, could she?Â
It wasnât until Alara noticed that he was plucking weeds that she moved closer to him, and before even she knew it she was kneeling beside him and covering his hand with one of her own. âPlease donât, this is their home,â she said, as she picked up the severed weeds, her attention entirely on them as she cradling them in her palm. As she held her cupped hands over the spot where the man had plucked the weeds, they began to emit a warm glow for a couple seconds before going away. When she drew back her hands, the weeds were intact once again, swaying gently in the breeze. It was only then that she realized what she was doing, and a faint blush dusted her cheeks. âIâm sorry, itâs just- well, we come out here to enjoy the quiet and the serenity, we need to take care not to overstep our welcome, you knowâŚ?â Suddenly feeling a little awkward over her instinctive reaction, Alara sat back on her heels and cleared her throat. âIâm Alara.âÂ
The woman was quiet and Kade didnât hear her as she approached him and knelt beside him to cup his hand. He flinched away from her and pushed himself back flat against the tree heâd been leaning against. By the time he glanced back down at the pulled weeds, they were once again intact and surrounding them was a faint glow. Though magic such as this had always secretly fascinated him, Kade masked his interest with indifference. âTheyâre just weeds,â he said tiredly instead of offering his own name. Kade pushed himself to stand once againâmostly to put some distance between him and her again. The name Alara rang a bell and brought on an uneasy feeling within him though he wasnât entirely sure why.
Wandering to another nearby tree, he leaned against the trunk and ran his hand idly along the bark. For a brief second he wondered what it would be like to have magicâpowerâthe same as her. How different would his life have been, if heâd been born anything but human.
âYou should go,â Kade finally stated. âIt wonât be pretty when they find me.â Because really, it wasnât a matter of âifâ anymore, simply a matter of when. With the damn chip inside him and the collar, it wouldnât be long until a guard was sent to come collect him.Â