Charmed By The Fox's Heart: Superhero Reverse Harem Romance (Cosmic Guardians Book 1), стр. 16
Deep down, I worry Lynx and Astra may have been hurt, but I don’t let myself dwell on the possibility. I have to hold out hope that they’ll find us. Because if they don’t, I have no idea how we’re going to find the gemstones we are supposed to be searching for, or how we’re going to get home.
“You should rest while you can,” Cael whispers. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Even as he speaks words of reassurance, I wonder at him making this promise; telling me that he’ll protect me. But as I lie in his arms, I feel safe. He’s right. This feels so familiar, being this close to him, wrapped up in his embrace. As if it’s the most natural thing in the world, despite the fact that we only recently met.
With a heavy sigh of exhaustion, I close my eyes and force myself to push aside these thoughts. I’m not going to get any more answers tonight and I need to rest. “All right. I’ll try. Goodnight, Cael.”
“Goodnight, Kyra.”
As I allow myself to drift away, I fall back into my nightmare.
A man takes my hands. “We have to go! Now!” he yells.
Terror fills me as he pulls me behind him. We race down a long hallway. An angry mob surrounds us on all sides, but he somehow manages to cut a path through them with his sword.
He glances over his shoulder at me and I cry out as a man sinks a blade deep into his side. “No!”
Chapter 8
Cael
Still asleep, Kyra nestles even closer to me as if instinctively seeking warmth and comfort in my arms. Despite the darkness, the glowing flowers around us cast just enough light that I’m able to see her without difficulty. I reach out and lightly brush the hair back from her face as I study her features. Her long, silken blond hair is spread out beneath her like a beautiful halo. Long lashes are fanned over soft pink cheeks and her lips are partially open in a small o.
Fierce protectiveness fills me as I observe her. She is beautiful—her face angelic as she sleeps. Her small brow furrows softly and I wonder if she is dreaming.
An image from my nightmare flashes through my mind and I inhale sharply as I recognize the terrible dream.
A small whimper escapes her as a tear slips down her cheek. Gently, I touch her shoulder to wake her. “Kyra?”
Her eyes snap open. She draws in a shaking breath.
“Are you all right?”
She turns her gaze to me and then softly shakes her head. “You saw it too, didn’t you?” she whispers.
I nod and then wrap my arms tighter around her, pulling her close. “It’s all right. It was just a nightmare.”
Blinking back her tears, her blue eyes meet mine evenly. “No, they’re not. These aren’t just dreams, Cael. They are memories. I saw you get hurt. You were trying to protect me. Someone stabbed you and I couldn’t do anything but watch.” With a slight clench of her jaw, she turns her gaze up to the sky. “I hate this. It was bad enough when I thought these dreams were just recurring nightmares. But now that I know they were real…”
“I know,” I speak softly. “It’s a lot to process.”
She shakes her head. “It’s not just that, Cael. I… I have these feelings and these emotions, and I don’t know if they’re mine or if they were hers.”
“I feel the same way,” I murmur. “I have this overwhelming need to protect you, and comfort you, and—” I stop just short of saying “love you,” because I don’t know how she’ll react to that. “It’s just… strange to have these memories that are mine and yet… they aren’t. Not of this life, anyway.”
She nods.
In truth, it doesn’t matter to me if these emotions are mine or not. As soon as we arrived here, more of the memories of my past life started coming to me. It’s as if a floodgate was opened in my mind the moment we came to this world.
I wrap an arm around Kyra and pull her close, not just because I want to comfort her but because deep in my soul I feel connected to her. I feel like she’s mine. And I’m hers. I know Lynx and Astra said I was her guard, but as I gaze down at her, nestled against my side, I know now we were much more to each other than just queen and guard.
She was mine and I was hers. I know this, but I do not think she has remembered it yet. And until she does, I’m reluctant to bring it up because in this life… we’re basically still strangers to one another.
I’ve had five years with Aris and several with Lynx. All of this is not entirely new to me like it is to her. I remember how overwhelming it all was when I first discovered that Aris and I shared the same nightmare. Things became even more so when I found Lynx.
She lifts her gaze to me. “I think I’m going to try to get some sleep.”
A cold wind whips through the forest and she shivers against me as I hold her close. “I’ll stay awake for a while and keep watch.”
She closes her eyes. “Thank you, Cael.”
I wrap my arms tight around her. Kyra is completely new to all of this. Despite what we may have been to one another in our past life, what she needs is a friend right now. And I want nothing more than to be whatever she needs.
Chapter 9
Cael
When we wake in the morning, Kyra is still wrapped up in my arms. Half-asleep, I gently nuzzle her hair, breathing deep of her delicate scent. I note a soft hint of jasmine in the long, silken