Free MILITARY ROMANCE: The War Within Himself (Alpha Bad Boy Marine Army Seal) (Contemporary Military Suspense & Thriller Romance) by Claire Branson Page A

anything?
    The day before sleep came to claim me, I marked a “K” out on the floor with twigs. It served as a reminder. 
    The following day, I entered the darkness of the long sleep, and I could only see her. When the sleep came to claim me, I drifted into it smiling.
    ***
    Alena.
    She stood by the darkened fireplace, pearly skin reflecting the dusk light. She seemed impossibly tall, her robes falling like sculpted ice. Her eyes closed, she seemed regal. Like the statues Kiryla had seen in holy parades. But pagan.
    Kiryla watched her sink into herself, seeking inner clarity.
    Opposite her, Kiryla breathed as she had been taught, using each breath to focus the mind. Her energy focused in with Alena who supported her in her own ritual.
    Alena stood with her eyes closed. Her expression lax and tranquil, she showed evidence of being in communion with Spirit.  She breathed out suddenly and raised her arms above her head.
    Kiryla felt the energy in the room lift, moving skywards and straining for the clouds. The air pulsed and throbbed.
    Then Alena brought down her arms.
    A rush, a crackle, and something like lightning passed through the room. The fire, which had been dead, sprung to life.
    Everything laid very, very silent. The crackling life of the fire whispered in the room, hungrily consuming dry logs, the only noise in the house.
    Across the crackle of the flames, Alena opened her eyes. The light played over their dark, reflective surface.  She wore an enigmatic smile.
    “Right.” Her voice sounded flat, pragmatic. “Is it your turn?”
    Kiryla felt her heart swell and clench at once. “I...”
    “Maybe not today,” her teacher demurred. “When you feel ready. It will not come, otherwise.”
    “I...thank you,” Kiryla breathed out.
    She loved this most about her teacher. There was no pushing, no pressure, in her lessons. She allowed each thing to happen of its own accord.
    They sat a moment, coming back to that place and time.
    “You will go home soon?” Alena asked quietly .
    “I… Yes.” Kiryla blinked. Sunset approached. The light outside was a dusky mauve. “I really should.”
    Alena looked out of the window, her eyes unfocused. A long pause.
    “Yes, you should be getting home,” she said after a while. Her mouth twisted wryly. “I think something interesting might happen on the way back.”
    Opposite her, Kiryla felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. Even so, she could not help smiling. Typical of her teacher to be so enigmatic.
    She passed her the basket of berries, fresh bread and other provisions she had brought as thanks.
    “You make things full of surprises, don't you?” Kiryla asked as she left, and leaned in impulsively to kiss the older woman on the cheek.
    “My dear, the Universe does that,” her teacher said as Kiryla retreated to the door, her step light and happy. “You attract surprises, and I foresee them.”
    Teacher and pupil shared a radiant grin, and then Kiryla bounded down the steps, practically skipping in the spring air.
    ***
    It is late at night, now. My candles are burned down.
    My memories are dragging me back to the time we truly touched. The time that ignited the fires that burn inside me now. I have to set them down and assuage my torment.
    In this memory, I am still a bear, and the trees are still leafless. Rivulets of ice have settled on their bark, glinting blueish in the crisp evening…
    Spring evenings. Cold. I hate the cold . I walked up through the trees, grumbling. 
    Even my mind was exhausted by the effort, as I pulled my emaciated body up the incline. Rest. Wait .
    My breath whistled in my lungs. I looked at the back of my hand and saw my bones curled beneath the fur.  I needed to eat. And soon. I paused for breath a moment longer, and then carried on.
    My senses told me someone was coming.  The footsteps sounded light and crisp.  Whoever that approached I felt was happy. It was good to hear such lightness of foot, if a little incongruous, given