Free Pine Needles (Veil Realms Series) by Karli Rush Page A

slept. Sirius says this will give you some nourishment and strength, but…”
    Wiping the juices from my mouth with the back of my hand, I turn to ask her, “But what?” 
    “This is a subject Sirius should be speaking to you ab out, not from someone like me. All I can tell you is the conversion changes everyone in some way or another, most of the human males seems to be very receptive.” Intently she picks up the wooden containers, maintaining a guarded visage she angles her back to me.
    Narrowing my gaze at her as she places the leftover fruit and bowls in a large vine-woven basket I pry for more answers, “Nevaeh… and the women, how many of the women live through the conversion?” My bluntness startles her as she kneels down to grab the Sispin berries that spilled from her hand.
    Staring blankly at the barren dirt floor avoiding my eyes she answers with a vacant voice, “Not many.” Worry casts over her expression as she looks condolingly over to me and adds, “They see things, and feel things beyond their control. Overriding their senses so powerfully they become unbalanced and the queen ultimately finds a means to an end. I don’t think I need to explain any further to you Selene, I’m sure you can figure it out.”
    She rises holding the ba sket, tucking in the last fruit as she speaks to me over her shoulder, “I’m going to give this to Nina, just stay seated and rest. I’ll be right back.” The second she steps through the doorway and out of the hut I grip the strongly thatched wall and pull myself up.
    Surprisingly , I stand with no hint of pain or numbness, an approving smile grows as I move my feet across the artless flooring. I guide my hands down my bare legs in pure appreciation and astonishment. With more confidence I remove my hand gingerly away from the wall and meander about the area.
    I’m completely relishing in the simplicity of walking again, thankful for every step when a sudden movement catches in the corner of my eye. On the far side of the hut a tiny rodent scampers across the floor, not quite sure if it’s a rat or a mutated hairless mouse, but what triggers my nerves is how I’m seeing it.
    Heat vision? Do I now possess a sixth sense? Blinking my eyes , focusing on the body heat of the creature, waves of red fluctuate through its body as it awkwardly runs back down a hollow gap in-between the wall and flooring. Leaning my back against the wall I slump down dumbfounded, it wasn’t a hallucinatory dream.
    I rest my arm across my knees and study the mark on my inner wrist. What does it mean? What does it all mean, desperate to distinguish what is real and what is not I rub my thumb over it as if the mark would confess all my tribulations.
    Hide bound boots with layered leather straps stand before me, and I sluggishly aim my sight over his heat excreting body. A light red haze emits from him, more lucid in some areas and my eyes falter back to my branded wrist. “Is this the way I’ll see from now on?”  
    “Tell me what do you see? ” His words snap back to me, emotionless, and I’m uncertain what bothers me more, his lack of sensitiveness or the mark on my wrist. An urge to stand hits me and I rise up to stare at his armored clad form as I hiss out, “I can see the heat from your body.”
    “And do you see anything else?” His massive hand cups my chin and aligns my gaze to his. The golden orbs shine down on me and for the briefest moment I’m locked in his vortex, wanting to absorb what he knows, his thoughts, and his intentions. “Selene?”
    “No, I don’t seem to see anything else…”  I try to free myself from his hold by tugging back, but his sturdy hand remains immovable. Directing my eyes downward, viewing the mocha colored cloth loosely draping my breasts and hips. My once sun-kissed skin is no longer slathered in gold.
    “Why did you mark me the way that you have?” My voice sounds meek and my goal wasn’t to manifest weakness, I am enraged.