Read what happens after the finale, Fateful Echoes (Sweet Burden Series Vol. 3)...
(**SPOILERS**)
Pt. 2
The Exception
(Sweet Burden Series)
Pt. 2
Hitomi tried to put off contacting her father, but Obi
remained persistent. Three days passed since Jinx’s arrival, but he left after
only a day to go talk to Zeric. Obi told her the basics of Jinx’s story.
Basically Sabra used him, keeping him as her lover and when he refused to give her
what she wanted she decided to take what she desired in the form of Zeric. Obi
didn’t go into much more detail. He seemed okay with what Jinx told him, but
she knew he was also occupied with what was going on with her.
During the past few days Hitomi had a few more memory-walking
episodes. She went into one of Obi’s memories, one of Sophie’s and two of
Kerry’s. She tried to make light of them, but Obi wouldn’t drop the subject. He
started practically begging her to contact her father. In truth, Hitomi was
scared to find out if darkness could still be inside her.
She lay in bed early in the morning listening to Obi’s
rhythmic breathing. Hitomi leaned over and kissed his cheek. He let out a hum,
but didn’t wake. Slowly she climbed out of bed and changed into a bathing suit.
She felt the need to clear her head and since arriving in the Heavens swimming
seemed to be the only way. It was extremely early and the palace grounds were
quiet.
Hitomi moved down the steps of the pool and submersed
herself. She stayed below the surface for a few moments enjoying the silence
before leisurely swimming laps. The water moving across her skin felt like silk
and she easily forgot her worries until she suddenly forgot herself.
“Are you alright?” a voice asked.
Hitomi shivered and brought her head up. Through blurry eyes, she glimpsed a hand
outstretched to her. It was Obi and this was the first time she met him.
“I’ll be fine,” Hitomi mumbled in
between sniffles and shudders. She remembered trying to make out who the hand
was connected to. She wiped away her tears and saw Obi. His face was hidden in
shadows, but she would recognize him anywhere.
“You should get out of this alley,”
he pushed his hand closer to her, motioning with his fingers to come with him.
Her former self was initially
apprehensive, but now she longed to touch him. She stretched her hand out and
placed it in his. She steadied herself on her feet and tightened her grip on
her shirt.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” he
questioned.
She looked down at herself. She had
been terrified at the time, but Obi made everything seem to disappear. Her gaze
shifted to their hands still clasped together and she nodded. Hitomi lifted her
head to see him as he squeezed her hand, but then he quickly let go and turned
away from her. She wanted to throw herself into his arms, but this was a
memory, not a dream.
“Please don’t leave.” His voice said
behind her. Hitomi turned and suddenly she was in her room. Obi was lying on
her bed. This memory was when Obi came to her after he was whipped and tortured
for failing to kill her.
“You need to get some sleep,” she
said.
“I’ll sleep better if you’re here,”
he replied.
Her body trembled as she moved back
over. “Okay.” She set down the bowl she had in her hands from cleaning his
wounds and moved the chair back over to her desk. She sat down and opened her
laptop as she heard him moving around in the bed. She listened to it creak as
he got comfortable and then it was silent. Hitomi stopped herself from peering
over her shoulder to look at him.
“Come here,” he mumbled after a few
minutes.
“Obi, go to sleep.” Hitomi remembered
feeling so nervous. She knew what he meant at the time, but she was so
inexperienced.
“Not until you come here.”
Hitomi turned to him. He was lying on
his side facing her and he had scooted back towards the wall. Her heart began
racing as she stood up. She recalled how she thought his eyes looked different.
They looked warmer. She walked over to the bed and wondered inside how she
didn’t fall into his arms.
“Do you need something?” she asked
stupidly.
He quietly sighed and closed his
eyes. Obi’s hand lazily lay on the empty side of the bed. He lightly patted the
mattress. As she pulled back the sheet, it felt as though sparks were hitting
all of her nerves even in the memory. She slowly climbed into bed and brought
the sheet up over her. She shifted onto her side facing him. How did she not
realize she loved him even this early into knowing him?
“Are you warm enough?” she asked.
He nodded his head as his eyes
opened. Obi moved his free hand up to where Hitomi had hers tucked under the
pillow. Reaching under the pillow, he laid his hand on top of hers. Hitomi
wondered if he felt the wave of warmness move over his body when they touched
as she did. He watched her as if he was waiting for her to pull away. But she
didn’t. She welcomed his touch. He let out a little hum and his eyes closed
again.
Hitomi wanted to lay there and watch
him forever, but she moved from the bed and as she turned around she was
suddenly running through the woods. Her lungs ached from the cold damp air. Her
mud covered feet felt numb. She grabbed onto a tree to quickly catch her
breath. Hitomi leaned back against the trunk and tried to focus on slowing her
gasps. She tilted her head up looking for the sky, but it could not be seen due
to thick tree coverage. Her body shuddered violently from the frigid air or
maybe it was her desperation. She remembered feeling overwhelming anxiety. She
had to find Obi.
She scraped her feet against a patch
of moss at the base of the tree trying to clean them off as much as possible.
Despite her freezing, a trickle of sweat traveled down the side of her face and
she wiped it away. She took a deep breath preparing for another run. She
stepped away from the tree swiveling her head from right to left when she saw
him walking in her direction.
His head was down and his hands
stuffed in his pockets as he unknowingly walked towards her. She took a few
steps towards him and stood directly in his sight line. Suddenly his head
lifted and his eyes met hers. He stopped for a second as she started forward.
Her heart was ready to burst through
her chest as her pace accelerated. His hands slipped out of his pockets as he
moved to her. Her mind raced as her steps turned into a jog. Their eyes were
fixed on each other as the distance between them shortened. She was almost to
him, only a few feet away, when she abruptly stopped. If there was a way to
kick her other self she would have, but she knew how nervous she had been.
But Obi did not stop. He stepped up
to her, placing his hands on the sides of her face. Obi leaned down pulling her
face to his and pressed his lips hard against hers for their first kiss.
His hands moved down grasping at her
waist and bringing her closer to him, but now tears were streaming down her
cheeks as she moved her hand up to his chest. She could feel the heat of her
hand as it started to burn brightly. This was one of the moments she always regretted
and having to see it again was painful.
“I’m sorry,” Hitomi whispered against
his lips. She pushed her hand hard to his chest and stumbled back, but she couldn’t
stop herself. She wanted to lose her voice. She wanted to stop it, but the
memory continued. “Obsidian, I release you from your duty as my protector and
I, as Goddess of Light, fully remove all protector powers bequeathed upon you.”
Obi jerked as if electricity shot
through his entire body. His eyes widened as shock spread across his face and
then suddenly he became enraged. He grabbed her arms tightly. “What have you
done?”
“I had to release you. I can’t risk
you getting hurt again.”
His grip on her intensified as he
violently shook his head. “But there’s always a risk. I’m still going to be
next to you, bound or not.” His voice got louder. “Don’t you understand that I
love you?”
“I know Obi.” She pulled out of his
grasp and stepped backwards. “But I can’t be selfish anymore. It was
preposterous of me to think that I could become the Goddess of Light, rule the
Heavens, and have you all at the same time. It can’t be done.” She now knew it
could be done. It was done. They were happily together. Hitomi had to remind
herself that these events were in the past, but seeing them again didn’t make
it easier. She knew the horrid events that followed too well.
When she blinked her eyes again,
Hitomi was kneeling in the snow over Obi’s body as she thought he lay dying. “Please
Obi,” Hitomi begged. She dropped her head down onto his chest feeling the wet
sticky blood against her face. There was barely any beat to his heart left.
“Let me save you.”
“You already did.” He let go of her
hands and ran his fingers through her hair. “You let me love you. You made me a
better person.” He turned his head glancing back at Guri. “Deiman is still
nearby. You need to get her out of here. Please Guri, take her.”
Hitomi lifted her head slightly and
looked up at him. He had a slight smirk on his face and tears in the corners of
his eyes. She brought her face up to meet his and put her hands on either side
of his neck. Lowering her face, she pressed her lips against his. He kissed her
back weakly.
“I love you Obi. I love you,” she cried
in between kisses.
She felt his hand fall from her hair
and suddenly his lips were motionless. Hitomi pulled back looking at him. Even
now the memory felt like a fresh wound.
“Obi? Obi!” Hitomi shook him
fiercely. She squeezed her eyes shut not wanting to see anymore.
“Hitomi, I…” Obi started breaking the
silence as her eyes shot open seeing him in the reflection of the mirror. But
at this moment, he was Mattias to her. She had yet to remember their past. He
abruptly stopped his words as his eyes traveled over her. “You look so
beautiful.”
Her heart pounded in her chest. She
recalled wanting to say so many things, but she didn’t know how to express all
the feelings bottled up inside her. She opened her mouth to say something, but
the words caught in her throat. She swallowed and tried again, but this time
before she could Obi rushed up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. His
body trembled against hers as she melted into his embrace. Her eyes lifted to
his as they watched each other in the mirror. The electricity of his touch
pulsed through her and instantly warmed her.
He lowered his head and skimmed her
shoulder with his lips before pressing them lightly against her neck. “I can’t
bring myself to stay away from you,” he whispered.
“I never asked you to.” Her voice
came out thick and shaky.
His eyes met hers again in the
reflection. “Actually, once upon a time you did but I don’t listen very well.”
A smile hinted at the corners of his mouth.
“How are you here?”
“It doesn’t matter. All that matters
is that I’m here.” He reached up and moved her hair away from her neck. “We
don’t have much time.”
“It’s not safe for you here.”
“I’m not leaving you here. Not
again.”
“Mattias, I can’t leave…”
He tightened his grip on her waist.
“You’re not going to be able to stop me from taking you out of here. I will
throw you over my shoulder and drag you out if I need to. I can’t protect you
here.”
“But the Heavens. I can’t leave
London in power.”
“Hitomi.” He spun her around to face
him tangling the bottom of her dress around her feet. He didn’t give her
another chance to protest. Obi gripped her waist and brought his lips to hers.
Every ounce of want and need poured out of them. His mouth was firm and
slightly rough at first, but when Hitomi wrapped her arms around his neck they
softened. His teeth nipped at her lower lip as Hitomi’s fingers moved up his
neck pushing into the waves of his hair. A groan vibrated through his throat
and he tightened his grip while lifting her from the floor.
When he lowered her to the ground,
there was a roar of applause. Hitomi couldn’t stop smiling as Obi kissed her
again. Even though there were over a hundred pairs of eyes on them, she felt
like they were the only two in the entire world. Their wedding was a
breathtaking event marking the beginning of a time of peace.
“As much as I want to keep kissing
you right now…” Obi whispered.
“Then don’t stop,” she said. Hitomi
recalled wanting to spend the whole day wrapped in his arms, but they were King
and Queen of the Heavens. Unfortunately there were expectations, but even so Hitomi
wanted to spend a few moments alone with her husband.
Obi laughed and suddenly scooped her
up in his arms. “Your wish is my command, my love.” He leaned over kissing her
again as he moved down the aisle. Hitomi barely noticed the guests clapping and
throwing flower petals. Her smile was wide across her face and she couldn’t
stop laughing as he peppered her with kisses.
He carried her away from the crowd
moving down the beach. When he let her down, he knelt in front of her and
slipped off her shoes.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Getting a little time alone with you
before we go to the reception.” Obi took his shoes off as well. He carried
their shoes in one hand and took her hand in the other. “Was the wedding
everything you ever wished for?”
“Were you there?” she asked slyly.
Obi grinned and nodded.
“Then, yes. It was everything I ever
wished for.”
“C’mon.” He pulled on her arm and led
her along the water. As they walked along the beach everything became
blindingly white. Obi’s hand disappeared and Hitomi spun around in the
nothingness.
“Obi?” she called out. Her head
turned looking for any sign of him, but then she noticed a small speck of
darkness in the distance. She started towards it tentatively, but then she was
running. As she neared it, the speck turned into a doorway. There two huge
wooden double doors in the middle of oblivion. One of the doors was cracked
open and a child stood with their back to her. The little boy was dressed in a
white shirt and shorts. He had deep auburn hair that was slightly messy.
“Excuse me?” She knelt down behind
him.
The little boy turned to her with his
rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes. He smiled and laughed before running through
the doorway. The door closed with a deep thud.
“Wait!” She hurried after him, stumbling
through the doorway.
Hitomi stepped onto the plush grass as the sun warmed her
skin. As her eyes adjusted, she realized she was in the courtyard where she
always met Isbian. How was she in the High Court suddenly? She searched for the
boy, but he was gone.
She moved over to the ambrosia tree and plucked a fruit from
the branches. She thought about all the memories she relived. Every one of them
had to do with Obi. What was significant about those memories? It started to
worry her when she felt a presence. Turning, she expected to see her father but
it wasn’t him. Two beings were watching her as they stood outside one of the
rooms. They were both dressed purely in white and watching her with curiosity.
She then noticed three other beings emerge from another room. They stopped and
watched her as well. Suddenly they were surrounding her sending her nerves
racing.
It seemed they did know
something she didn’t.
(To Be Continued)
