[ Old World – Shoreline – Aftermath ( we continue after Autumn's visit to Orion at the bridge between the worlds) ]
The grey disappeared like a blop!
Autumn staggered.
It was as if the ground had been ripped out from beneath her, as if she had been hurled from the sky. Her lungs collapsed, her knees buckled…
…but she never hit the sand.
Strong arms locked around her, breaking the fall. Her face pressed briefly against comfortable heat…her trembling lashes brushed against rough clothing.
Autumn's eyes shot open and met Kieran's.
The shoreline blurred around them, the soldiers, the hiss of cooling fire, even the lingering scent of rot. None of it reached her. Only those eyes. That unwavering golden gaze.
And in the silence between their locked stares, Orion's voice surged back in her head.
"…we got something wrong."
Her breath stuttered. Her lashes fluttered violently as though trying to blink the memory away, but it only clung harder.
