Filed to story: The Chosen Saga Novel PDF Free
“Do you remember these dreams with us? With your mates?”
“Every detail.” Araiya paused while Soren just smiled at her. “You’re saying that if I remember, if it is this vivid, the dream is real?”
“More than likely, my child.” Araiya shuddered. “Tell me what troubles you.”
“The darkness comes to me in these dreams. He tells me that he will make me his bride, his mate. He will make me bear his young, or I will die.” Araiya rubbed her arms. “I refuse to allow him to touch me, but sometimes he appears as one of my men. Mac, River, even Talon, I think. I don’t know who is who anymore.”
Soren leaned over and hugged Araiya, rubbing her arms and kissing her forehead. “His darkness was never one to be spontaneous. Never one to be sentimental. What do your men call you? Araiya? A pet name?”
“River, he calls me Lamb. Mac, in a dream he called me Firebug. Terran, I haven’t seen him in a dream yet.”
“When they call you their pet names, that is your true men. What does the other call you, the darkness that hunts you?”
“He calls me his brood mare, mate, or worse, my love, when he is trying to pretend.”
“That is the darkness, the corruption. He will try to corrupt you to his will. He will fluctuate between causing pain and vying for your love. He will control you then try to win you over to his side. But that will be important. That is how you tell the difference. He will flip flop between his warring sides.”
“What if he finds out what the others call me? What if he tries to imitate them?”
“When you’re free, come up with a way that only your men will know how to signal you that it is them. That way you will know for sure. His darkness doesn’t seem to be one to imitate my enforcers, but I cannot say he wouldn’t.”
Araiya looked down at her hands. “I…I don’t know what I should do.” Araiya drew in a breath. “Soren, what should I do?”
“Do about what?”
“I’m being held and tortured. I have zero access to reach the Elements and I have no way out of here.”
“Okay. This might sound callous, but what can you do about that? If you believe there is no way for you to reach the Elements, then that will continue to be the truth. You will continue to be trapped and tortured until something changes, or your mates find you.”
“What if they don’t find me? What if they don’t want to?”
“Why in the realm would you even think that they wouldn’t want to find you?”
“Talon, he isn’t my mate, but my protector. I had a dream that he came to me and told me that he wasn’t coming to find me. That I deserved everything I was going through and more. Then when Mac and River came, they said he was helping. Is he helping? Is he hindering? Or did I make it all up?”
“He said what?”
“That I deserved it. What did I do to him? Why does everyone I care about turn on me?”
“Shush, my sweet, darling girl. Come here.” Soren opened her arms and Araiya collapsed. “It’s okay. You know deep down that you do not deserve to be where you are. You do not deserve to have the life you have lived so far, and I am so very sorry that I am unable to stop it. I wish there was another way. But there wasn’t. I wish that it wasn’t so hard. But it has to be.”
“I wish you were here with me.”
“I am with you, Araiya. I might have gone past the veil, but I will always be with you.” Soren kissed her forehead. “You have to wake up now.”
“I don’t want to go back.”
“I know, but they are coming for you. Wake up. Something is wrong.”
“Soren.”
“Araiya. Araiya, wake up. Please wake up. Please.” Araiya was staring at Soren, but it was Korine’s voice that she heard. Araiya shook her head. “Please Goddess, Araiya, they are almost here. I was wrong, wake up. Please.” Araiya looked, but Korine was nowhere to be seen.
Araiya closed her eyes and shook her head again. “Soren…”
“Wake up,” Korine’s voice whispered directly into her ear. Araiya turned and no one else was there. “Rai, please just wake up.” Araiya felt someone squeeze her hand. “Please wake up, I can’t face them alone.”
Araiya looked at Soren one last time before she leaned in and kissed Soren’s cheek. “Thank you.”
“Always, sweet girl. Until next time.”
Araiya was woken up by a soft kick to her back. “This is your fault. Look at my face.” Korine reared back and kicked her again, harder, causing her to scream.
“That’s enough, wife.”
“She is the reason I am here. She is the reason I am disfigured. She is the reason that I am married to you.”