Read Mira's Hope for Free Online

He
coughed wetly, blood oozing from his mouth. Galena crouched down
beside him. She heard Tark walk up behind her and crouched down as
well, but he seemed to be giving her space for which she was
grateful.
    “You didn’t think I would leave this world
without you, did you?” Galena brushed the hair from his eyes. She
tilted her head so she could see his face more clearly. “Hold still
my love while I heal you. We’ll have time for hellos in a moment.”
As she had with Tark, she placed a hand over the gaping wound in
his stomach. She found it slightly harder to concentrate on healing
him while painful waves continued to pour through her, but she
fought on. Her magic flowed through her, healing Elenio as she’d
done with Tark. She had quite a bit more blood to replenish with
him though. When she finished, she sat back on her heels and
watched him sit up.
    He kept his eyes trained on her the whole
time. She could feel the uncertainty running through his mind. She
reached out a hand and stroked the side of his face, enjoying the
texture of him. She smiled at him, hoping to prove that it was
truly her. Tears filled his eyes as he continued to stare and then
he tackled her. She was on her back with Elenio’s arms wrapped
around her and laying on top. He kissed every inch of her face,
telling her how much he loved her with every kiss. Galena didn’t
know whether to cry or laugh, so she settled on a combination of
both.
    Pushing on his shoulders to encourage him to
let her up as breathing was suddenly becoming an issue; she sat up
and wiped the tears from her face.
    Elenio kneeled on the ground before her, a
goofy smile spreading across his face. “You came back,” he said
again.
    “No, Mira sent me back. I remember
overwhelming pain and then everything went black. I felt like I was
swimming in a void, unable to catch my breath and not wanting to. I
felt my mind slipping and I no longer cared. Then, there was her
voice. She called to me and I came rushing back.”
    Elenio reached out, grabbed the nape of her
neck with one hand, and hauled her to him. They had shared a couple
of kisses, but this spoke of his gladness and love. Breaking the
kiss, he leaned his forehead against her own as he’d done so many
times before. Tark came up behind her and wrapped his arms around
her too. The three of them sat that way for some time, enjoying
their triumph.
    Elenio grabbed her hands and really looking
at them for the first time since he’d placed her in the pool, he
exclaimed loudly, “Your marks are gone.”
    Galena smiled at him while Tark looked over
her shoulders so he could see as well. “Mira took them away,” she
said shyly.
    “If we step in the pool, will the same happen
to us?” Tark asked grabbing her hand so he could get a better look
at her clean skin. “Amazing,” he remarked, his voice filled with
awe.
    “No, I asked.”
    Tark released her hand as she stood up.
Elenio, however, kept a hold of her other hand, and stood with her,
his eyes trained on her through the whole process.
    “I know roughly where we’re headed. And if we
want to get some distance between us and Rau, we need to get going
now.”
    “You don’t think he can sense you still?”
Elenio asked as they headed to where Tark dropped their packs.
    “No, but I’m sure he’ll hear of this
soon.”
    “How?” Elenio asked, smugness filling his
voice as he swept an arm in the direction of all the dead torlic
bodies.
    “I imagine he’ll piece it together when his
minions don’t return with their reports,” Tark said, falling in
stride with Galena.
    “Either way, I have had my fill of mountain
top brawls.” Elenio reached down to grab his own pack and swinging
it onto his back exclaimed, “It’ll be nice to have only a single
pack to carry this time around. I don’t know if you realize this,
but you’re heavy when you’re not conscious.” He grinned
mischievously at Galena, taking in her murderous stare.
    She glared at him for a moment