“The mountain is breaking.” I could scarcely believe my own words.
Elex grabbed me and turned me to face him. “What?”
“The mountain is breaking. The chosen love is awakening.” I blinked up at him. “The legends are all true. The chosen love is awakening! Can you feel it?”
Barely nodding, he recited the poem from our childhoods.
“Magic is life.
Without magic, we are nothing.
Without life, there is no magic.
Life is magic.”
Working his jaw, Elex could find no words for what we stared at.
“But it was all a story. Just a story.”
“The Temple of the Lost God exists because these aren’t stories. They’re history, Elex. We’re just all too young to know it. Oh, Elex! This is amazing! It’s the beginning of the mountain coming down, reuniting the two halves of our world. The gate will open again!”
Whirling out of his arms, I danced toward the wall with so many crystals, pulsing with all the colors we could imagine.
Elex, next to me in a moment and obviously nervous about this place.
“Please relax, Elex. Nothing is going to happen.”
“Something already has.”
The magic of the crystals called to me, pulling me in, daring me closer. I couldn’t resist a moment longer. With a careful hand, I reached out and made contact with the pulsing rocks. Oddly soft, gentle, yet firm with their instruction, it was not yet time, but soon.
Time for what, though?
“My God. Have you always felt the magic like this?”
“Not until just now. It so rarely speaks to me.”
Withdrawing my hand, thrill and excitement danced through me.
This was what the temple was waiting for and was why they existed at all—the gates, the mountain, the return of the God.
“I have to get back. I have to tell High Master Dorian and the Chiefs of the Temple. Oh, Elex! There’s going to be so much celebration! So much joy and happiness! The God is going to return to us!”
I clasped his arms and whirled us maniacally through the light of the room. The joy bubbled up from deep inside and exploded out of me—laughing and laughing, the sound bouncing off the walls.
Elex pulled me to a stop, and I giggled from being so dizzy. Holding me still to keep me from falling over for a moment, I leaned into him, still laughing.
Elex’s voice brushed against my skin. “Kimber. The crystals are flashing with your laughter…”
My laughter tapered off, and it was plain to see he was right.
My jaw hung unhinged.
Elex caught my eye, and in the sparkle of the crystal lights, I saw something there I’d never seen before. And yet, somehow, I knew it had been there all along.
Elex kissed me. His lips were warm and soft, and I wasn’t surprised. I joined the kiss, without thought, allowing him to possess my mouth. In return, I could possess his, and he tasted as sweet as any dessert I’d ever had.
The kiss didn’t end so much as tapered away, neither of us really wanting to let it go.
