Page 51 of Vameer

Turning back around, keeping my knees bent, I turn on the faucet and wash my hands.

The water starts to heat, and I let it run over and through my fingers.

I have fought alongside humans before. Camped with them. Watched them haul water from streams and heat it over a fire before use… This is a luxury. Not one I personally need. But one I can appreciate.

After another moment, I turn the faucet off.

Water drips off my fingertips into the sink in a steady rhythm as I stare at my bracelet.

The pull in my chest tells me that I need to go north. So that’s what I’ll do.

I’ll keep going north until I catch her scent.

Until I find her.

I inhale. And apples burst across my senses.

My head snaps up.

And when I look into the mirror, it’s not my reflection I see.

Chapter 19

Rune

Wearing a thong and bra, I step into the bathroom and tug the towel off my head.

My damp hair falls onto my shoulders.

I’ve been restless all morning. All night. And it’s taking everything I have to focus on getting ready for the day.

Crossing the tile floor, I hang my hair towel on a hook near the shower, then I move back to the sink.

I’m reaching for my hair product when the air around me shifts. And my next inhale smells like a thunderstorm.

The weight inside my chest pulses, and heat slides down my limbs.

It smells like that cave.

It smells like him.

I press my hands to my bare stomach.

I need to find him.

My heart jumps an extra beat.

I have to touch him.

The weight in my chest shifts. And I stumble forward a step, bumping into the vanity.

I lift my gaze.

And freeze.

In the glass, where the mirror should show me, with my hair down, wearing my matching baby pink bra and panties. It shows me something else.

Someone else.