Empyreal: Awaken - Book One by Christal M. Mosley

“You're
kidding, right?!?!”
    Trying to conceal the smile on his
face, he shook his head.
    “No way! You can't be serious...” she
continued nervously, afraid that he was.
    “You said that you trusted me,
right?”
    She shrugged.
    “Then, let's go!” He said, holding out
his hand.
    Reluctantly, she took his hand, and
let him lead her to the edge of the building's rooftop.
    He turned to her and put his other
hand on the side of her face. “You'll be fine... just follow my
lead...” He moved up onto the ledge, overlooking the three story
drop.
    Court gave Coralie's hand a tight
squeeze and let go. Then in another instant, he jumped.
    Coralie rushed to look over the edge,
knowing that she would see a pile of broken bloodiness. Instead,
she saw Courtland gracefully land in the grassy vacant lot that ran
alongside the building. Court turned and stared up at her,
motioning for her to do the same.
    Coralie shook her head, no.
    Again, he motioned, beckoning for her
to jump and join him on the ground below. Coralie back away from
the ledge and looked around, her heart starting to race. As the
panic of her dilemma began to set in, she moved back to the ledge
and took another look down at Court. She looked directly into his
eyes. His warm, inviting, trustworthy eyes.
    “You can do this...” he mouthed, “Come
on, now, trust me...”
    Hesitantly, Coralie crawled up onto
the ledge. She rose slowly and nervously to her feet, took a deep
breath, and looked toward the sky.
    Dear Lord, please catch me, don't
let me hit the ground ... I'm sure it is awfully hard when hit,
trying to defy the laws of gravity ...
    “Coralie, Come on ... trust me...”
Court called up to her, as quiet as he could, trying not to call
attention to the two of them.
    Coralie looked down at Court for a
single, mere second.
    All of the sudden, she heard a sound
come from the direction of the escape door. She closed her eyes
tight, and then jumped.
    She could feel the air engulfing her
as she plunged downward from the ledge of the building. A part of
her wanted to open her eyes, to see what was beneath her and how
close she was to hitting the hard ground. But she couldn't. She
couldn't bring herself to open them.
    Falling ... Falling ... her
arms and legs were attempting to flail about her, but she continued
to try to contain them, keeping them close to her body. Suddenly,
just as quickly as she had begun her descend to the grassy
side-lawn, her body stopped.
    She didn't move. She was afraid.
Afraid to even attempt to open her eyes. Afraid of what she might
see. Afraid of what she might not...
    After much deliberation within
herself, she slowly began to open her eyes. She found herself
staring into Court's calmingly beautiful, blue eyes. Suddenly,
Coralie became very conscious of the fact that she had spent a few
too many moments staring noticeably wistfully at him.
    Apprehension set in.
    She had just jumped from the rooftop
of a three-story building. Oddly, she realized that her feet were
still not touching the ground. Court was cradling her in his
arms.
    Had he really just caught
her? From a three-story fall?
    Court continued to allow his confident
leer to show through his lips.
    “Nice catch!” Coralie said,
unbelieving of what had just happened.
    “More like a safety snatch, really...”
Court said, smirking. Coralie looked at him with confusion, but
before she could say a word, he added, “We really need to work on
your form...”
    Court gently let Coralie out of his
arms. As her feet lightly impressed the ground, she felt his hand
take hers. “We're not quite finished, come on, this way...” He led
her stealthily down the stone sidewalk that led to the front lawn
of the building.
    Coralie began to hear voices. The
voices were getting louder as the two neared the front of the
building.
    The Benefit guests , Coralie
thought … the vacating guests had stopped their fleet from the
building and congregated on the front lawn to discuss the