Breaking Away (The Man in the Shadows) by Erin M. Truesdale Page B

the kisser. He could only breathe through his mouth now, but he couldn’t help his brain thinking in a flash that blood stains would tarnish his favorite jacket.
    Sitting up entirely, his eyes ratcheted up, little by little, to see Maika, lying on the bed as still as a gravestone, despite someone having just crashed through her front door. Struggling to find the floor, his feet slipped and skidded him over to her bedside, to make sure she wasn’t dead. He felt a breath come from her mouth, and knew she was physically alright.
    Hovering above her, he studied her peaceful face. Her skin was an exquisite shade of tan, like golden wheat, from working and playing in the outdoors. Several freckles lined her cheeks and nose, and her eyelashes curved from her eyelids like a row of dancers wearing dark leotards with outstretched arms. Black as onyx, her hair laid over her pillow like silk flowing over a royal lady’s knee. Her lips were slightly parted, and were still moist and supple from her earlier exchange with an invisible person. She was pleasant and cute, and always full of cheer. Inside her brain, she held all of Ethan’s secrets, all that he had dared to share with her, secrets only shared between the very best of friends. What else hid inside of her? The only secret he had hidden from her, may just be the one to do her in.
    His head sunk, chin hitting his chest. His fingers found their way to her face, and he ran them over her cheek, cherishing her. Regretting his reaction to her kiss, to her love, he bit the inside of his cheek, and looked away from her, ashamed.
    “I should have never done that to you.” The words were uttered so softly, they were like musical notes being carried by the wind, quiet, distant. Knowing no one could hear it now, he said in vain, “I love you, Maika.”
    Her eyes opened then, and she said, lowly, as if the words weren’t entirely hers, “Of all the wonderment in the world...”
    Turning his head in her direction again, he regained his hope. “Darling...”
    “The man in the shadows works in mysterious ways,” she breathed, as if in a dream, as if hypnotized. “He whispers in the dark and guards you...”
    His eyebrows came together, creasing his forehead into thin, delicate lines. Befuddled, he said, “Darling, wake up... This is Ethan.”
    Her eyes slowly came to focus on his face, yet she looked confused. “E... Ethan?” Once the fact of who he was hit her, her mouth opened in awe and excitement, with a hint of embarrassment, and she sat up. “Ethan!!”
    Maika catapulted towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck, like she always did when she hugged him. Crying, she choked, “What happened? I thought I would never see you again.”
    “Never see me again?” He almost laughed at the thought. “Why would you think that?”
    “I saw another world... full of castles and a purple sky and people wearing black cloaks... and they called me ‘The Key’... I felt like I belonged there, and my vague, almost...” she fought for the correct words, “... suppressed memory of you reminded me of my real home...” Tears burst forth from her eyes then, falling to the back of Ethan’s jean jacket, soaking dark spots on the fabric. “They said I was home, but deep down I knew I wasn’t...”
    “Shhh,” Ethan comforted her, rocking her gently. “It was just a dream. I will never leave you.”
    “I’m not so sure...” Maika pushed back from him then, to study him. A look of horror took over her expression of joy. “What happened to your face?!”
    ***
    Greta sat with her feet tucked under her, sheer gown clinging to her arms and back, defining the perfect curves of her body, her hips, her breasts. By her people, she was considered a pillar of beauty, intelligence, and authority. Her blonde hair, shining like the sun in the candle light, was worn down, falling in loose ringlets around her shoulders. Normally, she was in her military uniform, dark green, stiff and rigid,