Eternal Moon

Chapter 34: Enchanted

The silence that had engulfed them was deafening.

For a second, Jamie had wondered if the supernatural storm had come back when a sound like thunder shook the earth. It clapped violently but suddenly, ending before Jamie even had a chance to catch her breath.

Then the burst of light, so white it blinded her, erupted and she fell back against the ground helplessly. The fall had knocked the wind out of her.

But the silence was the loudest. Her ears rang as her vision started to refocus. Everything was quiet. Stiller than death. She felt the panic build in her throat, her eyes scanning everywhere for any sign of Kane. Nothing moved.

"KANE!"

Her scream broke the silence, setting off a flock of birds from the trees. It tore the air like fabric.

Terror gripped her gut. Had Sorcha come back? Had she done something to Kane? A million questions began swimming through her mind, threatening to drown her. Anxiety made her stomach plummet and her skin was clammy as she searched around the forest.

She shrieked again. "Kane, where are you?!"

Soft footfalls made her jump and she spun around to catch what had made the noise. She froze when she saw Kane standing right beside a tree.

He was naked, standing proudly with a soft smile on his lips. But something was different. Something had... changed. A look of joy covered his face, unlike any other expression she had ever seen on him. Relief. Serenity. Even wonder. As if five hundred years had dropped from him in mere seconds.

A lightness filled her own chest as she stood up and walked toward him. It felt similar to... hope.

"Kane, what...?" Her voice faltered when they reached each other and she rested her hands on his bare chest. "Something's... different."

His eyes captured her own, making her sigh. They were still the most beautiful blue she had ever seen. Now they just held no shadows.

He tipped her chin up gently as she tried to make sense of the changes. "Aye, lass. You broke the curse."

Jamie blinked dumbly. "What?"

He moved her hands to his heart and held them there. "Sorcha's curse. It's over."

"But how-?"

"When you told me you loved me." His eyes moistened, glittering under his thick lashes. "Sorcha made it so that I'd be immortal until someone fell in love with me and declared it. She never thought someone could love... a beast like me."

"That's why she was trying to keep us apart." It felt so obvious when she said it aloud, but part of her was still in disbelief. "So, what does this mean?"

His familiar, strong hands cradled her face. "I'm no longer immortal."

A thousand pounds lifted from Jamie's chest as the knowledge sunk in. "Which means..."

"I can leave this place... with you."

She couldn't stop the sigh that was released from her, and she melted into Kane's embrace. Tears slid down her cheeks as she nuzzled into the strength and warmth that emitted from him and surrounded her.

"I love you," she whispered against his heartbeat.

The sound of satisfaction from his chest was like a purr. "I love you too, lass."

The silence began to dissipate around them as the forest came alive again.

____________________________________________________________________________