Hi Everyone! So excited to give you a few answers. I can't wait to write the next chapter it's killing me! Ahhh...Hope you're enjoying the book. Only 2 chapters left. Then the sequel!

I held the blankets tight around me as I sat up. "What do you mean by that?"

His eyes flashed and lit up. "Hmmm, possibly that you knew the consequences?"

"So, now I'm a fortune teller too?" I replied.

He shook his head, "No, but you knew Jaxon was going to react to seeing that tear drop mark on you."

"About that, I'd love to hear how I acquired that little gem." I climbed off the bed, taking the covers with me and sat next to him. "I have a feeling you're probably the only one who can answer that one for me."

"Yeah, I guess I probably am. Huh?" He picked up my hand and rubbed the back of it with his thumb. "Well, after I broke it off with Jessica, I left the Citadel to find you. You should have seen my father's face when I told him where I was going." His eyes flashed and cringed. "The words nuclear meltdown have never been better used to describe how mad he was. He refused to give me any transportation to the Fire Circle, and then denied letting me take a prongmeras."

He apparently had seen my confusion, and decided he better clarify, "Oh, a prongmeras, I guess, kind of looks like a cross between a horse and a dragon."

"Cool, do they breathe fire and fly?"

He chuckled and smiled. "Fire yes. Fly? God no. They're known for being dumb and very clumsy. You're lucky not to get injured just riding its back while it's walking. I can't imagine the damage they'd do if they had wings."

"Amaress..." I mumbled quietly.

"What was that?"

"Amaress? Does it mean something?"

He ran his hand through his hair, then placed them both on either side of my face and kissed my forehead. "Yeah, it means something!" he exclaimed. "Amaress was the name of the prongmera you always took when we went out goofing off. Every time I went to help you down, the damn thing would try and bite me. I think you picked her just because she was so protective of you. That, and maybe you secretly wanted to see if she'd ever succeed."

I laughed and held the covers tight in my hands. "So did she?"

"See! I knew it. You totally were picking her so she'd bite me."

"Well, someone has to keep you on your toes. But honestly, I don't remember why I chose her. So, how did you end up at Fire Circle then?"

"Walked mostly, but there were a few people along the way who helped me get there a little quicker. It still took me a week to get there, though. Then I had to get into the citadel without anyone recognizing me, a feat that is almost impossible. There are so many protocols for visiting their Circle if I had just shown up, they would have seen it as an act of war. Which was why my father had pretty much tried every means possible to prevent me from going."

"And you still went?"

"Sure. Though, I wasn't sure it was going to matter. Jaxon's Father had the place tied down so tight I think if someone so much as breathed in the direction of the gate it would have lit up in flames. That was when I decided to wait. I knew you'd go stir crazy inside those walls. It was only a matter of time before you attempted to escape for a walk through the garden. So, I disguised myself as one of the groundskeepers and kept a look out for you."

"You? A groundskeeper?" I said in disbelief.

"Hey, that's not fair. Plants love my watery talent. I just don't have the patience for it like Robin might. I was just lucky the keepers were too busy to notice I didn't know what I was doing. But I was right about one thing."

"What's that?"

"That you couldn't resist visiting the gardens. You showed up strolling through flowers shortly after dinner one evening, a couple of nights after I arrived. You were far off in thought as you walked taking in the flowers. Then you stopped and leaned down to smell a yellow Creststar bloom nearby—"

I gasped. "You frosted its petals."

His eyes faintly glowed. "You remembered." He took a deep breath and continued. "Well, it did get your attention then too." He reached out his hand and dropped a fine mist of water from his hand above. As the droplets fell, they froze together, until he was holding the perfect icy form of a Creststar flower. "Here," he said placing the delicate glass-like sculpture in my hands.

"This is unbelievable." I held it up higher so I could have a better look. "The details in the petals and stamen are masterfully done. Kellan, this is an incredible piece of art. You have serious talent as an artist. Too bad it's going to melt." I reached over and placed it on a plate that Gran had brought in for Sage and me the night before.

He shrugged, "I can always make another."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Ah-ha, I knew you wanted to kiss me again!"

"Ugh, the rule thing. Again?"

He nodded. "Absolutely."

"Fine, but I'm going to make this question count then. How about answering how I ended up here?"

He smirked then said, "I'm pretty sure I carried you in from the truck. Is your recent memory fading now too?" He wrapped his arm around my head, kissed the top and then messed up my hair.

"Ha, ha, totally not what I meant and you know it," I said breaking free of his hold.

"Oh, you meant here as in Earth. Yeah, that night I remember."

Still cocooned in my bundle of blankets, I lay down on the pillow and tapped the other side of it next to me. He raised an eyebrow, then smiled. "It's just a pillow Kellan."

"Uh-huh, but you're sharing it with me." He smiled, then picked something off the floor, and chucked toward the closet. I could see the ring sparkle in the moonlight as he threw it. He lay down and looked up the ceiling.

"It happened a couple of nights after the first time I met you in the garden," he began. "You met me where the paths converge into a more secluded and hidden area. If anyone saw us together..."

"I'm beginning to understand what Jaxon's father might do."

"That's why you decided to sneak out disguised as one of the groundskeepers too. I sat there waiting, and I thought you might have changed your mind. Then just when I was about to give up hope, you pushed the vines aside and stepped into view. I think my heart stopped when I saw you." He turned his head to look at me.

Unraveling my cocoon, I tossed my blankets over him and snuggled in close. I felt comforted as his familiar ocean scent washed over me. My arms started to tingle where our skin touched, and it felt like my heart was beating in my head. Then he rolled over and lightly brushed my hair out of my eyes.

"You risked so much to meet me."

"Sounds like I wasn't the only one. So what happened?"

"Uh, well— I remember you throwing your arms around me." He blushed then placed his hand in the small of my back and tugged me closer, making my breath hitch as he did. "Then I pulled you in against me," he said with his lips hovering over mine, driving me crazy. All I wanted to do was kiss him and explore everything his lips had to offer. "Then you..." I couldn't stand it anymore. I crushed my lips against his, letting him passionately kissed me back. He ran a hand up my back, then press us together like he never wanted to let me go. When he lifted his mouth from mine breathing heavily, he paused then bent down and gently placed tiny little kisses on my lips. "Mmm," he moaned. "Then you kissed me, just...like...that." He flopped back on the pillow with his eyes gleaming a soft blue.

I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "So, that's the story."

"When we finally pulled apart, my mark was on you," he said, running a finger over my water flourish. "That mark wasn't supposed to be possible, but there it was. The most dangerous branding to have when you're alone in the heart of the Fire Circle. I begged you not to go back, but you insisted on getting your mother out, or you wouldn't go. Nothing I said would change your mind. It didn't matter what I suggested, even if was—for us."

The words—for us, echoed in my head, like I had heard them before. I gasped, "You have to keep moving—for us." I sat up and look at him. "My dream— Its not a dream at all. I can't believe I didn't make this connection until now! The voice in my head that was urging me on. The waters protecting my mother and I from the flames—all you."

He nodded and looked relieved that I remembered something about him. "That was the last time I'd seen you before you disappeared. I must have replayed that night in my head thousands of times, wondering if there was anything else I could have done differently."

"Oh, Kellan, that explains your warm welcome when I bumped into you in the hall." I wrapped my hands around his cheeks and gently kissed his lips. I knelt, then stood up. "Come on. The bed will be way more comfortable than the wood floor." I could see him grin. "And before you get any ideas, my Gran is the next room, so don't even think of trying anything."

"Wren, I can sleep on the floor if it makes you more comfortable."

"Whatever you like." I turned to climb back on the bed and smirked when I took all the covers with me.

"Hey, but since you're offering a comfortable night's sleep with covers." He jumped up and tossed himself onto the far side of the bed. "I'm not going to turn that down." He pulled the covers over himself, then wrapped his arms around me. "So, it's my turn to ask my question," he whispered in my ear.

My stomach twisted in dread. I already knew what he was going to ask.

"What I want to know is what happened on tonight's date with Jaxon."

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