Chapter 19

Sitting up suddenly, Nyline felt the covers fall from around her shoulders as she looked around the room. Her mind was groggy as she looked around the unfamiliar area with interest. She had simply found the closest bed and fell asleep right away. Glancing down she realized that someone had brought her not only a blanket but the patchwork teddy. Looking down at it she couldn't help but know that it had been Gabriel who'd brought it. Damien wouldn't have the first inkling of what this bear would be to her.

Her eyes turned to the room around her. It had once been beautiful. The bed she was laying on was a large wooden four poster that had been painted white with gold dusted accents. On the wall adjacent to the bed was a vanity that matched the bed; its large three mirrors were caked in dust and cobwebs.

Standing she placed the bear and blanket down on the bed, heading towards the vanity. Pulling out the little bench that was also white with gold dusting and a red cushion, she sat looking at the mirrors. Reaching out she tried to remove some of the dust but without much luck. On the table there were several brushes, compacts, jars, and a few things she'd never seen before. Opening one of the jars she found a light skinned color that she could only guess was some type of foundation. The next contained some deep red substance that was sticky, lip gloss? Maybe even lipstick?

A jewelry box caught her eye and with a deep breath she blew the dust off the top. It opened silently and her eyes instantly went to the set of green onyx earrings. Pulling out the pendant that her mother had left with her, she instantly knew that they were a set. Her mind went back to the memory of the darkling invasion, she wasn't sure, but she'd thought that her mom was wearing these during the attack. There wouldn't be much of a reason to just wear the necklace. Taking a soft breath, she placed the earrings back into the box and closed the lid, feeling as though she had done unearthed something that she wasn't supposed to. Placing them back into the box she closed the lid. Glancing around the room she saw the matching dresser on another wall, then a set of doors.

Standing she walked over to one of the doors and opened it finding a bathroom that was far more than any bathroom that she had ever seen before. The tub itself could fit at least five grown adults comfortably. All of the silver shined in the lights coming from windows that were set into the top of the room. Closing the door, she decided to walk to the other one and found a massive closet, probably a little bigger than her bedroom back at home.

As much as she wanted to walk away from the extravagant dresses and shoes that lined each wall she felt drawn in by the smell of dust and an underlying sent that she thought she recognized but she couldn't place. Pulling a dress out here and there she saw that they ranged from everyday wear to something that someone would wear to an event.

Her mind went to the small amount of memories that she had of her mother. They were far and in between, but she knew that her mother was fair skinned with freckles, her eyes the brightest of greens with flame red hair. She smelled, like that underlying sent that softly filled this room under the dust. The last dress fell from her hands feeling of silk and she looked at the light peach sun dress with a flower waist belt as she thought on her mother's sent.

It was a light perfume that reminded her of a type of flower she could not remember. Then, another more natural smell lingered even fainter than the perfume and it was a sent that she could not describe with words but when it entered her nose, she could see her mother's happy face looking down at her. Her mouth pulled up on both sides in a large smile showing her white teeth, those bright green eyes were glinting. Of course, that memory would have been when Nyline was still a baby, but it was without a doubt her natural sent.

Smiling Nyline pulled her mind from the past and looked around the small closet. She loved the dresses in here; they reminded her of her mother. Her face fell slightly, and what she should be but wasn't. Her mind went to Damien and his stupid delusion of her being some proper girl. In a way, that image of her in his mind had hurt her. It was so far from what she was, or even what she thought she could be, that it was unrealistic. Even if she had accepted him as her mate, she would never be able to fill that role for him. She was just… to much of a scout. Turning she allowed her feet to walk her back though the main door, and into the large sitting room with two couches and a fireplace. She only glanced at the small drawing room that was set up like an office off to the right of the room before she exited into the hallway.

As she walked down one of the hallways she wondered where her father's room would be. She wanted to see his closet and maybe even smell his sent. Her hands tangled themselves together as she continued down the hallway. When a thought hit her, and she stopped her eyes going out a window onto another snow-covered lawn.

Her mother's room hadn't been damaged whatso ever. It was simply caked in dust. If it had been a random attack, then shouldn't the entire castle be destroyed? Or was it somehow known that both her mother and father would have been in the throne room so there was no reason to search the entire castle?

If Gabriel's scouts were darkling's, did that mean that his kingdom were part of the horde that had attacked her parents? Would he have really come all the way here if he had? Mate or not, wouldn't he had wanted to avoid anyone at this kingdom at all costs, knowing what his people had done? That didn't make much since though. He had come to find her the second that she had dropped back into the aether world. Her mind clouded with confusion. Why didn't the memory that she had stolen from her uncle line up with what was going on here? She would have to ask Gabriel.

Turning with that thought in mind she felt herself pause as she realized that all of the scouts would be with him, and probably Damien as well. She shuttered at all the people and turned to continue down the hallway she had been going. She didn't have the patients to deal with so many people at once. She didn't want a mate and she would refuse to choose one so that Uncle John wouldn't leave her. Lost in her thoughts she had to look up with the hallway that she had been walked suddenly ended in a T, without really thinking about it she turned right and continued her silent musing.

Nyline's eyes took in the area around her as she really looked at the damage that had happened to the castle. It was odd in her opinion as it was scattered only here and there were broken vases but some of them in between were whole with old flowers turning to dust. At a point her mind wandered from the random damage and turned to the castle itself.

The building was simply massive with hallways that led to everywhere and nowhere all at once. It seemed like a maze as she walked around the hallways and looked out windows and tried to open doors. A lot of them were jammed and she wasn't able to move whatever was on the other side of the door in order to look inside. A knot settled its self-inside of her stomach as she felt small and lost in the large structure.

If she had grown up here, would she be able to run around the hallways like they were the back of her hand? Of course, she would have, she would know every hallway, room, door, and window in this building just like she had known all of those things in the house that she had grown up in.

Turning another corner her mind switched topics to the two princes who were her to attempt to get her to mate one of them. It made her stomach knot, wishing that they would just leave. They should just realize that she wasn't going to choose one of them. If she refused, that would meant that he would stay right? This was a nightmare that had kept her up as a child often. She would cry into her pillow and try to think of ways to keep her uncle around. She had lost both of her parents, why couldn't she just keep him?

Her feet stopped next to a door and she pressed her hand against the wood to find that it was colder than the rest, which meant that it probably went outside. Her chest warmed as she continued to look at this door so reaching down, she turned the knob and tried to open it. Knowing that it was ice and snow that was keeping it closed she threw her shoulder into the door once, twice, and a third time before the door burst open and she tumbled forward landing in the deep snow.

Standing she brushed off the white powder before her hands paused and she looked around, not feeling surprised that it was yet another courtyard. How many did this place have? Sighing she stood and felt her mouth fall open as she actually looked around and saw that it was more extravagant than any of the other's that she had seen.

There was a large four-tiered fountain standing tall in the foot-deep snow. The large area that surrounded the fountain was enormous and looked as if it could hold hundreds of people with plenty of room to move and chat. Off to the side there was a large rose bush that had once covered the entire retaining walls to this area. It was dried up and looked dead from what she could see from where she was standing. Her eyes turned and saw that there was a massive iron gate and a few steps towards it showed that it led to a road. Walking over she glanced down it to see the town was down the way a little. Backtracking to the fountain and she turned and looked around the area again before her eyes landed on the two massive wooden doors that were held into the frame by Large iron hinges. The doors lead into a massive area that seemed to be separated off from the rest of the castle. The only connector was a skybridge on the fourth floor that went from the castle, over the iron gate, and into the building.

Suddenly, she felt drawn to those doors like a moth to flame and she couldn't help feel the need to go through that door and find out what was on the other side. Pushing the door open, it moved easier than she would have guessed for such large pieces of wood, not making a single sound.

Nyline's mouth fell open as she walked into the large ballroom, her mind recognizing it despite the layers of dirt and cobwebs that were everywhere. She knew, from her memory, that everyone in the entire kingdom would be able to fit into this room for special occasions. Just like the memory that she had of it.

Emotions built in her throat as she looked around and examined every inch of the room. She felt like laughing or maybe crying as the tears pricked at her eyes. Without much thought she instantly went into the middle of the room where she pulled the memory from her mouth and tossed it into the air. There was pressure as aether filled the memory and forced it into its original space. Women in brightly colored dresses appeared, next to the men in their suits. They spun the women around and around. Then the children ran through their room, ducking around the adults as they danced. There was a loud popping noise and the sound arrived as the orchestra stuck up a tune, people started talking, others were dancing, and children were laughing. She loved watching the people dance. They all knew every dance and they all danced together in sync, twirling their women to the right at the same moment and into the arms of another man, the skirts flaring with the movement.

Without pause Nyline reached out to take one open man's hand but hers fell right though and she pulled it back. That didn't hinder her smile though, she just continued to spin to the music on her own. Her face fell back and as she spun, she examined the ceiling as all of the chandeliers sparkled, the decorations draped in white from pillar to pillar, matching the rest of the fabric that was strung around the room.

The music stopped and Nyline froze looking around. The music in this memory never stopped, it played all night if she stayed there for that long. However, looking around she saw that everyone was turning to look up at a landing and she felt as though her feet were stuck to the floor as her mother and father walked out. Their hands waving at the people, smiles on their faces, looking young and radiant. Her eyes focused on her mother. How could she stand with this many people in the same room as her and not be in pain?

"Thank you all for coming tonight," Her mind was pulled from her mother and onto her father as he spoke. His eyes were bright green, just like her mothers. With short black hair that is cut close to his scalp, with a strong jaw, thin lips that were pulled back into a smile, and an air about him that she couldn't place. It was as if he carried so much aether around with him that it just hung in the air.

"As most, if not all, of you know we are celebrating out 21st anniversary since Stephanie and I were mated. It is an event that comes once a year and it always brings a smile to my face knowing that it is the day that my life was made complete." The cheer that went up from the crowd made Nyline look around in shock. She had never realized that her people had loved her parents to that extent. Passing over that fact, she returned her eyes to her mother. Those green pools were searching the crowd in that moment, connecting with hers for just a heartbeat before they moved on.

Nyline felt her feet start to move forwards as she passed through the people standing in the ballroom. Her eyes glued to her parents, specifically her mother. It was when she was walking so fast, she was almost running then her mother's face turned, and their eyes connected. Her step faulted and when her mother's eyes didn't move on from her own, her face breaking into a smile.

"Mom?" Nyline whispered as she continued to walk forward. She needed to find a way up to that landing, but she didn't want to take her eyes off her mother for even a minute, afraid that the memory will go back to normal. It was then that her mother's form jumped slightly between the woman that was smiling softly at her husband and another that was looking down on her. It was as if another memory had been laid over this one and it was causing a discrepancy.

All of this felt wrong. Memories didn't jump or get over laid. There was a set path that they followed and no matter what happened those memories didn't change because they were just that; memories.

Her pace steady now she continued to walk towards her parents, refusing to look anywhere other than at the bright green eyes that were connected with hers. They were warm and it was as though she could feel her mother's love with that look alone. A hand landed softly on her shoulder, halting her in her steps, however she wouldn't look away. She didn't want this memory to change again, she wanted to drink in every moment of her mother's green eyes, and her father's face.

"Nyline?" Gabriel's voice was a whisper in her ear, just loud enough for her to hear over the chatter of the crowd and her father's speech. "What's going on?"

"The memory, it altered itself." She responded as she tried to keep walking forward. Gabriel walked with her.

"Memories can't be altered." Nyline nodded to her mother whose eyes were still on her.

"They've never shown up before, not in this memory and she's looking directly at me."

"Whose memory is this?" She shrugged.

"Uncle Johns. How do you get up there?"

"The only way up onto the balcony is over the skywalk." Nyline felt her stomach fall slightly. She wanted to go up there, to see her parents up close. "Hey," Gabriel's words were a caress as he rubbed her arms up and down slowly. "It's alright to miss them." Nyline shook her head.

"I never knew them, so how can I miss them?" They had stopped walking, there was nowhere else that they could go. They could still see them, but there was no way up there. She could use her movement skill?

"It's alright to wonder sometimes. As much as I'd love to see you vault up there to see if your parents would stay, I don't think you'd be able to deal with it if they just vanished on you." Nyline's hand went up and gripped her mother's pendant, her hand gripping it tightly before she blinked and looked down at her hands. Breaking the contact that she had with her mother. He was right, what if she got up there and they just vanished? She took a long breath in and let it out slowly. When next she looked up, she saw that her father was done talking and they were waving to the people as they turned and left. She felt as though her heart was going with them and it was painful, she wanted to cry but just couldn't bring herself to shed the tears.

Nyline turned her back on the balcony and looked at Gabriel who took a step backwards so that he wasn't touching her anymore. His white blond hair glowed softly in the sparkling light making his skin look even lighter than it had during the day. She broke the eye contact as her eyes went to the people behind him.

"I've never been to a ball except for this one in my memories." Nyline started off in a conversational tone. "Then again, I've never actually warn a dress that is half as fancy as any of these… actually I've never warn a dress in my life. I'm not really that type of person." There was a pause before a hand slipped itself into hers, and she could feel the fabric under her fingers as Gabriel spun her onto the dance floor.

"Wearing dresses or not, I think that's all the same honestly. You can dress a pig up as much as you want but a pig is still a pig." Nyline snorted at that.

"Are you calling me a pig?" Gabriel's face went tight before he looked at her. When her face cracked into a smile he grinned back.

"Never, I'm just saying that it does not matter what you dress a person up in, it's what they are on the inside that counts."

"You're not wrong," Nyline's voice was soft as they just spun in circles for a few seconds.

"If you ever had wanted to go to a ball, then you would have a dress of your choice, tailored especially for you. I'm sure your parents would expect for you to wear shorts under it and because I know that they would have loved you a lot, they wouldn't have even questioned it. They would know that you would want to dress up and have fun but be comfortable. They would be more concerned with you enjoying yourself, then being a perfect proper princess." She snorted again.

"Anyone that is expecting me to be a proper princess is going to be disappointed." Her face fell and Gabriel spun her away from him before she spun back, and he dipped her. His face getting closer as his hair fanned out around them.

"Well then I guess it's a good thing that I'm here for you and not a princess." He winked before he pulled her back up and Gabriel took the led again, as they moved across the dance floor. She processed his words for several heart beats and when he spun her again, when she came back, she looked up at him and into those ice blue eyes. In a single movement, Gabriel bent his neck so that their foreheads were touching softly, their movement slowing to a soft rocking pace. "I can tell that you are afraid of something." She closed her eyes as memories flashed, part of her wanted to jerk away from the contact, but at the same time she didn't. Surprisingly she was enjoying his warmth.

"I'm afraid of many things." She muttered finally.

"Care to share?" When she didn't answer he continued. "When you first arrived back here, I was really worried. Worried about your safety. Worried about what you would do in a kingdom that you grew up away from. Worried about you going into the kitchen. Worried about you freezing."

"How do you know about that?" He chuckled as he lifted his head from hers.

"I was the one speaking with you when you first arrived." Nyline felt her heart stop.

"But how?" Gabriel raised a brow at her.

"You are my mate, when you arrived back here our bond snapped into place." Nyline shook her head.

"But it didn't hurt at all…" Gabriel's eyebrows grew together as confusion passed across his face.

"The mate bond isn't supposed to be painful."

"Every time I've connected with Damion its hurt…" She sighed. "Not that I ever wanted to be connected with him in the first place." Gabriel grinned.

"Why's that?"

"Because he has a mate of his own and it isn't me."

"You're not wrong. Does our connection hurt?" She cocked his head at him.

"Apart from when I arrived at Thaul, when have we been connected?"

"We're connected right now." She stopped dancing at that and searched her mind. She hadn't felt any intrusion or… Her breath hitched as she found the small cord that connected her mind to his. It was almost as if it didn't exist in her mind. She let out a nervous laugh as she ran her hands down her face. Gabriel placed his hands on either of her wrists and he pulled them down. "Why are you up set at this? I can feel your emotions, but I would like to understand why you are so distressed at this notion." She froze. He could feel her emotions? She couldn't feel anything from him at all. She looked into his eyes, the ice blue looking concerned and she let out a whoosh of a breath.

"My uncle," She started but stopped, thinking on the words mulling them over in her mind. Trying to find the best way to say them without pointing blame at anyone. "Once I am mated or accept a mate, he's going to leave." Gabriel's brow rose at that.

"What?" His voice was shocked and full of concern.

"Um, yeah. That's why I never wanted a mate," She pushed some of her hair behind her ear. "He's planning on leaving me, and I don't want to lose him." Emotion's crossed Gabriel's face and she could feel them inside her mind. It was like he was whispering with energy. His hands squeezed hers before they let go.

"Is that why you got so mad at Adrenell and Dashiner?" Nyline nodded and Gabriel let out a long breath.

"I honestly can't say that I blame you. I'd like you to know though that the second you tell me you don't want me here; I'll leave." Nyline's eyes grew wide.

"What?" She cocked her head to the side.

"You heard me correctly. Yes, I was excited to meet you when you arrived, and yes, I want to be your mate. However, I will not force myself into your life. You did not simply come here as a blank slate. You had a life back in the human world, things you did, had friends, your uncle. I would never want to take any of that away from you and force you to stay here simply because I am your mate. I had a very in-depth conversation with my scouts about this earlier. If you refuse to have a mate, then I'll let you go." He shrugged, "Though I would hope that you'd allow me to visit occasionally." Nyline took a step back and laced her fingers together as she turned her back on him.

"I don't really understand." She mumbled. Whereas she felt overjoyed that he would never try and force her to do things that she didn't want to but then why was there a part of her that seemed to cry at the thought of him leaving.

"Which part?" A hand brushed her arm and she looked over her shoulder at him.

"I don't know…" She mumbled rubbing her hands over her face. "This is all just a lot right now…"

"I know," Gabriel's voice was calm and soothing. "Everything that has happened in the last day or so has been extremely taxing. I can tell your doing your best to deal with everything, but I can also tell that you really just want to break down and cry." She turned her face away from him at that.

"Crying wouldn't help any situation right now." Her voice was hitched. His words were striking home and hitting a nerve that she didn't know that she had inside of herself. It made her wonder what exactly he could see from their bond.

"No, but it might make you feel better." She nodded but still refused to let any tears leak from her eyes.

"You were wrong," She blurted after a small silence and when he raised his eyebrow she continued. "I didn't have friends, or activities that I enjoyed doing." She reached up nervously and put a strand of hair behind her ears. "I went to school, then came home and did my homework. John and I went running and trained, but that's about it. I just… don't want Uncle John to leave…"

"No friends?"

"It's hard to have friends when you can hear their every thought. Think about hanging out with someone and having them think that you smell funny, or that your laugh is annoying, or even your presence on the playground is irritating, or them being mad at you for hanging out with someone they don't like. Sleepovers you don't get invited to, birthdays that they hide from you to not hurt your feelings. Some people hide their true thoughts, putting up a front and acting nice to people's faces. It's--" Gabriel's hands landed on hers as they twisted themselves into knots.

"Not everyone is like that." Nyline looked up into his face, his eyes were set in determination "I can't imagine…" His voice trailed off as he tried to find words.

"In elementary school," Nyline cleared her throat. "I used to throw fits about going. I hated it. The noise bothered my mind and ears. The kids around always thought I was weird. I refused to go for a really long time. Uncle John would carry me into the class kicking and screaming, then use his movement skill and vanish. The one made my teachers pretty mad… Eventually, I realized that music helped with those problems. However, going from the weird child, to the one who never stopped listening to music just pushed me further away from people. Eventually, I stopped making friends and just focused on my schoolwork." There was a short silence. "What's it like having scouts?" Gabriel looked at her with that question. She felt her throat close. This was, of course, knowledge that she should already have but didn't. Asking these questions made her feel like a child and she was hoping that he didn't judge her too bad for it.

"Well, it's like being surrounded by people that love and care for you, they are your best friends, your advisors, your confidants, and your support system. They… We take care of each other as a group. They know you from the time you are small and in turn they accept you for who you are, and I accept them for who they are. It's a give and take relationship on both ends. Whereas, yes, they serve, they are not simply mindless puppets, but a large part of your life. There is usually one with you at all times, just in case but it never gets old."

"Is there one here now?"

"Delta's on the roof." He spoke off handedly. "Dashiner is on the castle's roof, Shanell and Adrenell are with Damien's scouts, and Sigma is patrolling the exterior."

"How do you know all of that?" Half of his face lifted.

"I just know my scouts well enough to know what they would be up to at this moment. Delta is almost always with me, Shanell and Adrenell would want to meet new people. Sigma likes people, but not that much so she would be out doing something away from them. Then Dashiner? He's my wild card so you're never really sure with him, but I saw him on my way in here." Nyline let out a small laugh at that as she looked out over the large ballroom as the memory started to end. The orchestra was packing up their instruments, the children stealing the last of the cakes, and everyone else mulling towards the exit.

Turning she walked back into the middle of the room and raised her hand above her head. There was another popping noise before the grain of sand was in her hand and the room had returned to its dust covered state. Popping the sand back into her mouth she turned towards Gabriel who was smiling at her softly. Pride… That was the emotion that he was looking at her with and it confused her as to how she knew.

Feeling a little awkward she walked towards the door and opened. The breeze hitting her face as she looked around the snow.

"Here, take my cloak," He said pulling it off and handing it to her.

"I'll be alright, you will get colder faster than I will." He paused pulling his cloak back over his shoulders but his brows scrunching together.

"Oh, because your body runs on a lower temperature?" A small smile graced her lips.

"Yeah," She paused her mind going up towards the moon that was now hanging in the air. "Thank you by the way it was fun."

"Of course, my lady," He gave a sweeping bow which made her smile widen.

"How are your scouts also darklings?" Her voice was soft, but she couldn't get the memory out of her mind about what happened to Thaul and she needed to know. After Gabriel didn't speak Nyline turned, dropping her half-made snowman, and looked up at him. He just seemed to be staring up at the sky. It was then she realized that he was trying to think of what to say. Finally, he started speaking without looking at her.

"You know that this aether world is connected to a single human world and a single daemon one?" She nodded, picking up her snowman and placing them back together. He made a humming noise before he let out a breath. "I guess the easiest way to explain is that we are a race of half daemons." Nyline paused as she thought on that. It was only after she had plopped the three pieces of snow on top of each other that she stood and looked at him.

"I thought darklings were the lowest daemon rank?"

"Yes and no, we are counted as the lowest because we are only half. There are many of our kind that could rival even the strongest duke or royal class daemons that exist."

"I wonder if that's why my parents made the deal with Damien's?" Her voice was pensive not judging.

"I'm not entirely sure to tell you the truth. I have never asked my parents if they knew yours." Nyline nodded, used to being around people who didn't have knowledge to share. "Does it bother you?" Nyline glanced at him with her brows raised.

"Well I mean it probably wasn't a topic that came up often in conversation." Gabriel flashed his teeth and she felt like he was trying not to laugh.

"No, the fact that we're half daemons?" Her face scrunched up.

"Why would that bother me?"

"Well, I would assume that growing up in the human world you wouldn't know much about daemons and this might be frightening?" Her face scrunched up again and his face went blank. She could tell he was bracing himself for the worst.

"I knew more about life and the darkest parts of peoples souls before I could walk, talk, or even sit up." When he raised his brow Nyline continued. "I steal memories." She said just as bluntly as he had given the secrete away that he was a half daemon. "If I'm sleeping it doesn't matter if we have clothing between us or not, but if there is direct skin contact, I can take them without even thinking about it. It's not something I do on purpose. I've seen… a lot of different things. Things from the human world, daemon world, a little from the aether world. I have seen death, blood, and gore. I have felt other's pain, suffering, happiness, and joy." Nyline could tell that Gabriel wanted to feel bad for her about this however, she could tell that he understood that this wasn't something that bothered her at all. "So, no half daemons don't really bother me too much, besides it doesn't matter what type of shell your wearing, it's about what type of person you are on the inside, right?" Gabriel's eyes widened at the use of his words back at him, all his answer was that lopsided grin.

"So, did you take something from me?" Nyline felt her ears start to burn and looked around for a distraction. It came in the form of the dried up rose bush that was on the retaining wall. She walked over and looked down at a small bud. In one memory, probably from uncle John, she had seen these flowers bloomed large and bright. Taking the small bud in her hands she wondered if she could fix it. "I'm taking that as a yes?" Nyline made a humming noise as she looked over at Gabriel who was watching her with softness in his eyes.

"Yes, I did." She muttered softly. "I saw you when Dashiner returned from the human world."

"You mean after you saved his life?"

"I didn't save his life for all the grand reasons that your thinking I did." Her voice was flat. "I knew that if a darkling went missing then more of you would appear and I didn't want that."

"Oh, I know," Gabriel walked over and leaned against the wall looking at her face. "But no matter what your reasons were, you saved his life." Her face flushed and she looked down at the rose bud in her hands. One of his hands reached out and cupped the back of her neck making her look up at him once more. "You are welcome to steal any of my memories at any time."

"What why?" She felt taken aback by this sudden proclamation. Who would willingly give someone access to their mind?

"Because you are my mate and what is mine is yours. You can watch my entire childhood, all the way up to me finding you if you want to know what type of person I am. Just know that, no matter what the situation is you should never not do something because you're afraid of stealing my memories."

"You don't even know who I am…" the words exited her mouth on a breath of air.

"No, but I would surly like to find out." He moved his hand slightly and the bare skin between his wrist and shirt brushed her neck on accident. The rose in her hand bloomed immediately and her eyes grew wide as she looked down at the flower, only to see that the entire bush was now glowing. She went to take a step back as the snow all around her melted leaving lush green grass and wildflowers in their place. In awe she watched at the aether glowed under the ground, hitting the castle and retaining walls before it bounced back, and surrounded her.

Eyes wide she looked at Gabriel, her mouth open as if she were going to say something, anything. Right as the column of light appeared and she suddenly felt weightless as her body was lifted off the ground and surrounded by aether on all side. Fear seized her throat as her ears started to ring, there were a few seconds where she didn't think that she could breathe. Before the light vanished and she fell to the ground, hitting it with a thump. All the air woodshed out of her lungs at once.