About the Aeveren:
Aeveren are a race of people descended from
humans, but long ago they were chosen by the Archangel Raziel to be his
people. He gave them the gifts of reincarnation, powers beyond what
humans have, and destined ones. Aeveren live fifty lifetimes through
reincarnation and carry with them their memories from their past lives.
Upon reaching their twentieth lifetimes, they receive a power, such as
telepathy, teleportation, or the power of time travel. However, some Aeveren
are born with their abilities, making them far more powerful than the rest of
the race. Finally, each Aeveren soul is given destined ones, other
Aeveren meant only for them. However, Aeveren possess free will, so like
humans, they don't always choose as they should.
Excerpt:
Amon
felt Thea’s body stiffen at his touch and even without probing her mind he knew
he needed to brace himself for the onslaught of her emotions. As she turned
around slowly to face him, he was secretly thrilled to notice she was still wearing
his shirt.
Maybe
this won’t be so bad.
“How
the hell did you get in here? And who invited you in?” she snapped as she stood
toe to toe with him, her hands on her hips and her blue eyes blazing.
Amon
saw the genuine displeasure he’d caused and rethought the joke he wanted to
make about not having to be invited in like a vampire. It was going to be as
bad as he’d anticipated. And as painful if she continued to be angry.
“I’m
sorry, Thea. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” In the hopes of diffusing the
situation, he intentionally focused on softening his tone.
“Frighten
me? Is that what you think you did? First, you have your goon kidnap me as if
I’m your personal healer created just for you, and now you’re back to kidnap me
yourself! Frightened? I’m so past frightened, Amon.”
If her
emotions weren’t beginning to take their toll on him physically, he might be
turned on by Thea’s outburst. He liked her like this. Feisty. Brave. A perfect
match for him. Her emotions were beginning to cause him great pain, though, and
in his still weakened state, he knew he wouldn’t be able to sustain much more
of her anger.
“Please,
Thea. Don’t be angry. I missed you.”
As he
spoke, he took her hand in his and stroked his thumb over the soft skin of her
knuckles.
“Amon,
you broke into my house.”
Smiling
happily as he felt her anger abate just a little, he answered, “Technically, I
didn’t break in because I didn’t use the door.”
Thea
looked at him with a confused look that made him want to explain, if only
because it seemed to have calmed her down.
“I
teleported in. So no breaking, really.”
“Teleported?”
“Yes,
it’s one of my powers.”
“One?”
Thea seemed to consider what he’d said and then continued. “I don’t care. You can’t just come into my house
without being invited in.”
“I’m
sorry. Can we sit down and talk?”
Amon
saw her resolve weaken and knew he’d won her over for the moment. Still holding
her hand, he walked with her to the couch and sat down next to her.
“Your
house is very nice.” His words were predictable, but he hoped to avoid another
emotional outburst from her that would be sure to hurt.
Thea
turned her body toward him and smiled. “Amon, why are you here, if it’s not to
kidnap me again?”
Her
refusal to let him set the pace made him smile. He was going to have to tell
her about Sevine.
“I
missed you. I wish you hadn’t left.”
“Amon,
I can’t just stay at your house for the rest of my life. I have a job...”
Thea
caught herself and corrected what she’d said. “Well, I had a job before you
sent that man to kidnap me and you held me captive.”
Amon
felt her sadness wash over him, and he felt truly sorry for what had happened.
“I never intended for that to happen. I will compensate you well to make up for
everything. I promise.”
While he spoke, he looked directly into her eyes and wished they were back at
his house together. Or better yet, at his home in Greece, somewhere he was sure
she’d enjoy.
“You
can’t just do things that hurt others and then simply throw money at the
problem. I loved my job, and now I’ve lost it.”
Thea’s
sadness stabbed at him, and he closed his eyes to ward off the pain. Unlike
before, this was more an ache than searing pain.
“Are
you okay, Amon?” he heard her say and he opened his eyes.
Wincing,
he nodded, but concerned, she placed her hands on his and held them. “Where is
the pain located?” she asked when she couldn’t figure out how to heal him.
“You
can’t heal this, Thea. This is the pain I explained to you before.”
Gently
squeezing his hands, she said quietly, “I can heal your pain. Please tell me
where it’s coming from.”
There
would be no explaining this away, so he decided to tell her the truth.
“Thea,
you can’t heal it because you cause it. Or more specifically, your unhappiness
causes it. My destined one cursed me to feel unrelenting pain each time I make
you unhappy.”
“Why? I
thought you said you hadn’t even seen her in lifetimes.”
“I
haven’t.”
“Then
why curse you with something from me?”
Amon
sighed and knew he couldn’t avoid telling her the most important part of
Sevine’s curse.
“She
didn’t. The curse is more general than that. It affects me with anyone I love.”
Lifetimes
of confidence seemed to evaporate in seconds as he watched Thea’s face darken.
“Love
me? Is that what you think coming to my house to take me away is? Love?”
“You
don’t understand. I found out...”
Thea
cut him off in mid-sentence and put her hand up. “I understand perfectly. You
want me back at your house to heal you, and you think the way to soften me up
into accepting being kidnapped a second time is to tell me you love me. You must
think I’m pretty pathetic if you believe that will work.”
Pain
once again raged through his body and Amon silently reached out to Gethen to
call for help. Moments later, he and Markku entered through the front door and
Thea leaped from her seat on the couch.
“Don’t
either of you have any manners either? Get out of my house now!”
Both
men stood still waiting for instructions from Amon and appeared to almost look
right through her. With each word, Amon felt weaker, and he leaned back against
the couch, twisted in pain.
In a
strangled voice, he whispered, “Thea, please listen. They’re here to help me.
Your emotions are killing me.”
Turning
to see his face drained of all color, she asked, “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
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