The Fortress in the Clouds

THE BITE DID not come. Instead, Naomi felt a drop of water hit her cheek, splashing a touch of chill through her bare skin as she peeled her eyelids open to take a peek. Inwardly, she grimaced at the feeling, knowing fully well that it was a droplet of the animal’s saliva that had graced her.

The wolf that had her pressed to the ground was still growling, teeth bared and glinting menacingly under the silvery moonlight but it made no move to attack. Instead, it was content with staring at her, eyes glued to her face as she struggled to move under it.

“Have you got someone, Rayner?” A voice called out in the distance, making the wolf tilt its head upwards and howl into the night. The animal’s voice resonated through the woods, making the birds that were nesting in the trees to take off into the dark of the night.

The shrubs rustled, its dark green leaves shaking as a man stepped out of it with a bright smile on his face. Naomi breathed in deeply through her teeth, her breath caught in her throat as she assessed the familiar man’s face.

He was a rugged sort of handsome, his evergreen eyes shining just as brightly in the night as that of the wolf’s. There was a scar, one that was three whole shades lighter than that of his skin, that ran down the right side of his face, just missing his eye and slicing through his right eyebrow before ending on the tip of his nose. The stranger’s skin was a brown shades lighter than Naomi’s own skin tone, with the highpoints of his face reflecting the light of the stars in the night. He adorned a brown leather jacket over a white top, along with a pair of matching brown trousers.

However, the most outstanding of his entire ensemble was that he held a single sword in his right hand. The blade of the sword was a deep charcoal black. Yet, it was able to reflect the light that came from the moon, shining a beam right into Naomi’s eyes as she squinted at his figure.

“What do we have here, I wonder.” The man clicked his tongue, taking his time to make his way over to Naomi before squatting down to examine her better.

It took him less than a few moments before he staggered back slightly, eyes widening with surprise as he tilted Naomi’s face around by her chin for a better look.

“Lowlander?” His question was breathy, displaying pure disbelief as he shook his head. “You are the girl from the market many years ago, are you not?”

“Get this thing off of me, then we’ll talk,” she spat, eyebrows furrowed in great determination as she tried to heave the animal off of her only to fail badly.

The wolf above her growled, edging its teeth deathly close to Naomi’s face as she winced at its breath. This action only seemed to make the mysterious man chuckle as he shook his head.

“I do not think that you are in the position to make arguments, m’lady. But of course, we are not brutes. Rayner, get off.”

Obediently, the wolf followed his command, hopping off of Naomi in an instant. Its fur brushed across Naomi’s face almost haughtily as it did, as if trying to reinforce the memory that it was the one that had taken her down. Childishly, she stuck her tongue out at it, scowling at the animal before sitting up to dust the dirt off of her hair and back.

“You ought to teach your wolf some manners,” she sneered before hurrying to her feet.

The stranger watched with a smile constantly ghosting his lips, shaping his expression delightfully before slowly standing up to his full height to tower over her. Amusement colored his eyes, delight tainting his skin as he shrugged. When he stood tall, he was a powerful figure that towered over Naomi by an entire head. Yet, she was determined not to express fear, squaring up her shoulders she tilting her chin upwards at him defiantly.

She hadn’t come so far to go down now.

“Tutoring my siblings is a job of my mother’s, not mine,” he simply responded. Although quirky, Naomi did not waste a second to question it. She opened her mouth yet again for another onslaught of insulting comments but right as she was about to speak, he cut her off. “My name is Argus, a son of the highlands.”

Before Naomi could comprehend, he reached for her hand, holding it in his grasp. The touch of his skin sent a jolt of electricity through her spine, her lips parting with shock as memories began to swarm through her mind. It was an entire rush of an album but she managed to catch the essentials.

The most startling thing she saw was the fortress of her dreams and the boy from a childhood of hers that seemed to be worlds ago.