Wings of Nestor Read Online Free PDF

back and understanding?
    What was love? she wondered. It was supposed to be kindness, respect, bliss. She claimed to love, she thought she loved, but all she did was hurt. How could the two possibly be connected?
    A vision came, slowly this time, trickling in like someone, or something, was trying to hold back the tide.
    Jasmine lounged next to Belen on a grassy hill, her hand intertwined in his. “I don’t know what I would do without you,” she told him. “After what my father did, I felt so helpless.”
    He put his arm around her, pulling her tight. “What are you going to do?”
    She shrugged before snuggling into him.
    It was strange seeing her act like this. She had seen a few visions of Jasmine and never once had she looked—well, like this. Demur, mild, and loving.
    “I don’t know. I just want my immortality back. Without it, I might die before you.” She looked up into his eyes. “You are so powerful. You will live for thousands of years.”
    Could it be? Is that why she kept dreaming about Jasmine? Her eyes—they were the same eyes that found Kiora in her dreams. She was almost sure of it. They were the eyes of the Shadow. She had to tell Alcander and Emane.
    Emane! She gripped her head at her own stupidity. She had left Emane in the enclosure with Alcander. He hadn’t wanted away from her—he had wanted time alone with Alcander. She sprinted across the rocks, running back through the enclosure as Emane bounced off whatever defenses Alcander was using. All thoughts of Jasmine fled.
    “Stop it!” Kiora yelled.
    The two just turned to look at her, silent. No excuses or accusations. She wished one of them would yell at her, tell her this was all her fault. Because it was. She deserved to be called any names they could think of.
    Kiora shook her head. “I tried to tell you, Emane. I told you so many times. And I should have told you too, Alcander, but everything happened so fast, I didn’t have the chance.”
    “You told me what?” Emane demanded.
    “I told you not to love me!”
    “That is ridiculous,” Emane started. “I—”
    “No! Emane, no. I hurt everyone I love. I hurt everyone who loves me.” She laughed bitterly, staring at the sky. “Up until now, it has felt like some horrible twist of fate that I couldn’t control. But that’s not what this is—I have the control and I am still hurting you.”
    “Kiora—” Alcander began.
    “No, stop. I want to fix this, but I can’t!” She turned to Emane. “I cannot—I will not—tell you that I don’t love you. Maybe it would make it easier if I did, but I can’t! And Alcander, I am not ready to condemn you to a life alone. I wish I had known the stakes before you did what you did.” She hesitated. “Before we did what we did. But I know now, and I can’t take it back, and I…I don’t know if I would want to, even if I could.”
    Emane’s eyes closed painfully under that confession.
    “Emane, you are my Protector. I am the Solus. We can’t spend our time fighting. No matter how unfair it is, the four of us have to figure out where we are going from here, and we cannot do that if the two of you are at each other’s throats.” She stood tall, feigning bravado that was not there. “I need to talk to you, but first I am going to walk out of this boundary to give you some time. The fighting has got to stop. I know it is a lot to ask, but right now, there are bigger things than us.” She turned to leave before adding, “I hate myself for this. I hate myself for hurting both of you.” She wanted to say “I’m sorry” a thousand times, but the sorrys were all too late anyway. Putting up a bubble, she vanished.
    ***
    ALCANDER AND EMANE STOOD silently while Drustan lay on the ground, lounging back on his elbows and looking quite amused with the entire situation.
    Emane finally spun on Alcander. “What is she talking about? Condemn you to life alone?”
    Alcander glowered at him before glancing at Drustan. “Why don’t you