Page 3 of Touch of Oblivion (Woven in Time #1)

A tendril brushes my ankle, another gliding up the curve of my side, and yet another crawling up my spine. For one breathless second, I freeze. The sensation isn’t painful, but my body and mind don’t understand his intent. I only register the violation of touch without warning.

The panic rises fast and loud within me. My mind knows that magic exists, but to feel it for the first time, encasing my body…I feel helpless.

My fear bursts from me in a broken, feral cry, my limbs reacting before thought can catch up with them. I scramble backward, my heels digging into the scorched earth as my body tries to escape a thing I cannot name. The world spins for half a second, my pulse a frantic snarl in my ears .

“Don’t!” The word escapes me, my voice ragged and high. “Don’t touch me!”

The shadows recoil, snapping back as though I struck their owner directly. They slip through the air like smoke consumed by wind. The sensation lingers, though, like fingers pressed into places they were never meant to be.

I curl inward, breath coming out in sharp and broken pants, shoulders shaking beneath the weight of too much sensation. My arms wrap more tightly around my knees.

My gaze lifts as the mountain lifts his hands and murmurs, “It’s okay. He wasn’t trying to hurt you.”

My eyes flick to the owner of the tendrils and shock spears through me at the sight of his flared nostrils and thinned lips. “I was only trying to cover your nudity from leering eyes.”

The one next to him with the predatory eyes and grin chuffs, like the silver-eyed one is ruining his fun.

Recognition rolls through my mind with his words, as another truth of this world flutters in my memories. I’m naked and exposed, and that is something that is meant for intimate moments here.

He meant to shield me. To hide my body from the others, for my sake.

I didn’t know. How could I know?

Frustration lashes through my mind as I shake my head and mumble, “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were…trying to help me.”

All I have experienced in this world so far is abandonment by the humans who wounded me and then left me for dead. Though it was a brief moment, it molded my first experiences and thoughts of this world. Everyone is out to help themselves…right?

He looks away despite my apology, as if I’ve wounded him deeply with my assumptions.

I take a moment to inspect him now that his shadows are gone. He stands in a plain black shirt, showing artwork etched into his skin. They crawl up his arms, winding against his skin in black curves and jagged thorns, spilling across the strong line of his neck and vanishing beneath his jaw.

The red-eyed predator saunters toward me, and he removes his black coat in one swift motion, leaving him in a dark shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

I quickly notice the muscles and veins rippling over his exposed skin.

I hold still as he closes the space between us, waiting to see what he will do before allowing myself another moment of knee-jerk panic.

There’s precision in the way he walks that makes it feel as though he’s cutting through the silence with each step.

He reaches me and in one smooth motion, he leans down to place the coat over my shoulders.

The fabric is heavy and warm, smelling faintly of smoke and a spice I don’t yet recognize.

His touch is brief but careful, fingers brushing the hollow of my throat for a second before he stands back to his full height.

The gesture is gentle, yet purposeful.

My breath catches and I look up into his eyes.

They hold me in place–not with malice, but with something far more dangerous. Curiosity. Hunger. The kind that doesn’t strike right away. The kind that enjoys the chase.

“You wear fear beautifully,” he murmurs, his voice low and smooth,“but I think you’d be stunning in ruin.”

The words strike something sharp and primal beneath my skin. A pull that coils low in my belly, confusing in its intensity, foreign in its ache.

I shiver, watching intently as the subtle smirk tugs one side of his lips up from my reaction.

Before I can turn intentionally away from the intensity of him, another movement draws my focus from his face and over his shoulder.

The tallest of the four approaches with a smile on his face that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

He’s striking in a way that doesn’t seem quite real. As he draws closer, I can see that his fair skin is marked with faint freckles. His hair catches the dim light as he walks, white-blond and tousled just enough to seem effortless. His dark brows and lashes frame curious, dissecting eyes.

He pulls to a stop a few steps away and tilts his head. “It’s a bit backwards, I’ll admit,” he says, his voice silk and sly amusement, “but now that we’ve seen you naked…may we have your name?”

The question floats in the space between us, light as smoke, yet my throat tightens as if it’s suffocating me.

Do I trust them with the truth?

My mind claws for something–anything–but the emptiness inside me stretches wider.

“I…” The word frays in my mouth.

A different answer comes to my mind as I search. They could have hurt me. They could’ve left me to die like the others did. Instead, they offered kindness, in their own strange way.

If I’m to survive this world I don’t understand, I need allies, and who better to have than the ones that make others cower in fear?

I swallow my nerves and steel my spine, lifting my chin to meet their gazes.

“I don’t know who I am.”

For a beat, he merely watches me, like he’s studying a riddle that sits before him half-solved. Then, with graceful ease, he lowers himself to a crouch in front of me. His hand extends in invitation, palm up.

I hesitate for a breath before I place mine in his. He lifts it slowly, brushing a kiss across my knuckles while keeping his eyes fully trained on mine.

My heart rate jumps .

“It’s a good thing you stumbled upon the four kings of this world then,” he murmurs against my skin, his voice honeyed with amusement.

“The four kings?” I repeat, my mind blank and spinning.

His smirk deepens. “Fate seems to have quite the flair for dramatics…wouldn’t you agree, little echo?”