Fiery power licked her eyeballs, burned down her optic nerve and into her brain. A pained gasp choked in her throat. Tears tracked heated trails down her cheeks. She wanted to scream. She yearned to blink. All she could do, all she was permitted to do, was to open her eyes wide. Wider—
“Hope?” Blayne reached out to shake her and halted, hand outstretched. Gold flecks swirled amidst the intense blue of her eyes. The bizarre dance mesmerized him. And then her irises flashed to molten gold.
He recoiled, snatching back his hand. Sweet Wisa protect him. As he watched, the golden color drained away, leaving her irises their natural blue. And she slumped forward and then toppled onto her side.
He rocked back on his heels, shocked to the core. Only when the clamoring of his healer instincts became too loud to ignore did he rouse himself. Even then his hand hovered over her prone form for an achingly long moment before he dared roll her onto her back.
He checked her pulse and respiration. Normal. He peeled back first one eyelid and then the other. The pupils expanded and contracted, functioning exactly as he expected healthy eyes to do. Both irises were completely normal—well, as normal as blue eyes could be. But her eyes had been as golden as Dayamar’s. He had not imagined it. And Dayamar was a Sehan, a Seer. Hope was—
Gods. He didn’t know who or what she was. Deeply unsettled, he observed her until finally convinced she merely slept.
She shivered. And the tiny bumps stippling her bare skin were such a normal human reaction to the chill that he snorted and berated himself for his previous fears. He scooped her up and carried her to the pallet, arranging her on her side. She murmured something incomprehensible and then her breathing deepened.
As he tucked a blanket about her the glint from her finger-bands caught his attention. His people did not wear decorative bands such as these. He doubted even the most skilled craftsman had the skill to replicate such fine work. He marveled at the way the firelight reflected in the facets of the large silvery-white gem adorning one of the bands on her index finger. Her thumb-band was inset with a deep crimson gem that reminded him of the kuruvinda pendant that had belonged to his mother.
He examined her clothing more closely. Short pants, a light shirt, and the unusually designed leather footwear he’d removed from her feet. Impractical. She couldn’t have traveled far in such flimsy clothing. It was as though she’d been snatched from another world and deliberately deposited in his path. For such a tiny thing she was a big bundle of anomalies.
He rummaged through the spare clothing in his pack. His garments were far too large but they would at least offer her protection from the elements. He didn’t make a habit of carrying spare boots, however. With luck her footwear would last the distance.
He checked on his perplexing companion once more before rolling himself in a blanket. But sleep was elusive. He tossed and turned, grinding his teeth until his jaw ached. He was a healer. His abilities might seem magical to his patients but his skills lay with diagnosing and treating physical ailments. If, as he suspected, Hope was manifesting Sehani transformation symptoms, there would be little he could do to help her. He needed to get her back to the settlement as quickly as possible.
***
Get your copy of Seer’s Hope:
www.mareeanderson.com/books/
www.seershope.com
The Seer Trilogy
Seer’s Hope (Hope’s story)
Seer’s Promise (Romana’s story)
Seer’s Choice (Ryley’s story)
The Crystal Warriors series:
The Crystal Warrior (Chalcedony & Wulf’s story)
Ruby’s Dream (Ruby & Kyan’s story)
Jade’s Choice (Jade & Malach’s story
Opal’s Wish (Opal & Danbur’s story)
Other Books by Maree Anderson
PARANORMAL ROMANCES
The Crystal Warriors Series
The Crystal Warriors Series Bundle (Books 1, 2 and 3)
Book 1: The Crystal Warrior (Chalcedony & Wulf’s story)
Book 2: Ruby’s Dream (Ruby & Kyan’s story)
Book 3: Jade’s Choice (Jade & Malach’s story)
Book 4: Opal’s Wish (Opal & Danbur’s story)
Elemental Riders Series
Lightning Rider
FANTASY (with romantic elements)
The Seer Trilogy
The Seer Trilogy Bundle (Books 1, 2 and 3)
Book 1: Seer’s Hope (Hope’s story)
Book 2: Seer’s Promise (Romana’s story)
Book 3: Seer’s Choice (Ryley’s story)
YOUNG ADULT (paranormal)
Freaks Series
Book 1: Freaks of Greenfield High
Book 2: Freaks in the City
Book 3: Freaks Under Fire–coming soon!
Liminals Series
Book 1: Liminal
Acknowledgements
Thanks to all the readers who asked me for this book—and kept asking, even when life got in the way and it seemed like getting to “The End” would be an impossible task.
And my heartfelt thanks to my wonderful, talented, generous author-friend Nalini: without your advice I would never have had the courage to tell Opal and Danbur’s story as I originally envisioned it.
About the Author
Maree Anderson writes paranormal romance, fantasy, and young adult books. She lives in beautiful New Zealand, home of hobbits, elves, and kiwis—both the fruit and the two-legged flightless variety. Her first novel for young adults, the multi-award-winning Freaks of Greenfield High, was optioned for TV by Cream Drama, Inc., Canada, and currently has over 2 million reads on Wattpad. She recently released the fourth book in her Crystal Warriors series, and is currently working on a third book in the Freaks series.
For blurbs, excerpts, reviews and more, please check out the Books page of her website: www.mareeanderson.com. Contact Maree at: [email protected].
OPAL’S WISH
ISBN: 978-0-9922498-7-8
Copyright © 2014 by Maree Anderson
Published by Maree Anderson
Cover Design by Rob Anderson
This novel is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places and events portrayed in this novel are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. All rights reserved; the right to reproduce this book or any portion thereof in any form whatsoever in any country whatsoever without the express permission of the author is forbidden.
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License Notes
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Opal's Wish: Book Four of The Crystal Warriors Series Page 33
