Read Online The Ballad of Aramei by J. A. Redmerski - Free Book Online

now,” he says, looking back once, “if you should need anything, Eva will assist you.”
    “But….” I can’t get the question out.
    And just like that, Trajan makes his way down the steps into the vast room below and leaves me standing here. I didn’t expect any bonding between he and I, or much in the way of conversation, but I really didn’t expect to be left on my own without an inkling as to how I’m supposed to go about this, either.
     

Chapter 5
     
     
     
     
    IT’S NOT UNTIL I hear the front door shut after Trajan walks out, do I let myself snap out of the disbelief.
    “He always leaves,” Eva says coming up the stairs.
    My chin draws in slightly. “Wait…,” I say, putting up my hand, “did I just become Aramei’s new babysitter?”
    A faint smile softens Eva’s face as she walks over to me. The long, see-through black gown she wears clings softly to her naked hourglass form; her dark auburn hair rests freely against her back like a wave of silk between her shoulder blades.
    “I suppose you have, Milady.”
    “Please don’t call me that.”
    She stops in front of me.
    “I mean…well, it’s just weird, y’know?”
    Eva nods softly; her delicate hands are cradled just below her belly. “Very well. I will call you Adria.”
    A failed attempt at a smile barely cracks my face. “Thanks.”
    I let out a heavy breath and approach the bed, sitting down on the side of it where Trajan last sat. I reach out my hand and tuck my fingers under a long lock of Aramei’s light-colored hair. It feels so soft against my skin, the way I expected it to feel. I always did think of her as an angel and the way she lays here now, covered by a thin, white satin sheet and enveloped by her fluffy pillows so that her soft hair can lay feathered upon them, makes her appear even more angel-like.
    I brush my fingertip across the bridge of her nose.
    “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, Eva.” I never look away from Aramei.
    Eva steps up behind me and I feel her hand rest on my shoulder.
    “Wake her,” she says, “and then perhaps you will know.”
    There’s more in her suggestion than what she is letting on. It feels like Eva already knows what I’m supposed to do, or what might happen.
    I stare down at the sleeping angel for a moment, admiring her beauty and innocence, forgetting that the only emotion I should feel for her is sorrow.
    “Aramei?” I say softly.
    She doesn’t move and so I say it once more, raising my voice a notch. “Aramei, please wake up.” I comb my fingers through her hair and I can smell the lavender shampoo that it had been washed with recently.
    Her eyes gently crack open, revealing a slither of iridescent green hiding underneath the delicate lids. She’s looking right at me, like she did before, on that night Isaac brought me here last and I felt her emotions within me. Her eyes open the rest of the way and she never seems to blink. I sit here frozen, my breath caught in my lungs. As always, I’m afraid I’ll scare her with any sudden movements. But at the same time, I’m mesmerized by her and what is slowly happening between us.
    “Just let it happen,” I hear Eva’s voice whisper behind me and for some reason unknown to me, the advice puts me completely on edge.
    Aramei’s eyes lock intensely on mine and suddenly I feel like I can’t breathe. My hands begin to shake irrepressibly. I can’t move my body. It’s as if I’m no longer the one in control of it.
    “Don’t fight it….” Eva’s voice says though it sounds so far away that I want to turn to see if she’s even still standing in the room.
    But I still can’t move. Aramei’s gaze sears into mine, holding my body and my head solidly in place. Sweat begins to bead on my forehead and the more I try to look away, the more forcibly my head is held still.
    Aramei reaches out both of her hands to me and my body leans toward her of its own accord.
    “ You see me …,” she says without moving her lips,