White Nights Excerpt

White Nights
A Covenant of the Rainbow Prequel Novella
Elana Brooks

Chapter 1

Present


Keiko drew back the curtains from the hotel room window, revealing a beautiful view of the Neva River and the pastel buildings lining its shore. Though it was past ten o’clock in the evening, Saint Petersburg was bathed in soft golden light from the sun hovering low on the horizon. It had descended only a few degrees during their cab ride from the airport and their late supper at an elegant restaurant. It would dip below the horizon for less than six hours tonight, and progressively shorter intervals for the next three days until the summer solstice, leaving the sky twilit all night. Solomon had often spoken of the beauty of the famous White Nights. Now she was finally seeing it for herself.

Solomon came up beside her and put his arm around her waist. “What do you think?”

“It’s even better than I imagined,” she told him.

“Happy anniversary, my love.” He pulled her close.

As Keiko turned to him, Solomon met her gaze. Keiko reveled in the rare, precious contact. She looked into his deep brown eyes, seeking the soul within, willing her own eyes to reveal the soul that longed to join with his. Maybe Solomon was finally ready to take that ultimate step…

But as always, before her physical vision could fade into astral sight, Solomon lowered his lids. Keiko buried the familiar pang of disappointment and bent to meet his kiss. Her husband’s mouth was warm and welcoming, and for a long time Keiko enjoyed the sensual dance of their lips and tongues. But when Solomon’s hands went to the top button of her blouse, she caught and held them, drawing back. She hated to interrupt their progress to the waiting bed, but she needed to say what had weighed heavier and heavier on her heart as their anniversary approached. “Solomon, we need to talk.”

He made a sound of protest. His gaze lingered on her cleavage, the eager desire she loved so much in his face. “Can’t it wait?” He leaned forward to brush his lips over her collarbone and up the side of her neck.

Keiko hardened her heart to resist his touch and the desire he aroused in her body. “I’m sorry, but no. I need you to listen to me now.”

He broke off and regarded her with tender concern. “What’s the matter?”

Keiko took a deep breath. “There’s something I want you to give me for an anniversary present.”

“Besides what I was about to?” He leered playfully at her, but when she failed to respond to his teasing, he sobered. “What, my love? Anything you desire, you need only ask and it’s yours.”

Keiko knew better than to let her heart soar at his promise. “I want you to soul bond with me.”

All the intimate affection fell from Solomon’s face. His expression turned cold and closed. “Except that.”

“Why?” Keiko clung to his hands as he tried to pull them from her grip. “We’ve been married nearly ten years. Have I ever given you any reason to doubt me?”

“Of course not.” Solomon frowned at her.

“Then why won’t you trust me with your soul?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you.” He quit trying to extract his hands from her grasp, but edged a little farther back. “It’s just too dangerous to be worth taking the risk.”

“How can you say that?” Keiko glared at him. “The Seraphim are coming. They might arrive in as little as ten years. You don’t think more than doubling our psychic strength would be useful in the fight?”

“It would,” he admitted. “But it might be forty years or more before they reach Earth. We can discuss bonding when they get here. Until then, there’s no need.”

“Yes, there is!” Keiko fought the tears welling in her eyes. “Do you think I haven’t noticed that you never look me in the eye for more than a second or two? That you’ll only make love to me in the dark? That no matter how intimate our hearts and bodies become, you always hold a little of yourself back?” She released his hands and scrubbed her eyes. “I love you more than life and light, Solomon, but I don’t know how much longer I can go on like this. Do you have any idea how much it hurts to know you don’t love me the same way I love you?”

He stepped back, his eyes widening in shock. “I swear, Keiko, I love you with my whole heart. I’d die for you without a second thought. You have to believe that.”

“I want to.” She clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes shut. “But it’s hard when you refuse to give me the one thing I want.” She waved her hand. “It would be different if we weren’t psychic. If we weren’t able to soul bond, if we didn’t know there was a deeper level of intimacy possible, then what we have would be enough. My parents’ love is as deep and true as any soul-bonded pair’s, even though the astral realm is closed to them. But we are and we do. Our souls could be linked astrally if we chose. I don’t understand why you don’t want that.”

“It’s not because I don’t love you enough. And it’s not because I don’t trust you.”

“Why, then?” Keiko stared at Solomon, willing him to answer.

He shook his head and turned to stare out the window. “As I said, it’s too dangerous. You’ve read the same accounts I have. You know that when a soul bond breaks, it kills both partners. Why doesn’t that frighten you as much as it does me?”

“Because the only reason a soul bond breaks is if one partner betrays the other. I would never betray you, Solomon. And I know you would never betray me.”

Solomon rubbed the back of his neck. Keiko waited for a response, but he remained silent.
She turned away, sick at heart. “I shouldn’t have brought it up.” She went to the closet, stepped out of her pumps, and pulled off the elegant but comfortable slacks she’d worn for the long flight, blinking until she could see to find a hanger. She hung up pants and blouse neatly, then opened her suitcase and extracted her toiletries case. “I’m going to get ready for bed. We should go right to sleep so we can get up at a reasonable time tomorrow. I want as long as possible to spend at the Hermitage. And I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted. The older I get, the harder jet lag hits me.”

Keiko hoped Solomon would respond with a teasing comment about her youth and his age, but he only grunted and started undressing. Her heart sank further. Most of the time her husband seemed to have grown comfortable with their wide age difference. But occasionally she caught hints it still troubled him.

Maybe that had something to do with his reluctance to bond. They’d never discussed the matter in any depth. When Solomon had capitulated to her advances, Keiko had been too overjoyed to question why. Since then, she’d avoided poking into subjects he preferred to keep private. She’d never shared more than superficial details about her reaction when they’d first met, and he’d brushed her off with brusque indifference the few times she’d asked about his.

Maybe it was finally time for both of them to learn the whole truth.

She waited until Solomon drew the thick curtains closed, leaving the room in deep darkness, and climbed into bed beside her. After a brief hug and a perfunctory kiss, he rolled over. Keiko longed to curl her body against his back and wrap her arms around him, but she refrained. Instead she reached out telepathically. Solomon, I want to share a memory with you.
He tensed. Of what?


She feared if she told him, he’d refuse. Of something I want you to understand from my perspective. Please, trust me. There’s something wrong between us, and I think this may help us figure out what it is so we can fix it.


He was silent for a long time. Finally Keiko heard him swallow. All right.

Keiko rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. Solomon’s mind settled into hers, its touch dear and familiar. She thought back to the day that had changed her life forever. Slow, deep breaths relaxed her body and helped her mind sink into a meditative state. Deeper and deeper she went, taking Solomon with her, until they were both submerged in the thoughts and feelings of the girl she’d been at twelve. She experienced again the thrill of nervous excitement that had quickened her breath and twisted her stomach as she opened the door of the dojo…

To be continued…