No matter how far I run, I can’t escape them. I can hear every chaotic thought I get pulled into every dream and relive every memory that he does. I can feel everything that my bond mate feels. Not an actual heartbeat, but a phantom one I suppose. For seven years I have lived on another island so insignificant that it doesn’t possess a name, and has only one living resident apart from me.įor seven years there has been a heartbeat in my chest that wasn’t mine. I got on a boat and got as far away from the island as I could. Not liking either of those options, I ran. I remember trying to read into it before I bonded but there were no details about it, just that any person found with purple eyes will be outlawed or sentenced to death. The island I am from doesn’t even have a name for it, we just call those with purple eyes abominations. Thira is a world where choice is taken from you. It is a simple life, and the one I hope to live. The men work on the farms and the women grow herbs and make medicines and such. It is the duty of the Terra Tribe, my parents’ tribe. Sierra hasn’t bonded yet either.ĭad sits down at the table, despite the fact he is covered in dirt and sweat from working the farms all day. We’re both petite with Mum’s fair skin and Dad’s silver hair. I follow Mum into the kitchen where I find my sister with her nose in a book. His parents are from the Lex Tribe, she corrects me.Ĭome inside for dinner, Amity, Mum says with a shake of her head. I hope not, I say as I feel myself redden, which isn’t hard as I am usually snow white. Perhaps Nicholas will be your bond mate, Mum says in her not-so-subtle way of saying she saw the kiss. I am envious of her strawberry blonde curls. I skip up to the back door and Mum appears in all her grace and beauty. I can’t recall him ever saying my birth name. I replay the memory in my head, scrunching my nose at his use of my last name. My fingers linger on the spot he kissed me. I open my eyes as he leans back and smiles at me.Ĭatch you later, Winters, he says, before turning on his heels and walking up to my house. The softness of his lips on my skin makes my skin flush. He closes the space between us and plants a soft kiss on the corner of my lips. Nicholas leans forward, his face close to mine. His angelic face is the reason that every girl on the island, including me, fantasises about him.

I think he is beautiful, in every sense of the word. I step off the swing and turn to face him, leaning forward and resting my hands on the seat of the swing. He is well practiced in the art of charm. I tilt my head towards him and note the smile he gives me. He catches the swing, slowing it to a halt. Silver hair flies across my face and butterflies do flips in my stomach with each fall. I move my legs with the wind, willing myself to go higher. Nicholas stands behind me, pushing the swing. It sits behind the pine trees, overlooking the fields.

Amity by Danica Peck