Alora: The Portal (Alora 2)

“I guess you’d better try kissing again. We won’t watch. Right, Wesley? Look, I’ve got my eyes closed.” Beth’s hands covered her eyes, peek-a-boo style.

Considering her head felt like someone was driving spikes into it, Alora thought she’d be willing to kiss Kaevin in front of anyone… even Uncle Charles, despite his persistent objections to any display of affection between them. Kaevin wasted no time complying with Beth’s suggestion, moving to press his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. Though her heart sped up and warmth spread down her neck, the pounding headache remained unchanged.

“My head still hurts. What about you, Kaevin? Any better?”

“No improvement.”

“I’ve got an idea,” said Wesley, as he dashed off toward the kitchen. Alora’s mind blurred from the pain until Wesley returned, handing each of them a Ziploc bag, filled with ice. “Try holding this on the side of your head. It always works for me.”

Alora felt the pain beginning to dissipate as she pressed the bag to her temple, shivering as a few drops of water condensed and dripped down her face and onto her neck. “Brilliant, Wesley. I think it’s working.”

“Already? Seems awfully quick.” Settling back into his chair, Wesley lifted a can of root beer to his lips.

“Truly, the pain’s better, though not completely gone,” Kaevin agreed, holding the ice to his head with one hand and, with the other, reaching to lock fingers with Alora.

“What can it be?” Alora mused. “It’s not like I’ve done anything to draw on the soulmate bond. We’ve been here for two weeks without going back to Laegenshire or bringing anyone to Montana.”

“And we’ve been holding hands from the moment we left the school,” Kaevin added.

“Maybe you’re both coming down with something. Maybe it’s the flu.” Wesley scratched his head. “I heard there’s a virus going around.”

“What’s a virus?” asked Kaevin.

“It’s an illness caused by microscopic germs. And it’s contagious, too.”

“What’s contagious? And what’s mico… What’s that other word you said?”

Wesley wrinkled his nose. “Uhmm… Contagious means you can pass the sickness from one person to another, and microscopic means it’s so small you have to look in a microscope to see it. You remember we used a microscope in Biology lab?”

Alora’s heart broke for Kaevin as she read the frustration on his face. The transition to high school in Montana had been difficult. He was barely passing his classes, despite his intelligence. If not for constant tutoring from Wesley and Beth, he would’ve already failed. They’d discovered early on Kaevin wasn’t keen on accepting instruction from Alora.

However, everyone agreed it was best for Kaevin to remain close to her throughout the day. In addition to reducing the risk posed by an extended separation, being near each other provided opportunity to hold hands frequently. Uncle Charles preferred handholding so that no kissing would be required to catch up, as he described it. He wouldn’t be happy to know they’d been

sneaking a kiss every morning in the stables.

“I think what’s getting passed around is a stomach virus instead of a flu virus. At least that’s what Janna had,” said Beth. “Does your stomach hurt, too? Or do you feel nauseous?”

“No, just our heads. Right, Kaevin?”

He nodded, wincing at the motion.

“Maybe it’s a sinus infection giving you a sinus headache,” Beth suggested.

“What’s a sinus infection?” asked Kaevin.

“You have these holes in your head, called sinuses…” Beth began.

“Holes in my head?”

“I’ll explain later,” said Alora, squeezing his hand. “It’s not important.”

“Both of them getting a sinus infection at the same time? Wouldn’t that be a big coincidence?” asked Wesley.

“Don’t you feel each other’s pain and stuff like that? Maybe one of you has a sinus infection and the other one feels the pain from it,” said Beth.

Kaevin screwed his mouth to the side. “I’m not certain the soulmate bond shares pain from illness, although I suppose it might. We still haven’t learned a great deal about soulmates.”

“Wait!” In her excitement, Beth gestured with the Coke in her hand, splashing on the wood floor. “Oops. Sorry… I’ll clean that up. But did you say you’ve been in Montana for two weeks straight? You didn’t go back last weekend?”