I only have one available hand.
“Cease. And. Fall,” he says, his voice full Allure and a million times stronger than a moment ago.
Than ever.
The words hit my mind, my soul, and my body falls instantly. Crashing flat to the ground and the stones. My eyelids droop...
Almost closing...
Just the barest sliver left with a view of the Sabers on the ground, convulsing.
I don’t seem to be breathing… which oddly doesn’t worry me. No worries.
Just… calm… nothing...
The dead woman’s legs are hanging over the edge of a boulder. Her blood is still seeping ever so slowly down the stone, following the creases and cracks. It’s thick and congealed and tracing a pattern that’s begun to dry. Arcing out wide, then staggers towards the ground in jagged points, ending in a tail and talons.
My vision begins to fill with black spots.
Roarke dives for me.
“Kitten. Fuck. Breathe,” he orders, his words pierced hard with power. Kneeling in front of me, his fingers brush over my cheek.
My chest obeys, heaves, and air rushes into my lungs.
He presses his forehead to mine.
My mind’s reeling, trying to work out what’s going on.
Where am I? What am I supposed to be doing? Because I’m pretty sure lying around on a stone path wasn’t part of the plan for today – but I can’t quite access the part of my mind that knows things, that has answers.
“Sleep,” he whispers – orders.
He cups my ears, and the world goes quiet, before ordering something to the women still struggling to stay alive on the path.
Sleep… I consider, but for some reason, I don’t obey.
Whatever he says next stops the Sabers from convulsing. Cease and fall isn’t a quick death. That looked slow and painful – and obviously with enough time to either enjoy the show or rescind the instruction.
Their bodies relax. Their lips move. Then they start crawling out of here on hands and knees. Naked. Eyes glazed over and out of focus – like they’re sleep-crawling.
Roarke’s hands move from my ears, and the sound of gurgling water floods my senses. He cups my cheeks, tilting my head back. His dark eyes are wide with fear, but I can’t focus on them for long. Fuzzy, then clear.
Fuzzy, then clear.
“Now you resist me.” He sighs, sliding one arm under my back and the other under my legs, then scoops me up. “Go to sleep, Shade. Your mind needs to heal,” he says softly.
There’s no Allure in his tone.
And I obey.
Kitten weighs nothing, but carrying her makes the world feel heavy. Slumped against my chest, her breathing matches mine – because it is mine.
I carry her past Eydis’ recently murdered body – not important. Past the horses – also not important. Then kick open Eydis’ front door. One of the hinges groans, but it doesn’t break, and the door swings shut behind me.
I scan the room, closing my eyes and feeling with my magic. I’ve got nothing on Killian’s ability to feel people out. Everyone has darkness welling inside of them. But if there’s any semblance of desire to do us harm within this building – I’ll find it. The same way I found those Sabers in the trees. They wanted us to walk over to Eydis, badly enough that their desire was like a beacon.
I just have to let go of my grip on Shade’s breathing to do it. Let her lungs succumb to my order. Let them ‘cease and fall’.
Anger rips through me. She wasn’t supposed to hear that. She’s supposed to be getting stronger. Supposed to be able to survive going through Silvari glass. Sometimes she can resist me – just not when it actually matters.
And it matters now.
I push my magic through every corner of the cottage.
Empty. Devoid.
Then I slam my power back into Shade.
“Breathe,” I command.
Her chest expands. Her lungs obey.
One breath – I inhale, and on command, so does she.
Two, exhale.
Three.
Four.
We find our rhythm again.
At least she didn’t convulse from the pressure of my magic like the Sabers who ambushed us. Seeing her body do that would have left me with nightmares.
I settle her onto the couch and crouch down. Her pants are a few sizes too big and held in place by seams of elastic at the sides. The shirt was made for a man Seth’s size and falls low on her chest. I adjust it, wanting to run my fingertips over her soft skin, but instead dragging my gaze higher. Her hair falls about the soft fabric of the couch and across her cheek. Stroking it off her face feels like a safe thing to do until my power sparks, and my fingers tremble.
I suck back at my desires, and she bloody stops breathing again.
Aeons. Everything in me says, Back away, or I will kill her, but her mind needs time to repair the rip I just created – and in that time, my power is the only thing that can keep her alive. If I back away right now, I will kill her.
I. Can’t. Win.
I press my head into my hands. Oh, brother, when you sent us here together, you were so very, very misguided.
My power reaches for Shade, and I relax my grip enough to let out a thin tendril. It stretches across the distance and licks at the edge of her being. Then latches on with an ardor that begins playing a game of give and take. Giving just enough to instruct her to breathe, but taking – wanting – more. More contact. More of her.
Just more. My power always wants more. Never settles. Never satiated.
Jada should be on her way, as well as Rose and some of the other Elite triunes loyal to Pax, trustworthy, and ready to fight too. Teegan will be among them, but I push that thought down. Letting Teegan’s name into my mind creates a hot stab of apprehension in my chest. I don’t know if Teegan will be a good distraction or
