Page 116 of Visions & Shadows

Seeing the small, brown vial, I take the top off and quickly drink the bitter elixir.

Jesus. Yuck.

Seconds tick by, and I still feel the same.

Damn, I kind of hoped the elixir would’ve taken away my pain as well.

The thought makes me peek in the bathroom cabinet, and seeing a box with the word painkiller printed on the side, I glance at the shut bathroom door before I take the medicine.

Opening the box, I’m confused as I stare at a bunch of patches.

Who the hell uses patches as painkillers?

Well, beggars can’t be choosers.

I take one and carefully stick it over my ribs before straightening out my shirt and hoodie.

The box seems to be full, so I take out another three, hoping Jason won’t notice they’re missing.

Hold up. Jason’s leaving with us, so why not just take the whole box, right?

I stand for a moment, feeling guilty about stealing it, before shoving the whole box of painkiller patches into my bag.

I glance at my reflection in the mirror to see if the elixir has worked and notice only my eyes have changed. Instead of sparkling like emeralds, they’re just plain green now.

I suck in a deep breath, and when my ribs don’t ache as much, a smile tugs at my lips.

I leave the bathroom, and when I finally make my appearance, both men just stare at me.

I notice Raighne’s eyes are light blue, but otherwise he also looks the same, and not like the younger version when he was pretending to be Ryan.

Seeing him wearing jeans and a T-shirt is weird, though.

Hot weird.

Jason is the first to speak. “What do you want?” His voice falls like icicles around us.

“Jason, I know this is strange and–”

“How do you know my name?” He takes a step toward me, which makes Raighne take a step forward as well.

“It’s kind of hard to explain without sounding crazy.” I try to give him a smile to put him at ease.

“Well, why don’t we take a seat in the living room, and then you explain it to me.” He shoves past me, and we have no choice but to follow him.

When I take a seat across from Jason, Raighne sits down beside me.

All the chaotic emotions I’ve felt the past week threaten to overwhelm me, but this isn’t the place or the time to think about it, and I forcefully shove it back.

“You better start talking,” Jason snaps, pulling me from my thoughts.

I look at him and take a deep breath before I say, “I’m going to tell you something that will freak you out, but try to stay calm.”

He just stares me down, not giving me anything to work with.

Well, here goes nothing.

Letting out a sigh, I continue, “I know your name because I’ve had a vision about you.”

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