Page 86 of Visions & Shadows

Oh God. No.

Ares slowly walks around me, like an animal stalking its prey.

“Please,” I beg as I lift my head.

He flickers in and out of my sight, then grabs hold of my face, his fingers digging into my cheeks.

Leaning in close to me, his lifeless black eyes lock with mine.

“Shh! No noise. Not a sound,” he hisses, his dark tone sending chills over my body.

Suddenly, he lets go of me and shakes his head hard as if he’s fighting something before letting out a growl and kicking me in the stomach.

I fall to the side, gagging from the pain ripping through me. I’m battling to get air into my lungs so I can breathe some of the pain away when his foot connects with my ribs, ripping a cry from me.

I want to beg him to stop, but I can’t get any words out. I try to roll away from him, but he follows me and delivers another hard kick to my stomach.

Shit.

I gasp, tears streaking down my face as I try to climb to my feet so I can defend myself, but there’s no strength in my body, and I slump back down to the floor.

Ares crouches in front of me, and reaching a hand out to my face, his thumb swipes one of my tears from my cheek, and in absolute horror, I watch as it turns to ash on his skin.

I manage to suck in a painful breath of air, but it whooshes from me when his fist connects with my cheek.

I’m sucked into darkness and mercifully lose consciousness.

Raighne

The moment Ares disappears with Alchera, intense horror bleeds through my body.

My arms fall to my sides as I sink to my knees.

“Noooo!” Brenna screams, her tone hoarse with distress.

“Dear Awo,” Roark breathes in absolute shock.

They have Alchera.

I’ve failed my charge.

Not even a minute passes when I feel intense pain tear through mymind, and the air explodes from my lungs.

“Alchera!”

There’s only silence as I struggle to get through to her.

Climbing to my feet, I break out into a run in the direction of the village.

“Raighne!” Finnian calls out.

I ignore my brother, and knowing it’s a full day’s ride by horseback to get to Janak and my father, I push myself hard.

A full day where Ares will torture Alchera for information about the chosen ones.

I can do it in half the time. Maybe less.

“Fuck!” I growl when it feels as if my soul is being torn in half, but the pain Alchera’s experiencing only forces me to push my body even harder.

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