Page 144 of Visions & Shadows

Brenna frames my face with her hands and forces me to focus on her so I don’t look at Raighne as he works to heal my broken limb.

“Just look at me,” she says as she brushes her palm over my wet hair. “You did well. I’m proud of you.”

“Yeah?” I gasp. “So I have to almost die to get you to like me?”

She shakes her head. “I’ve always loved you. I was just angry and shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

I hear the bone snap back into place, and Raighne lets out a painful grunt, “Fuck.”

I pull my face free from Brenna’s hold and turn my head so I can look at him. His features are drawn tight with pain, but he keeps working on my arm.

“Stop,” I mutter as I try to sit up, but Brenna pins me down to the ground by my shoulders.

“Keep still,” Raighne growls. “It hurts more when you move.”

“Stop!” I snap at him. “I can handle the pain.”

He just shakes his head at me, and it breaks my heart to see him takingall of my pain.

I glare at Brenna. “Let go of me.”

“Just stay still,” she says, her tone brisk. “He’s almost done.”

When strength returns to my body, Raighne’s still working to close the deep gash from where the bone ripped through my skin, but I manage to shove Brenna away from me and climb to my feet.

“Will you fucking stop,” Raighne snaps, raising his voice at me.

“Enough,” I hiss. “I’m not going to let you take all my pain.”

He moves so fast I have no time to evade him. One of his hands clamps around my throat while the other closes over the gash on my arm. I’m yanked right against him as our eyes lock.

“Stop!”he demands, pouring all his power into the single word.

With my breaths racing over my lips, I’m unable to move a muscle while he finishes healing me. Only once he’s done does he break eye contact, and the force that’s keeping me in place disappears, freeing me.

Before I can say anything else, I hear the wind stirring through the leaves of the trees, and I shiver.“The wind, Raighne.”

“There’s no wind,” he replies, his eyes flicking over my face.

“Raighne,”I whimper, and his arms engulf me as my vision begins to blur and the sound of the wind gets stronger.

“I’ve got you.”I hear his words as if he’s speaking from the end of a tunnel, and I feel my body float into the air as he picks me up.

Chapter 26

Alchera

“There’s no time to rest!If we don’t keep moving, we might as well kill ourselves,” a man says, his tone commanding.

Glancing around me, I’m standing on a rocky hill and looking down at a lake.

It’s beautiful.

The wind blows, sending shivers down my spine, and when I glance over my shoulder, I see a waterfall.

Thank God.

“I’m not as fit as you. I’ll only hold you back. Go on ahead. I’ll catch up with you,” another man says.

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