Page 170 of Visions & Shadows

Ares moves fast, surprising even me, and he grabs hold of Lydia. She shrieks and drops the scalpel, taking desperate and terrified gulps of air.

“Ares, let’s get out of here,” I say, my words rushed. “She’s terrified, and this isn’t making the situation any better.”

I take hold of his arm, and the next second, he shimmers us back to Doug and Sarah’s house.

When we appear, Lydia sinks to her knees and wraps an arm around her stomach. “Oh God.”

Dylan and Jason hurry to her side, and I leave them to explain everything to Lydia once she recovers from Ares shimmering us from Africa to Ireland.

Another one down. Two to go.

Raighne grabs hold of my arm, and I’m yanked down the hallway. Practically shoving me into one of the bedrooms, he slams the door shut behind us.

When he turns to face me, and I see the anger etched deep into his features, I exhale an exhausted breath.

“I don’t have the energy to fight with you right now,” I mutter as I move away from him.

When I sit down on the side of the bed, he growls, “Never fucking do that again. You go nowhere alone with Ares.”

My shoulders sag, and glancing down, I see the blood covering my shirt.

Memories of what happened after I got shot flit through my mind until the image of Void hovering over me makes me freeze.

Raighne stalks toward me, and wrapping his arms around me, he presses a kiss to the top of my head. “Don’t think about him.”

I tilt my head back so I can look at Raighne’s face, his anger from a second ago now gone.

“Who is he?” I ask.

“Where Awo is light, Void is darkness. He rules over the shadowlands on Vaalbara.” Raighne brushes a hand over my messy hair. “Thinking about him gives him access to your mind. Just block him.”

Easier said than done.

Letting out a sigh, I lean into Raighne and close my eyes. “Two more to go.”

“You can do it, my little dreamer,” he murmurs as his hands frame my cheeks and tip my head back. His eyes drift over my face, then he leans down and presses a tender kiss to my lips.“You’re so fucking strong it amazes me.”

“I don’t feel strong,”I admit as I grip hold of his forearms. My face crumbles, and I’m unable to stop the tears.

Raighne deepens the kiss, his warmth engulfing me, and I’m hit by a tsunami of relief.

He consumes me in a way that forces me to focus only on him. In thismoment, there’s no destruction, no horror, no death. There’s only the incredible love he feels for me.

“Oh. Sorry,” Sarah interrupts us, and when Raighne pulls away, the shadows pour so fast back into my mind I sway like a zombie for a moment.

“I just wanted to give Alchera some clean clothes,” Sarah says. “Doug and Jason are making something to eat.”

“Thank you,” Raighne replies as he takes the clothes from her.

“Dylan’s given one of his clean shirts for you to wear. Hopefully it will fit,” she tells Raighne while I sit frozen on the side of the bed as my destructive emotions bombard me.

“Thanks,” Raighne grumbles while wrapping his fingers around the back of my neck. His touch is instantly soothing, and my eyes drift shut for a few seconds.

“I thought you’d like to know Lydia is doing okay under the circumstances,” she informs us.

“That’s good to hear,” Raighne replies, his thumb skimming over my skin.

“Is Alchera okay?” Sarah asks.

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