Page 37 of Visions & Shadows

“I’ve changed slightly. The elixir wore off as soon as we entered Vaalbara.”

“Slightly?” I whisper as I let out a chuckle that almost turns into a sob.

Dear God. What is this?

“You’ve changed too,” he says, his tone a million times calmer than I feel. He gestures at the water. “Take a look.”

My confusion only grows, and when I glance down, I almost have a heart attack.

A gasp explodes over my lips as I look at my wobbly reflectionin the water.

I see sparkling emerald-green eyes wide with shock and confusion. My hair is black with silver streaks on the left side of my head.

I lift a trembling hand to my face, and my breath catches in my throat when my fingers brush over my perfect creamy skin.

“That can’t be me,” I whisper.

Panic grips my chest, squeezing the air from my lungs until it starts to hurt.

My heart pounds in my ears.

When my vision starts to blur again, I look at Ryan.

I want to ask him what he did to me, but my tongue is numb with pins and needles.

Ryan darts forward, and as his arms wrap around me, he says, “Breathe, Alchera.”

I shake my head as my body goes limp, and my vision grows spotty.

“Everything will make sense soon,” I hear him say as he lifts me into his arms bridal style.

“Peace be, Raighne,” I hear another man’s voice. “Is the princess okay?”

“Peace be. She’s just in shock. I have to get her to Janak and Aster.”

I manage to pry my eyes open and see a blur of greens and browns before I pass out.

Chapter 7

Raighne

I tried to be aspatient as possible, but with the visions happening more often and that bastard, Robert, attacking Alchera, I had to bring her home.

With my charge in my arms, I start to make my way to the training camp, where Aster should be at the infirmarius.

I glance down at Alchera’s unconscious face, and seeing her without the glamor of the elixer, an intense sense of possessiveness fills my veins.

Mine.

I’m relieved to have my charge back on Vaalbara with me. Pretending to be a seventeen-year-old boy was frustrating as fuck.

I have to remind myself I’m still a stranger to Alchera. She never got to meet me before she was sent to Earth, even though we were bonded the moment she was born.

As I carry Alchera while I make the trek to the training grounds, I don’t grow tired at all. I could walk with her for days on end without any rest.

I keep glancing at her, checking for signs that she’s regaining her consciousness, but as the hours pass and she doesn’t come to, worry fills my veins.

I focus hard, and entering her mind, I find nothing but blissfuldarkness. Even though it sets me at ease, I pick up my pace and start to run.

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