Page 78 of Visions of Darkness

I gave a harsh shake of my head to stop the thoughts from spiraling. From devolving into indecency.

I knew the warnings. The tales that had been given. How Valeen had loved Kreed, only he’d desired her power more. His greed to rise above her had cut them in two, and that sundering had created Faydor, the Kruen his offspring.

We’d been told that as Valeen’s children, we would suffer the same consequence. That our duty to our Nol was only to fight the evils of Kreed, and anything beyond that would lead only to destruction.

Even though there was no part inside me that could ever imagine turning on her, I couldn’t take that chance. Couldn’t allow my thoughts to go that direction.

My responsibility was protecting her.

That was it.

I paced back to the window, and I used the barrel of my gun to nudge back the drape an inch so I could peer out.

I’d already done it a hundred times.

Ensuring it was clear.

My nerves edged into a frenzied chaos that I knew better than to try to shake.

I squinted against the blinding light, the winter sky clear and crisp.

I scanned our surroundings.

There’d been little movement since we’d gotten here, the motel mostly quiet. There were only three other vehicles in the spaces in front of the motel rooms.

On the opposite side of the lot was a diner. It was busier there, and a handful of cars and pickups were parked in front.

Two semitrucks sat in an open field in between, and I’d seen one of the drivers amble into the diner an hour before.

The other I had yet to see.

Another of those soft moans echoed from behind me. I swore I could feel the air stir as she shifted. Could feel her presence caress over my flesh like the greedy brush of fingertips.

My teeth ground as I turned to look at her.

Aria sat up, and the covers slipped down around her waist. My gray tee draped over her tall, slender frame.

Her long, black hair rained around her, though it was a matted, tangled mess. The midnight locks only made her pale skin seem paler, only it glowed, vibrant in the bare rays that flooded the room.

Glinting sparks that grazed the defined angles of her face.

She was a clash of severe and soft.

Her cheekbones high and her nose straight.

Her plush mouth contrasted her acute edges, a pink bow of temptation, her chin kissed with a dimple.

But it was those eyes that matched mine that nearly did me in.

The way they watched me like they could see through to the deepest places inside me.

Into places I didn’t allow people to go.

But this was Aria we were talking about, and I didn’t know how to stand in the weight of who she was and who she could never be.

“Hey,” I managed to grumble.

“Hi,” she whispered. Uncertainty bound her brow, and there was no missing the unease cut into her consciousness.

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