Page 42 of Cast in Shadow
He was sitting on the edge of the bed, one foot on the ground. Those broad shoulders were like stone. One big hand gripped the sheets like he was using them as an anchor, and his eyes… they pulsed a deep red, like a vial of blood held up to a flame.
“What did you do?” he asked slowly, lacing each carefully enunciated word with accusation.
I honestly couldn’t tell if he was angry or aroused.Whichever it was, though, on a scale of one to ten, he’d just jumped to eleven.
Easing back a couple of steps toward the bedroom door, I held my hands out in front of me, as if the gesture might calm him in some way. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Those ruby eyes narrowed. “Don’t lie to me.”
What was I supposed to tell him? It wasn’t like I knew this could happen. And telling him the truth would just lead to more questions that I didn’t want to answer and more memories I never wanted to relive.
As far as I knew, only a handful of witches had been reckless enough to try touching the veil before me, and it had never ended well. The unlucky few who did somehow manage to survive the power drain of the initial connection were too weak to fend off the beings on the other side.
The demons. Like Emerson.
“This is more than the ribbon.”
I shook my head. He always was smarter than he looked.
Had he put all the pieces together yet? Did he know, or even suspect, thathewas the reason I’d been able to keep my soul intact when I’d touched the veil?
The trick was having barriers in place. Strong ones. We’re talking castle walls made of three-foot thick stone, backed with steel, and enchanted with a hell of a lot of stay-the-fuck-out.
I’d built walls like that thanks to Emerson’s little excursions into my mind. In fact, if it hadn’t been for him teaching me how to lock him out, I wouldn’t have survived.
And if I was being honest, I hadn’t intended to.
I hadn’t really been sure what would happen, but I definitely wasn’t expecting a ruthless, powerful demon to try to claw its way into my head. If I’d let that monster win back then, it probably would have consumed my soul and slipped into my skin before raising hell in my world.
The masochistic part of me had tried to imagine what I would have looked like with glowing red eyes at least a thousand times since then. Or would they have been inky black like?—?
Black eyes. A powerful witch. The ribbon.
WasthatMegan’s endgame? Touching the veil?
“Sonofabitch.” A chill snaked through me. “I have to go.” I checked my pockets, but my phone was gone.
“We’re not done,” Emerson said, getting up from the bed and grabbing me by the arm.
I shot him a glare and yanked free of his grip. “Yeah, we are.” I flipped the blankets and tossed the pillows. “I need my phone.”
He didn’t help me look. He didn’t do anything except stand there staring at me, his broad chest rising and falling as he buttoned up his pants. But I could feel his thoughts pressing against my walls.
“Knock it off. You’re not getting through unless I want you to.”
He huffed out a sharp breath. “Your team can wait, Senna. I need you to talk to me. How did you do it? How are you still alive?”
I scanned the floor, though the effort was half avoiding his gaze and half looking for my goddamned phone. “Do you know what happens when a witch reaches out to the veil?”
All I got in response was a grunt.
“I can’t believe I didn’t put it together earlier,” I said, shaking my head. I dropped to my knees and checked under the bed. “Finally.” It must have fallen out when…
I shook the delicious, distracting thought from my head, and got down on my belly to reach it. When I tried to get back up, I couldn’t move.
Did that bastard really freeze me with his magic again?
“Don’t you fucking dare, Emerson.” If I could have seen himfrom my position on the floor, I would have spat the words at him.
