Page 11

11

EMBERLYNN

“ Y ou’re going to kill them for me,” he whispers as his bony fingers wrap around the bars of my cage.

I shake my head as I hug my knees to my chest. “No, I won’t do it.”

Lightning blazes across the ceiling—I’m not sure if it’s him or me doing it.

Sometimes I can’t tell what powers mine are and which ones are his. They sometimes mix, and chaos ensues whenever that occurs.

“You will, my little pet,” he warns, “or your parents will suffer.”

“They’re not even here,” I mutter as tears fall from my eyes.

“You don’t think I can’t hurt them even if they’re not close.” He leans forward, his shadowy face like haunting tendrils of fog rising from a lake. “I can hurt whoever I want whenever I want. ”

“Then why do you need me?” I lift my chin, being defiant. I do that on occasion when I’m too tired to be afraid of him.

A punishment is coming, but I can’t find the will to care.

His hollow laugh slithers up my spine. “I guess we’re doing this the hard way then.”

My cage door opens, and he reaches for me, pain searing through my body.

I let out a scream as a hand touches my face ? —

“Emberlynn, wake up. It’s just a dream.”

My eyelids fly open, and I gasp for air. “Where am I?” I sputter, completely disoriented as I take in the bed I’m lying in and the dark blue walls surrounding me.

The next thing my gaze centers on is the beautiful guy with lavender eyes leaning over me. His hand is on my cheek, and worry is emitting from him in potent waves. He’s sitting on the edge of the bed with his body angled toward me.

“Okay my God, I forgot where I was,” I breathe out. I stare up at the ceiling, counting my breaths.

Sure, Wylder has calmed me down with his magic, but I’ve had to do it for myself most of my life. Counting my breaths helps. Not as much as his power, though.

He cautiously watches as I drag my fingers through my hair. “You were having another nightmare?”

I bob my head up and down, swallowing audibly. “I have them every night … usually.”

His lips thin as he presses them together. “Can I ask what they’re about? ”

I shake my head from side to side. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay.” He easily lets the subject drop, and it makes me like him more.

I probably shouldn’t get too attached, since after they do this spell to read my history, they’ll realize what I’ve done and probably kick me out of their coven.

I push up on my elbows. “What time is it?” I ask, noticing he’s dressed in a pair of jeans and a gray shirt.

“It’s seven o’clock in the morning.” He observes me, as if he’s trying to see into the cracks where I keep my lies. His aura is a bit dull, too, which is odd. “We’re actually getting ready to take off soon. I came in here to wake you up, and you were moaning in your sleep … like you were in pain.” He pauses, as if waiting for me to tell him what was haunting my nightmares.

I offer no answer as I sit up and rub my eyes with the heels of my hands. “I take it no rogues showed here then?”

He shakes his head. “It was pretty quiet last night.”

“You guys really should’ve let me take a turn keeping an eye on things,” I say as I note the dark circles under his eyes.

“It was nice of you to offer, but until we train you to use your powers, I think we should limit the risk of you having to fight a rogue.”

“Good point.” I throw the covers off of me. “I’ll go get dressed and pack up my stuff.”

Nodding, he stands up, his gaze quickly sweeping up and down me as I get out of bed. I took my hoodie off when I went to bed last night, so I’m more exposed than I have been in front of him. I’m also not wearing a bra, and, for a fleeting moment, his attention goes straight to my chest. I start to cross my arms, but a flush spreads across his cheeks and he turns away.

“I’ll let you get dressed then.” He hurries out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

What the actual hell just happened?

My gaze drops to my chest, and I feel my own cheeks warm. Oh my god, my nipples are totally visible through the shirt. No wonder he ran out of here like that.

To be honest, it doesn’t make that much sense. Wylder is a gorgeous, sweet guy. He has to be experienced, right? With the way he acted, though, it kind of feels like maybe not.

How is that even possible? And why am I suddenly obsessing over this?

Yanking my head from Wylder Land, I quickly get changed into a pair of baggy jeans, a black T-shirt, and tug on a hoodie over it. Normally, I’d pull the hood over my head and put on sunglasses, but that was to hide my abnormal eyes. I don’t feel the need to do that anymore, though I do feel sort of naked as I wander out of my room with my bag slung over my shoulder.

Nico and Kaiden are in the living room when I wander in, feeling like a zombie thanks to my crappy sleep cycle. Kaiden is texting on his phone and doesn’t seem to notice when I enter. Nico is sitting at the table, staring off into space. He’s dressed in black pants and a green shirt that goes well with his eyes. His hair is styled perfectly, and he has a bored expression on his face. However, when his gaze finds me, a smile lights up his face.

“Hey, pretty eyes, how did you sleep?” He gracefully stands and approaches me. While I’m tall, he’s taller, and I have to angle my head up to look at him. The instant he sees me up close, a frown forms on his lips. “You look tired.”

“I just didn’t sleep very well.” I slide the handle of my bag higher onto my shoulder. “Where’s Phoenix and Wylder?”

“They went to grab breakfast.” He slips his fingers underneath the handle of my bag. “We’re supposed to meet them at the car.” He takes the bag off my shoulder.

“I can get my bag.” I reach out to take it back from him.

He steps back, shaking his head and hitching the bag over his shoulder. “I’ve got it.”

All this helping me out is making me uncomfortable, which yes, I know that makes me sound crazy, but when you’re not used to having help, and then you suddenly have it, it’s freaking weird.

“Kai, you ready to roll?” Nico calls out as he turns and grabs the handle of a luggage bag.

“Yep.” Kaiden pushes to his feet, stuffs his phone into the pocket of his black pants, and faces us, his gaze discreetly roving over me before he directs his attention to Nico. “You got the bags?”

Nico nods, salutes him, then saunters toward the door, dragging the suitcase behind him.

I follow with Kaiden right behind me, his close presence making the temperature of the air slightly colder, but not in a bad way.

A few minutes later, the three of us are on the elevator. Kaiden pushes the button to the main floor then leans back against the metal wall and rolls up one of the sleeves of his button-down gray shirt.

“So, how long of a drive do you think we have before we make it home?” Nico asks, glancing down at his watch.

“Probably another few hours.” He rolls up the other sleeve of his shirt then says something else, but I can’t make out what over the sound of a loud humming that abruptly fills the elevator.

At first, I think it’s because my eardrums are pressurized. I try to pop them, but the sound only builds, growing louder and louder until it’s screaming in my brain.

I hunch over, crying out.

“ Where are you, my little pet ?” Shadow Man’s voice fills my head. “ I can feel you again. It’s been a long time. I started to wonder if perhaps you were dead, but I should’ve known better. You’re too strong. And you’re mine .”

“No,” I moan out as I collapse to the floor.

I can feel hands on my arms, but my vision is too spotted over for me to see, and I can’t hear past his voice. It’s all a hear.

“ Yes, you are. You’ll always be mine. ” His laughter scratches against my skull. “ It’s just a matter of time before I find you again. ”

“Kaiden, make it stop!” Nico’s voice fleeting cuts through Shadow Man’s laughter. “Get in there!”

“And what if it’s not?” Kaiden snaps in a panic. “It’ll make it worse.”

“Look at her.” Nico’s voice is low and quivering. “Look at her eyes. That’s dark magic, so stop being you, get into her head, and get it out of there. We have no other choice.”

“ You’re not alone? ” Shadow Man sounds both confused and intrigued. “ Who else is with you, my little pet. ”

I whimper. “Stop. Go away.”

“Shh … It’ll be over soon.” A voice says as a sparkly sensation spills over me, and then fingers press gently against my temples.

“ Don’t you dare let someone else in ,” Shadow Man warns. “ I’ll ruin them, too, if you do … ”

His voice fades away as the sparkling sensation magnifies. It’s not warm, but cold, and yet it feels so wonderful, like rain on a hot day, or like feeling crisp snowflakes fall over me while I lay in powdery snow.

The sensation is so prominent that I can visualize laying in the snow, staring up at the clouds as snowflakes tumble down on me and melt against my skin. Then wisps of darkness begin to dance around me. But they’re not like Shadow Man. No, these wisps are more like ribbons tinted with hues of purple, like a raven’s feather. And somehow, the understanding resides deep inside me that they won’t bring me any harm. They’re here to help me .

“Pretty,” I whisper as I grab one of them and clutch it in my hand.

Delicious warmth expands through my body then, and sleepiness pulls me under, like a soft blanket tucking me in against the snow-kissed slumber of night.

And I let it.

Because I just know that nothing will hurt me here.

Not even Shadow Man.