"Bring her back," Thane yelled."She's having a flashback, you idiot. You know from my history that we have to wait it out," Tag snarled back. "Get her tucked in, turn the lights off, and leave her alone. She'll come back when her brain is ready."Thane helped maneuver our girl under the covers of his bed. We made sure to pull up the blankets so nothing was tucked too tight around her body, just in case.I climbed off the bed. Looming over her while terror etched its way across her face made me feel even worse than I'd thought possible. We kept screwing up with her. By accident, granted. But that was twice now in less than an hour that her mind had turned traitor.I was sick of it. Sick of hurting her feelings-even without meaning to. Sick of seeing the heartache and sorrow on her face-even if we weren't the direct cause. She should be loved, cherished, treated like a princess. Stopping at the door, I waited while Tag and Thane fussed around her. Seeing her lying there withi
I came back to myself in the dark. A soft beam of light came from the side of the room. It was also fully black outside. Rain still beat against the wall of windows, but it was softer. Slower.As if the weather had learned my mood, read my memories, it commiserated with me. It wept as I had wept that day. No tears had washed me clean. Nothing but the love from the man, the men, I'd crashed into. Barreled into their lives as if I were a gale, and they were the innocent trees of my forest.I was in the giant bed. Alone. Were all beds this comfy?"Hello?"The room was empty except for me. The bathroom light was on. Tears filled my eyes as I thought of Thane doing that so I wouldn't wake in the complete black. He'd watched out for me ever since that first night.Hello? I called out with my mind.Three knocks sounded on the bedroom door."Who is it?" I asked, even knowing who stood outside. My men. The knob turned, but the door didn't move. "Thane, sweet girl. Tag and Tove
I curled my arms around her tighter. She'd not waited, not faltered in her movements to hug me. To touch me. That, more than any words she could've said, showed me that she didn't hold me responsible for the pain I'd brought her. She'd touched each of us. Touched our hearts. Our lives. I just hoped we could be just as good for her. We sat there in a huddle on my bed. Everyone lost in their own thoughts. The weighty silence wasn't uncomfortable or awkward. If anything, I felt like it had been a long time in coming. From a young age, my brothers and I worked to stay busy. To keep our minds distracted. Our bodies occupied so the loss didn't swamp us. Our mother and sister had been the lights of our lives. They had been our people. When they'd been taken from us, ripped callously from our lives, we'd been left adrift in the raging waters of a tempestuous storm. No anchor. No port. Nothing. "Well, isn't this a touching little scene?" a man's voice came from the doorway. We
I blinked as I tried to figure out what was happening. My father was in the room. He'd just shoved his magic into my body, causing me the most horrific pain I'd ever experienced-which he said wasn't supposed to hurt, and now he wants to train me to take down his brother. Could my life get any weirder?"If you're so strong and powerful, why don't you just take him out?" Tove asked. "Why do you need the help from a daughter you refuse to acknowledge?"I jolted back at the stab of a different kind of pain. I'd never known my father. My mother had only mentioned him a couple of times as I was growing up. She'd always been kind when she mentioned him. Never a bad word to say about who he was. Over the years, bringing him up had caused her great pain and heartache. Since he wasn't there, and I had been, I'd learned to keep my mouth shut. She was mine. Not his. I would protect her to the best of my ability. We'd had each other. We hadn't needed anyone else. Until I'd killed her. I w
"Finally," Sidney said as I moved into the living room. "I didn't realize someone raised in the forest would take so long getting dressed. We've already wasted so much time." He dusted his hands off. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes. With a big push of his palms to the outer sides of the room, all the furniture slid silently to the walls. Even the rug that covered most of the hardwood floors rolled itself up and leaned itself in the corner. He opened his eyes again, a bright smile on his face. He nodded. "Excellent. Now, let's begin." He shoved his palms in my direction. Some of the markings on his chest glowed softly. I raised my arms as I tried to brace myself for the pain he'd inflicted earlier. I clenched my eyes closed, held my breath. When nothing happened, I peeked around my arms. He was glaring at me like I was the village idiot.That title had never been bestowed on me, thankfully. But Zee and I had gotten along. If I'd had any friend in the Village, it
I looked around. This wasn't like the other places I'd been. Those dark holes had been fathomless voids. Nothing could touch me there. No nightmares. No fantasies.No. This time it was different.I blinked a few times, tried to make sense of what I was seeing. As my surroundings came into focus, I could tell it wasn't dark at all. It was full of light. An odd blue-tinged white that was both comforting and energizing. Trickles of power soaked into my body as rivulets ran over my skin. I inhaled and the air smelled of hope and bright summer mornings. I lay in that comfort for moments on end. "You must be waking now, lass. No time to dally or dawdle," a husky feminine voice said. I opened my eyes again and looked around. Outlined in a silvery glow, a dark haired, fair skinned woman stood off to my right. Her even and pleasant features reminded me of my mother although they looked nothing alike. I sat up, felt whatever I was laying on dip and sway under my weight. I spread
"Then try it again, damn it." I was this close to beating Sidney senseless. The man was worse than useless. We all knelt around Stretch's limp body on the living room floor. She'd been out for almost an hour. Guide Extraordinaire was doing nothing to bring his daughter back. He was about to get chucked off our penthouse roof. He mumbled some more words under his breath. Laid his hands against Stretch's belly. Her limbs danced and twitched as the power shot through her. "Her face! It got that eyebrow thing," Tove shouted. "Do it again.""What eyebrow thing?" Tag asked as he got down in Stretch's face. "I didn't see anything happen.""That thing she does when she's annoyed or trying to ignore us. The eyebrow thing." He wiggled his own eyebrows. Tag and I looked at each other."I don't know what you're talking about," Tag said. He clenched his hands into fists as he pounded them into the floor. "Sweetcheeks, come back to me. You have to come back now. We told you we love
I winced as the burning and tugging in my belly raged to new levels. I looked down at my belly, sure I'd find blood or fire. There was nothing. Just the same smooth skin I always saw. "What was that?" I asked Ari. She didn't answer. I looked up. Gone were the mists and the summer air. I was standing in the living room. My spirit twitching deep inside me at the anguish that soaked the room.Looking over, I found my men. They knelt around an empty spot on the floor. Tove was curled in on himself. His head buried under his arms, his face obscured against the floor. He looked like he was barely breathing. Thane looked as if his heart had been shredded inside his chest. His expression was hollow and empty. Like someone had taken a giant spoon and scooped out his insides, and left only the dregs of his soul behind. And Tag-my Grumpy-was rocking himself. His hands gripped his hair, pulling at it. I couldn't be sure, but it sounded like he was talking to himself. Angry muttering