Chapter 13
Raighne
Watching Alchera move through all the actions Roark has taught her the past two months, a heaviness fills my chest.
She says she hasn’t had any more visions, but whenever I touch her, I get glimpses of them.
She’s seen Adeth and Ares, and it fills me with dread.
Few people know Adeth is my aunt, and Ares my cousin. They turned dark after my mother died, and nothing any of us said changed their minds about destroying Earth.
I know Alchera’s visions can change, and they’re not set in stone, but just the thought that it might happen makes me want to hide her somewhere no one can find her.
But I can’t do that. She has a destiny to fulfill.
With my eyes glued to her, I feel frustrated that she hides her visions from me. It tells me she doesn’t trust me, and I’m not going to lie, it hurts.
There was a morning, not long after she got back to Vaalbara, when I thought I felt a spark between us, but since then, there’s a gaping distance I can’t cross.
Alchera won’t let me.
She loses her balance and falls flat on her butt, laughter exploding from her and echoing over the field .
When Storm helps her to her feet, there’s a twisting sensation in my chest, and before I can stop myself, I take a couple of steps closer.
I hate seeing him touch her, a possessive feeling bursting in my chest.
She’s mine.
Storm pats her on the shoulder, and I fist my hands at my sides.
She’s only your charge, and it doesn’t mean you have a right to claim her.
Alchera is the only one who gets to choose who she’ll marry.
My brothers are lucky in that regard. Brenna and Thana have chosen them, and it’s made the bond between them so much stronger.
Alchera lets out a chuckle, but when her eyes land on me, her smile fades, and she quickly looks away.
Awo, will she ever forgive me for what happened on Earth?
No matter how many times I tell her I didn’t pretend to be her friend and it was all real, she refuses to believe me.
Letting out a sigh, I cross my arms over my chest and glance at the surrounding area.
Soon, we’ll leave for the desert so we can work on our telepathic connection. I’ve put off telling Alchera about it because I know it’s going to upset her when she learns she has to let me into her mind.
Another heavy sigh escapes me, and then I see River and Fleur smiling lovingly at each other.
My eyes flick back to Alchera, who’s sparing with Storm while Roark gives them instructions.
Storm gets Alchera in a chokehold, and when her body strains against his, I don’t think and just react. Within seconds, I use my talent to rip Alchera away from Storm, a threatening growl rumbling from my chest.
When Alchera slams into my chest, Storm’s features are tense as he glances around us.
“What’s wrong?” Roark asks, also checking the area for any sign of danger as River moves closer to him.
Everyone’s on guard from my irrational behavior.
Fuck. I screwed up.
I let go of Alchera, who’s staring at me with wide eyes and parted lips.
Not knowing how to explain myself, I shake my head and mutter, “ My mistake.”
Walking away, anger pours into my chest, and only when I’m out of hearing distance from the others do I snap at myself, “What the hell was that?”
I suck in a deep breath, and feeling the intense jealousy burning in my veins, I shake my head.
I have to get my shit together where Alchera’s concerned.
But it’s hard caring about her and keeping romantic feelings out of the picture.
Especially when she’s taking everything so well and getting stronger by the day. Instead of hating us for what we did to her, she’s moved on and tried her best to meet every high standard that’s been thrown her way.
It’s earned my respect and that of everyone else.
I turn around and watch as she gets back to training.
And by Awo, she’s so fucking beautiful.
With her body becoming more toned, it’s hard not to notice her curves. I’m actually relieved she refuses to wear skirts and insists on long pants.
With my heart pounding in my chest and my emotions for Alchera growing by the second, it’s hard to shove it all to the back of my mind so I can focus on my job as her guardian.
Alchera
Things have been both good and weird.
Good, because training has been going really well, and I’ve grown closer to Roark. It’s incredible having an older brother, and I’ve loved getting to know him better.
My friendship with Fleur has deepened, and for the first time in my life, I have a friend I can gossip with. Spending time with her is always fun, and I’ve had a front-row seat to her and River falling in love.
A smile curves my lips when I think of their blossoming relationship, but then my thoughts turn to Raighne, and my heart clenches painfully.
With every passing day, he’s putting more distance between us. He’s downright grumpy most of the time, and it’s starting to get to me.
I have no idea what I’ve done to upset him.
Lost in my thoughts, I stare at the bag on my bed.
“You’re not done packing?” Raighne’s voice rumbles behind me. “Everyone already left for the desert.”
“I’m packing,” I mutter as I shove a pair of pants into the bag.
“You have ten minutes,” he orders. “Bring only the essentials.”
When he stalks out of the room, my heart hurts, and I let out a heavy sigh.
I do as I’m told and hurry to get everything into the backpack so I don’t upset him even more.
I almost forget the most important item of all and squeeze one of my pillows into the bag.
If I’m sleeping out in the desert, I want my favorite pillow for comfort.
“Alchera, are you ready to go?” Fleur calls.
“Yeah, I’ve just finished packing.” I shrug the strap of the bag over my shoulder and head into the living room.
“I came to give you this.” She holds out a little brown vial to me.
“What is it?” I ask as I take it from her.
“I made you an elixir. It will give you clarity of mind when you’re tired and discouraged, seeing as you won’t have my awesomeness there to cheer you up.”
“What do you know that I don’t?” I mutter as I tuck the vial into my bag.
“Nothing.”
“I wish you could come,” I say as I pull her into a tight hug. “I’m going to miss you.”
“I’m going to miss you, too.” Her voice sounds sad, and it makes me hold her a few seconds longer.
“Alchera,” Raighne grumbles from outside.
I let go of my friend, and when I hurry out of the tent, it’s to see Raighne sitting on a massive black horse.
Crap, I’ve never been on a horse.
I glance around and not seeing another horse, I’m not sure what to do.
“Come,” Raighne orders.
Oh, just my luck, we’re sharing a horse.
I walk closer, not sure how I’m going to get on the beast.
Raighne takes my backpack and fastens it to the side of the saddle, then reaches down to me.
Reluctantly, I place my hand in this, and the next second I fly up, and my butt hits the horse’s back hard. Sitting sideways on the horse, I grab hold of Raighne’s shirt so I don’t fall off while shooting him a glare.
“Dammit,” I hiss at him. “You don’t have to manhandle me.”
“The others have already left, and we need to catch up,” he mutters, then he digs his heels into the horse’s sides.
When the beast sets off at a fast gallop, I let out a shriek and grab hold of Raighne.
Oh God, I’m going to leave an imprint of myself on his chest.
An uncomfortable silence wraps around us, and for a long while, there’s only the sound of the horse’s hooves slamming down on the ground.
When we see the others up ahead, Raighne slows his horse down a little, and I feel his chest expand as he sucks in a deep breath.
Loosening my hold on Raighne, I try to put an inch of space between us without falling off.
Suddenly, Raighne’s voice rumbles above my head. “Once we get to the desert, we’re going to work on our telepathic link.”
I glance up at him. “Telepathic link?”
Being so close to him does things to my insides, and I squirm.
Raighne’s eyes flick to mine, then he drops the bomb of all bombs on me. “Besides being able to feel what you feel, I can hear your thoughts, and with training, we’ll be able to communicate telepathically.”
Say what now?
My mouth drops open as what he just said sinks in, then I mutter, “ You’re kidding.”
No.
God, say it ain’t so.
He can hear my thoughts?
NoNoNoNoNo.
I swallow hard as an overwhelming feeling of mortification floods me.
Does this mean he’s heard my every thought? Even the ones about him?
Oh God, take me now.
My voice trembles as I ask, “Have you heard everything? Even when we were on Earth?”
This is so, so very bad.
That explains a lot. No wonder he’s upset with me.
My shoulders sag, and I wish the ground would just open up and swallow me whole. I’ve never been this embarrassed in my life.
Raighne slows the horse to a stop, then says, “I can control listening to your thoughts and only listen to them when I feel a strong emotion from you.”
My feelings for him are pretty strong, so he must know about them.
Kill. Me. Now.
“I worked on controlling it before I went to retrieve you, and right now, I have to touch you in order to hear them clearly.”
I scoot another inch away from him.
When he reaches for my face, I jerk my head backward. “You just said you can hear my thoughts clearly if you touch me, so I’d appreciate it if you don’t touch me right now.”
He lets out another sigh. “Look at me.”
I shake my head, glancing at the others as the distance between us and them grows again.
“So, you know everything I’ve thought about?” I ask, not happy at all.
“No. I’ve only checked on your thoughts a few times.”
Ugh.
“What did you hear? ”
“That you weren’t being truthful about the visions.”
My head snaps to him, and I meet his eyes. “So you know what’s going to happen?”
He nods, a serious expression on his face. “Why are you hiding the vision of Adeth from me?”
My shoulders slump, and I look away again. “I don’t want to talk about it. It’s too upsetting.”
“You have to tell me about the visions so I can be prepared. Visions aren’t set in stone, and the future can be altered.”
My eyes fly back to his. “Really?”
He nods. “So don’t keep them from me.”
“Okay.”
He nudges the horse to start walking again.
Needing to be sure, I ask, “So you only heard the visions and not other things I was thinking about?”
“Yes.”
I relax a little. “Can you hear everyone’s thoughts?”
Raighne shakes his head. “No, just yours. It is part of the guardian-charge bond. That way, we know when our charges are in trouble. You can call for me like you did when Robert attacked you. It also makes it easier for me to find you should we be separated. I can see through your eyes and sense where you are.”
He goes silent for a bit, and all I can think is holy shit.
“Feeling what you feel only helps me so much, but allowing me to see where you are helps me track you down.”
God, now that I know Raighne can read my mind, I have to control my thoughts.
That’s if he’s not lying, and he already knows about my unwelcome crush on him.
Under no circumstances do you think of your feelings for him. Shut that shit down.