Chapter 28
Alchera
Ares is standing over me with his whip, ready to begin another day’s torture.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Alchera. Please forgive me,” he begs as tears roll down his face.
I don’t understand why he’s crying.
“Ares?” I look into his light blue eyes, alive with pain. He lifts his arm to hit me, and I reach out to him. “You can fight her. Please don’t,” I beg.
My plea doesn’t stop him from bringing the whip down over my broken skin.
“No,” I sob. “Please stop.”
The words echo around me, and I realize it’s not my voice, but Ares who’s begging.
I find myself in some sort of cave, and I can hear water dripping, the stench of rotten eggs filling the air.
I glance wildly around, and when I see a weak and beaten younger version of Ares lying on the floor, I gasp in horror.
Adeth raises her arm high and brings the whip down hard on his back.
When she raises her arm again, I race forward and throw myself over Ares. I cover him with my body and brace myself for the impact, but the whip goes through me.
Ares grinds his teeth, and when I look into his eyes, I know that he sees me .
“Ares!” I wake up crying his name.
I’m slumped over Raighne, my face pressed against his stomach. His hand brushes over my hair, and I wrap my arms tightly around his waist, pressing my whole body as close to him as possible.
Tears spill from my eyes. I can’t believe Adeth did that to Ares, and then she made him torture me. How could she be so sick? How could she do that to her own son?
“Alchera?”
“Yeah,” I whisper, trying to hide the conflicting emotions I’m feeling.
“What did you see?”
“It’s just a nightmare,” I lie.
“Then I should’ve been able to see it.”
Shit. Right.
I let out a heavy breath. “Don’t worry about it.”
His hands take hold of my shoulders, and he pushes me onto my back. He places one hand next to my head and moves his body until he’s leaning half over me. I focus on how good it feels to have his hard body pressing against mine.
His eyes search mine. “Let me see.”
I shake my head, and wanting to distract him, I lift my head and press my mouth to his. “I don’t want to think about it. Just make me forget.”
Raighne tilts his head, his tongue brushing over my lips before slipping into my mouth.
I wrap my arms around his neck and try to pull him down so he’ll lie on top of me, but he resists.
“We’re not alone in the room. Sarah and Sky are sleeping on the other bed, and Doug and Jason are on the floor.”
We stop kissing, and I glance to my left, where the women are fast asleep.
Knowing I won’t be able to sleep more tonight, I look at Raighne. “I’m going outside for fresh air.”
“I’ll come with.”
I shake my head. “Sleep. You don’t have to babysit me.”
“I’m not letting you out of my sight,” he mutters as he climbs off the bed. “Ares is here.”
Right.
I crouch by Jason and shake his shoulder gently. When his eyes snap open, I whisper, “Sleep on the bed.”
He nods and slaps Doug’s back. When he groans, Jason mutters, “Let’s move to the bed.”
“I’m not sharing a single bed with you,” Doug grumbles. “You take it.”
Jason doesn’t argue, and as he climbs onto the bed, I leave the room with Raighne.
We make our way to the sliding doors, careful not to wake the others, and once we’re outside, Raighne says, “You didn’t get much sleep. Only three hours.”
“I’m okay.” I give him a smile so he won't worry.
I sit down on the steps and stare at the small garden as the sun starts to rise.
“You know what would be nice?”
“What?”
I grin at Raighne. “Coffee.” I can see he’s about to tell me he’s not leaving me alone, which has me saying, “I’ll be fine. Besides, everyone’s sleeping.”
He hesitates then climbs to his feet. “Stay right here.”
I nod and watch as he walks into the house before I let out a deep sigh.
Keeping my walls up so Raighne won’t hear my thoughts, I think about the vision I had of Ares. It had to be a vision. Otherwise, Raighne would’ve been able to see it.
Still, it’s the first time I’ve had a vision of the past, though. Is Awo trying to tell me something?
Sympathy trickles into my heart, and I can’t stop it from taking root. How long did Ares suffer at the hands of his mother?
Thinking of our time together in the shack, I remember the moments when it seemed like he was fighting something.
He was trying to fight Adeth so he didn’t have to hurt me, but he wasn’t strong enough.
Just like I wasn’t when I killed Roark .
“Alchera.”
At the sound of Ares’ voice, my head snaps up and I see him standing a few feet away.
“Don’t panic,” he says quickly. “I won’t hurt you.”
Unable to think of what I should do, I can only stare at the man who made me pray for death.
We’re both doomed.
He shakes his head. “No, you’re not. I’ve seen how strong you are. You can fight it.”
Shock shudders through me, and I climb to my feet. “You can hear my thoughts?”
“I can hear everyone’s thoughts. It’s a talent.” He shrugs. “Or curse, depending on how you choose to look at it.”
I’m torn between hating him for what he’s done to me and feeling compassion because he suffered at the hands of his mother.
“I had a vision of you,” I admit. “I saw some of what Adeth did to you.”
He shakes his head, his eyes resting on me with so much guilt it finds an echo in my chest.
Not commenting on what I just said, he asks, “Will you let me help?”
“It’s not up to me.” I sigh, and sounding a little bitter, I mutter, “Awo made the decision, and we just have to abide by it.”
“I know you don’t want to hear it, but I’m so fucking sorry for what I did to you. I tried to fight Void and my mother.”
I’m just about to turn around so I can head into the house to join Raighne when an intense wave of panic and desperation hits me hard.
“Move!” a policeman shouts, his tone urgent as he gestures for crowds of people to keep running while ash and rocks rain down on them. “Don’t stop. Just keep going.”
“We have to leave, Riccardo,” another policeman yells while the ground rumbles and quakes beneath their feet.
“Christ,” Riccardo breathes as he looks over his shoulder. “We’re not going to make it.”
“Come!” the other policeman shouts as he starts to run away from whatever danger they’re facing .
Riccardo follows the other policeman, constantly glancing over his shoulder. Suddenly, I hear something that sounds like a crack of thunder, and Riccardo ducks down for cover. He reaches for his weapon while he twists his body to land on his back.
Absolute horror tightens his features as he gasps, “Mother of God.”
I hear the sound of a gunshot, and an intense pain spreads through my chest.
When my vision starts to blur, I shout, “Riccardo!”
“Alchera, please!” Ares’ voice sounds panic-stricken in my mind.
I feel him pressing his hands hard repeatedly against my chest, then I feel his mouth on mine as he blows air into my lungs. He presses hard against my chest again.
“Don’t die. Please. You need to give me a chance to show how sorry I am. Please,” Ares worried words bombard me.
Panic fills me. Firstly, because Ares is giving me mouth-to-mouth, and I can’t tell him to stop, and secondly, because I can’t move a muscle.
“What did you do to her?” I hear Raighne shout, accompanied by the sound of cups crashing on the ground.
Ares’ hands disappear from my chest, and a moment later, I hear him fall somewhere with a grunt.
“She fainted, and her heart stopped. I’m trying to help her.”
“Stay away from my charge,” Raighne growls, sounding so aggressive it makes goosebumps erupt over my skin.
I feel Raighne’s hands and warmth, but it doesn’t do anything to lessen the pain in my chest.
I want to tell him I’m fine, but I can’t move.
“Alchera?”
“I’m here,” I gasp.
“Look at me,” he orders.
“I can’t.” I try to move again but still find myself frozen in place with the heavy pain paralyzing my heart.
“I can’t take the pain from you,” Raighne says, his tone drenched in fear.
“The pain isn’t real. At least not yet. I think my next chosen one is going to shoot me. ”
Raighne scoops me into his arms and brushes his palm over my cheek. “It won’t happen. Not with me by your side.”
It takes a few more seconds, and then the paralyzing pain eases enough for me to suck in a desperate breath of air.
I force my eyes open and stare at Raighne’s worried face.
“Is she okay?” Ares asks, concerned for my well-being tightening his words.
I don’t think I’ll ever get used to Ares sounding normal and not like the monster I came face-to-face with in that shack.
Raighne’s head snaps to Ares. “You better disappear from my sight before I end you.”
Ares hesitates for a moment, then shimmers away.
Raighne turns his attention back to me when I move into a sitting position.
“Riccardo,” I say. “The next chosen one is in Nepal, Italy. Near Mount Vesuvius. I think it’s the volcano I saw erupting in the first visions I had.”
“Just take a moment to catch your breath.” Raighne lets out a sigh as he presses a kiss to my forehead. “I dropped the coffee. Come with me so I can make you another cup.”
“We need to wake the others,” I argue. “We don’t have time for coffee.”
He gives me a stern look. “We have five minutes for you to eat and drink something.”
Knowing I won’t win, I just shake my head as I follow Raighne back into the house.
My eyes drift over his broad shoulders and muscled back, the fabric of the black T-shirt stretched tightly over his torso.
“You look good from behind.”
“Don’t try to distract me,” he grumbles as we walk into the small kitchen. “What happened with Ares?”
“Nothing,” I mumble.
While Raighne makes me a slice of toast, I prepare two cups of coffee, avoiding making eye contact with him.
“You’re lying to me,” Raighne says, not sounding happy at all .
“Nothing happened,” I mutter. “He said he’s sorry, and when I began to walk away, I had the vision.”
Once I’m done making the coffee, I push a mug closer to Raighne before sipping on my own.
I watch as he spreads cream cheese on the toast, and even though I’m not hungry, I take it from him and eat.
“Good girl,” Raighne murmurs, the corner of his mouth lifting.
My eyebrow flies up while my abdomen clenches hard. “Now look who’s the distraction.”
He lets out a chuckle and shakes his head while leaning back against the counter.
I watch as he drinks some of the coffee, then ask, “How old was Ares when he and Adeth turned dark?”
“It happened after my mother’s death,” Raighne answers. “Give or take forty years ago.”
I blink at Raighne as I try to comprehend what he’s saying. “Forty years? How old is Ares?”
“One hundred and ninety-eight.”
“What?” I gasp, my eyebrows flying into my hairline. Then, another thought pops into my mind. “How old are you?”
Raighne chuckles again, the sound hot. “Do you really want to know?”
My head bobs up and down, my coffee and toast totally forgotten in my hands.
“Two hundred and four.”
“Holy shit,” I gasp. “But you don’t look older than thirty.”
“As immortals, we age differently. Janak is over five thousand years old.”
“It’s way too fucking early to hear this shit,” Dylan mutters as he comes into the kitchen.
Still processing what Raighne told me, I just smile at Dylan as he fixes himself a cup of black coffee.
“You okay?” Raighne asks.
“Yep. Just processing the fact that you’re a hundred and eighty-three years older than me.”
He walks closer to me, and, taking hold of my chin, he forces me to make eye contact with him. With a serious expression that only makes him look even more attractive, he asks, “Is it a problem?”
Shaking my head, I murmur, “No.”
“Good,” he sighs before pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Finish your coffee and toast.”
After everyone’s awake and has had a chance to freshen up, we meet in the living room.
I glance at my chosen ones, then ask, “Why can’t we send them to Vaalbara before collecting the last four?”
“Awo has commanded it,” Brenna answers. “I think it’s so they’ll get to know each other through the worst of times and form a bond.”
“Lucky us,” Jason mutters from where he’s standing beside Sarah.
“Where are we going next?” Griffith asks.
“Nepal,” I say. “Somewhere near Mount Vesuvius.” I suck in a deep breath before I break the bad news to the group. “The volcano is erupting, so we’re heading into a disaster zone.” Concerned for the chosen one’s safety, I say, “Maybe you can all wait here while Raighne and I go with Ares.”
“It’s too risky,” Griffith replies. “It’s better if we don’t separate from each other.”
I sigh, not liking the idea one bit of taking the chosen ones into a disaster area. Looking at Sarah, I say, “If we have to run, Finian and Brenna will help you so you don’t fall behind.”
Sarah nods. “I’m sorry I’m not stronger.”
I quickly shake my head. “Don’t apologize.”
“Is everyone ready?” Griffith asks.
“Sarah needs to take her medicine,” Doug says, and then he heads to the kitchen, followed by Jason and Sarah.
“Everyone has five minutes before we leave,” Griffith announces.
I walk over to Sky to get away from Griffith’s gaze that’s constantly examining me. Never mind the fact that I’m trying to ignore Ares. I might understand him a little better, but I’m far from ready to be friends with him.
“How are you doing?” I ask Sky, who’s standing with Dylan and Matt.
“I’m okay. Matt’s been very supportive since we met,” she smiles timidly and glances at Matt.
“Oh, he has?” I grin at them, then ask, “How did you know I was coming for you before I did?”
“I kind of have psychic abilities. Sometimes, I have dreams about the future. I read tarot cards as a part-time job, but my true love is learning everything about different cultures.”
“That sounds cool,” I say, giving her a friendly smile.
“Can you shimmer twelve of us at once?” I hear Raighne ask Ares in a harsh tone, drawing my attention to them.
Ares nods, and glaring back at Raighne, he answers in the same brisk tone, “It will be tiring, but I can do it.” He lifts his chin an inch as if he’s accepting a challenge.
My eyes dart from Raighne to Ares as Griffith mutters, “Everyone is ready.”
“Form a circle,” Ares orders as his eyes flick over the group.
I take Raighne’s hand, and when Ares moves closer to me, I inch right against Raighne’s side.
Ares’ eyes lock with mine, then he says, “I need to touch you to see where we’re going.”
Shit.
I swallow hard, and a cold sweat breaks out over my body.
“Touch her and die,” Raighne growls.
Ares gives Raighne an impatient look. “How do you expect me to see where we’re going?”
“I’ll show you,” Raighne replies, a threatening wave of anger coming off him.
“Fine.” Ares moves to stand next to Raighne, and giving him a derisive look, he takes hold of Raighne’s wrist. “Show me where to go, Alchera.”
I suck in a deep breath then bring up the area I saw in my vision.
“Got it,” Raighne murmurs to me .
“Everyone take hands and don’t let go of the person next to you. If you break the link, you’ll break my concentration,” Ares instructs.
I take hold of Sky’s hand and wait for Ares to shimmer us to Italy.
God, I hope this works.
I try to brace for the sickening sensations I felt the first time Ares shimmered me to the shack, but instead, a cool breeze rustles through me right before the living room starts to blur.