Vis

by P. C. Benson

  I leaned my head on Alec’s shoulder, ready to call it a night.

  When Celeste and Daemon were out of the room, I asked, “Are you three satisfied, or are there more questions I could answer?”

  “I don’t know, Gabby. It’s not that we don’t trust you. It’s just we have a lot of history with the Dark one and the Brotherhood, and it’s all unpleasant. It’s just hard to accept that he’s changed, just like that,” Vik said as he played with Ti’s hair.

  “How did you do it?” Alec asked.

  I hesitated because he wouldn’t like the answer. He leaned away to peer at me. I sat up, took his hand, played with his fingers, and said, “The same as how I healed you.”

  He looked at me incredulously. “Did you…?”

  I shook my head. “No, I stopped as soon as that happened.”

  He got up and stormed out. I felt his anger.

  “Wait, Alec.” I trailed his retreating back with my eyes and sighed as I looked at Ti and Vik. “It wasn’t the same. It was fast and brutal—he was ill after I healed him. I tried it on Lilly first, and I almost killed her since she didn’t have any light in her. I knew that I could do it with Daemon as well and was surprised to see that he had some light. I saw his past and how he became the Dark one. It’s not my place to tell, and I’m not even sure if he’s the same person after this whole ordeal but…either way, I’ve seen inside of his soul. He’s a victim in all of this. The Dark one you know is gone. I know the person that he is or was, and I’m not saying trust him blindly, but I’m saying give him a chance.”

  Ti grabbed my hand. “Okay, Gab, we trust you.”

  Vik nodded his head.

  I got up in search of Alec.

  Celeste was at the bottom of the stairs. She looked hesitant, which was uncharacteristic of her. She played with her many bracelets as she said, “I just wanted to thank you for what you did and what you’re doing for…Daemon. You’re all he has right now, and without you, I don’t think he will succeed.” Her eyes were shining. She blinked hard, gave me a hug, and walked away. I stood rooted on the spot. Celeste had been emotional since she’d seen Daemon.

  I climbed the stairs to the third floor, where the bedrooms were located. The first room opened, and Daemon’s head peeked out. He wore the same clothes and didn’t look like he was resting. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the floor. “I just wanted to thank you…”

  I stopped him. “Look, you don’t have to. I would have done it for anyone. Just don’t make me regret it, okay?” I smiled to lighten the mood.

  He smiled a crooked smile.

  “Look, I need to go out and get some stuff. I figured you need some as well?”

  “Yeah, let’s get it done first thing.”

  “Okay.” He stepped back and shut the door.

  I continued to walk down the hall, past other doorways, to Alec’s, at the very end on the right side.

  I knocked, but he didn’t answer. I hesitantly opened the door and slipped inside. As soon as I shut the door, Alec was on me. He grabbed my hips and walked me back to the wall by the door. He grabbed both my arms, lifted them above my head, and pinned my lower half with his hips. I wiggled but couldn’t move, and the friction sent warmth in my belly. He kept my hands trapped with his, and he lifted my chin up with his other hand. His lips made their way down my neck towards the sensitive spot. He kept up his assault at a maddening pace that kept me breathless. His mouth trailed up and down my jaw from one side to the other. I tried catching his mouth, but he was in perfect control. I was at his mercy. When I’d had enough, I tried yanking my hand out of his but couldn’t. He continued his assault on my neck, while thrusting his hip forward, the thin garments I wore allowing me to feel every movement. My breath caught in my throat and my thighs clenched from the overwhelming sensation. I wanted more of him. As soon as the heat consumed me, Alec released me. “Remember, Gabrielle, You. Are. Mine,” he whispered in my ear and walked out of the door.

  I let the wall carry my weight until I got my breathing under control. What the fuck was that? He must have been really pissed. I couldn’t decide if I liked jealous Alec or not. That was as sexy as fuck, but the asshole-ness triggered me.

  I tied my hair up into a messy bun and used the extra toothbrush, then lay on Alec’s bed. Where is he? I waited up for him, but exhaustion from the day took me, and I quickly fell asleep.

  Nine

  Chapter 8: Changes

  I woke up with a start. I couldn’t breathe, so I sat up and heaved in a deep breath. I dreamt about the empty eyes of the girl and the way her body had contorted. I can’t get her eyes out of my head. A heavy feeling settled on my chest, and a crushing sensation tightened in my heart. I pressed on my chest from the intense pain and couldn’t take a full breath in. I started hyperventilating, so I placed my head between my legs. I reached out but the spot next to me was cold and empty. Alec hadn’t been back. I was alone. Lilly was gone. It was my fault that the girl died. I heaved a breath in, but it was difficult. I couldn’t get enough air. I took short, shallow breaths in. I can’t breathe!

  Alec pulled me to his chest. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m here. I’m so sorry. I’m here. It’s okay. Gabby.”

  Panic built inside of me as I struggled for breath, and my heart raced. Heat built inside of me, but I shivered like I was cold. I’d lost Lilly. I’d killed the girl. Alec was mad at me. I had no one. What would I do without Lilly? Who was I? I couldn’t feel Alec. He was touching me, but I couldn’t feel him. My throat tightened as tears raced down my cheeks, and gut-wrenching sobs tore through my chest. Why couldn’t I feel him? I’m truly alone. I want Lilly. I want to forget those eyes! “Please, Please, Please… I can’t… Please.” My body wrenched with the onslaught of more sobs. I scrambled out of Alec’s embrace, fell to the floor, and curled myself into the fetal position. He followed me and touched my shoulder, but I flinched and scooted to the corner.

  “Don’t touch me. You took my sister away from me.” I rocked myself and continued to sob uncontrollably. There was too much crushing heat inside my chest. It was drowning me. I needed it to ease off.

  I heard the door bang. “You need to take her away, Alec. We can’t contain the energy. The foundations are barely holding. A few more minutes and people will get hurt.”

  I didn’t care what they were saying. I wished they would just be quiet and leave me alone. I needed to be alone. New waves of tears consumed me, and as I pulled in some breaths, hiccups took over. I shut my eyes tightly and covered my ears. I needed them to be quiet. I needed everything to stop!

  “Where? I don’t know if I can do it.”

  “Use her energy and take her. I know you can. Do it now, or it will be too late!”

  Alec scooped me up, but I struggled against his hold. I was about to let the energy that had built up in me go, but the next thing I knew, we were in a different place. It was damp, cold, and we were surrounded by powerful waves. The shock of my new surroundings helped clear my mind.

  Alec flung his hand out and lit up the tiny room. He gently placed me on an old, dusty patterned couch. He squatted in front of me and dried my tears, which continued to fall silently.

  “Where are we?”

  “We are in a lighthouse in the middle of nowhere. I came here a few times when I needed to be alone. I didn’t know where else to take you. This is the safest place I could think of.”

  My chest still felt heavy, but I could breathe through it. I wrapped my arms around my legs and laid my face on my knees. I stared at nothing. Alec tinkered around the house as I sat silently, listening to the heavy crash of the waves. Focusing on the tides, and the rhythmic fall of water crashing on rocks helped calm the chaos inside me. I took a deep, shuddering breath in—each breath I took eased the tightness in my chest. Alec sat beside me and rubbed my back up and down. Another rhythm—it helped. A few tears escaped and fell, but otherwise, I sat quietly. I felt empty and indescribably sad. Lilly was gone. I’d accepted it. I just needed to
learn to live with the loss. She would need to pay for her deeds, and the people responsible for all of this would pay: slowly and painfully.

  “That’s it, Gabrielle, get angry,” Alec said. “That’s the girl I know. You’re feisty and temperamental and stubborn. You’re a fighter.” He tucked my hair behind my ear.

  I gave him a watery smile.

  “Ready for bed?”

  I nodded. He led me up the spiral stairs to a cozy-looking bed with patterned, quilted sheets.

  I woke up in Alec’s arms. It was freezing, and I could no longer hear the waves hitting the rocks. My heart was racing, and my shirt was damp with sweat.

  “What happened? Where are we?”

  He set me down. The leaves crinkled, and I heard some critters scamper away from us.

  “You almost destroyed the lighthouse. I had to bring us here.”

  I sat on a boulder and avoided his searching gaze. I looked up and noticed that the moon was high tonight, and the air was crisp, but I welcomed the cold air. It helped keep the heat inside of me in check. I’d dreamed of the dead eyes again, but this time, they were Lilly’s. I shivered at the thought. My chest constricted, and my throat tightened.

  Alec sat next to me and pulled me in a tight embrace. “Let it out, Gab. You can’t keep it bottled up.”

  I shook my head as silent tears fell.

  He grabbed both my shoulders and turned me to face him. “Look at me and listen. You can’t afford to lose control. Your emotions are tied to your energy and when you lose control, people could get hurt. Keeping it bottled up is a bloody recipe for disaster. I’m sorry, but with the level of energy you have, you need to have discipline. You can’t afford to be careless with it. If you hurt an innocent you will turn dark. Do you want that?”

  I looked at him with wide eyes and shook my head. “I don’t know how,” I whimpered.

  “Let the energy out. I understand you are hurting, but talk to me, and don’t keep it bottled up.”

  “I don’t… I don’t want to hurt anyone or anything,” I said helplessly as I looked around the dark forest. I could only see a few feet ahead of me, as tall trees surrounded us.

  “You won’t. I’ll guide you.”

  “But…there could be humans around, or animals could get hurt.”

  “Don’t be afraid of your energy. I’ve told you this.” He stood up; his shoulders tensed as he looked away from me. He was quiet for a moment, then turned.

  “We can build a barrier around us if that would make you feel better.”

  I stood in front of him and waited for instructions.

  “Did you need me to guide you or…”

  “No, I can create a barrier.” I almost told him I had been working with Daemon, but I recalled how he’d walked out of the room in anger. My heart constricted, which I shook off.

  I created the same dome barrier that Daemon and I had in Venice. It glowed softly, so I could see Alec clearly.

  He looked impressed. “All right, now I want you to feel for your energy.”

  I looked at him blankly, then closed my eyes. How do I feel for my energy? I never had to think about it before—I’d just instinctively felt a warmth in my core. It was inside of me—it responded to my desires and my feelings. I had my feelings locked up tightly, so I didn’t feel any of the heat I associated with my energy.

  “Let it out,” Alec commanded.

  Annoyance flared inside of me, along with the heat of my energy.

  “That’s it, let it out. Easy.”

  It burst out of me, but I had to shut it down right away because I had no control over it. It was like a dam waiting to burst—once opened, I wouldn’t be able to stop it.

  Alec gripped my shoulder, his fingers dug into my skin, the frustration clear on his face. “Gabrielle, listen to me. Do not be afraid of your powers, or they will consume you.” He let go and breathed out of his nose noisily.

  “Do you trust me?”

  “Yep,” I answered with no hesitation.

  “Then trust that I will not allow anything to happen to you or anyone else around. Let go.”

  “It’s not that easy!”

  His eyes flashed. “Says who? You are making this more difficult than it has to be. You can either be scared of your power and lose control and hurt an innocent, or you can suck it up and grow a pair. Now, what will it be?”

  Bossy asshole! The heat built inside of me again, and this time, I didn’t tamper it. I narrowed my eyes at Alec and let it out.

  “Slowly. Think of a narrow passage and let it trickle out. Remember, you are in control, not the other way around.”

  It started out as a small stream, but then it kept going, and the more the energy seeped out of me, the brighter it got inside the dome. It came out faster and stronger. My eyes widened, and my heart pumped, and I looked around wildly, but Alec’s hands rested on my face.

  “Look at me. Don’t worry about anything else. Just feel me.”

  I felt him as he mixed his energy with mine, guiding it as he had during the energy exchange after the ritual, but this time, he was absorbing it while he wrapped me with his energy in a comforting embrace. Since I’d left our house to save Lilly, this was the first time I had truly allowed myself to let go. I sagged in relief. I hadn’t realized I had that much tension.

  Alec pulled me into his arms and held me close.

  I let go completely. I allowed myself to cry, this time not out of pain and anger, but out of loss. It was my way of saying goodbye—to my previous life, my planned future, my old self, and my sister. I would no longer be weak and allow an innocent to die.

  Alec stiffened up, causing me to look up and squint because the dome was glowing brightly. Alec had beaded sweat dripping down his forehead.

  I reached up and brushed his hair off his eyes. His hair had gotten long.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s nothing really. You have so much raw energy that it’s a bit uncomfortable. Don’t mind me. You’re doing great.”

  I smiled at his bravado. “I love you.” I reached up and kissed him softly.

  “I love you too.” He smiled. His face looked less tense now that I had stopped sending out energy. I felt lighter.

  “Better?”

  “Yes, thanks. Are you okay?”

  He nodded.

  I raised my eyebrow.

  He chuckled and said, “Your potent energy was a lot to handle. I needed to take my own advice and trust our bond. Tonight, Celeste told me to take you, but I hesitated. I didn’t think I could take both of us anywhere. I thought I could only go to you, but apparently I can use your energy, disapparate and transport long distances as well. Just now, I was concerned that I couldn’t handle that much energy, and at one point, it got too much, so I stopped fighting yours and used myself as a conduit to feed the dome and strengthen the shield. I wasn’t sure if the rebounding energy would hurt me, but there was nowhere else for me to channel the excess energy.” He shrugged.

  I stepped back and crossed my arms. “Wait, what? You mean to say, you sacrificed yourself just so I could cry it out?” My voice rose.

  He reached for me, but I shrugged him off.

  “You must understand. You had to let it all out. You were like a ticking time bomb.”

  My brow raised and I glared.

  “It was uncomfortable but manageable. It’s good to know that your energy can’t hurt me. I need to trust in our bond so I can fully be what you need me to.”

  “What is that?” I whispered.

  “Anything.” His voice was firm and sure.

  My heart beat faster, and I felt warmth in my stomach. I no longer felt alone. I had Alec.

  “Are you ready to head back?”

  I looked around in our lit-up dome. It looked like a snow globe with the two of us in the middle. I didn’t want to leave this peaceful cocoon of ours.

  He chuckled. “Come here.” He pulled me into an embrace, and the next minute, we appeared back in the small bedroom in
the lighthouse.

  I tilted my head in question.

  “One more night. Just so we’re certain.” He shrugged.

  I slept peacefully that night, wrapped around Alec’s arms.

  Ten

  Chapter 9: Reveal

  We apparated to the glass house, and Alec pulled me close as he instantaneously put up a shield. “What the fuck is going on?” he bellowed.

  I peeked from underneath Alec’s arms and saw Ti and Vik on one side, facing off with Daemon and Celeste on the other. Their auras were pulsing red—both sides radiating a lot of anger.

  All four of them turned to us, and their energy receded. Celeste and Ti had their arms crossed, and Vik had his fists balled. Daemon looked impassive, but his shoulders were rigid, and the tick in his jaw indicated that he was just as riled up as the others.

  “What is this?” Alec stepped forward, and I followed. He crossed his arms and glared at the four.

  Celeste was the first to respond. “These two were accusing Daemon of…stuff…and I stepped in.” She huffed and sat on the couch.

  “What?” I moved forward in disbelief. “We talked about this? I thought you trusted me?”

  The couple couldn’t meet my eyes, but Tatia uncrossed her arms, and Vik deflated and said, “Gab, it’s not that. Of course we trust you.”

  “Amy came after Vik,” Ti interrupted. Her eyes flared as she looked at Daemon.

  “What?” Alec and I said simultaneously.

  “Why don’t you all start from the beginning?” Alec sighed and pulled me onto the couch, next to Celeste.

  I smiled at Daemon. He gave me a small nod and sat on the single couch.

  Alec gave the couple a cold stare until they sat

  “I was patrolling last night, and Amy showed up.” Vik leaned his head back on the couch.

  Ti grabbed his hand and said, “I felt that bitch work her mojo on Vik, so I disapparated to his side. I wasn’t able to do shit. The bitch was crafty.” She took in short breaths in between sentences.

  My brow furrowed in confusion. “Hold up. Why do you think Daemon was involved?”