Page 73 of Shadow Kissed
“I see.” I can feel his eyes on me and when I look up, he’s smirking at me with a knowing stare.
“And the reason for this is nothing to do with a small blonde with purple eyes?”
I glare at him. “Not at all.”
Jasiel snickers and shakes his head. “Whatever you say.”
There is a strong rap on my office door, and I bark a command to enter. It’s Finor, one of my trusted soldiers. “Sorry to disturb you, Lord Commander, when you haven’t been back long, but you need to come and see this.”
I frown. He looks worried, so I don’t question his request. Finor trained alongside Jasiel and me as young soldiers, and I trust him implicitly. We shadow weave with him back to the wall. I blink in surprise when I look out beyond the valley.There are hundreds of night mutts out there, surrounding the protective walls of the valley.
“The numbers have been steadily growing each night, but tonight hundreds more of them have arrived.”
Jasiel shares my look of concern as we stare out at all the glowing purple eyes of the beasts. Could it be that the resistance has found a way to control the mutts? Were they planning an attack on Shadow Valley?
“What should we do, Commander?” Finor asks, looking bewildered by the sight of so many of them.
“Send explosives of shadow dust their way. Let’s see if it sends them packing.” It’s the only viable solution right now.
Finor barks orders to the soldiers positioned on the walls and they all move into action, readying to attack the mutts. Let’s just hope this works. What with this, and the attack on the crystal convoy, and the Shadow Kissed being kidnapped.
29
REYA
Iwake up with a scream, pain rushing through my body. I frantically check my arms, expecting to see something wrong but there’s nothing there. The pain takes my breath away. A burning sensation licking at my flesh. I scream again as agony rips through me—twisting and turning on the bed—I try to find some relief, but there is none. Fresh agony rips across my torso and I clutch at my abdomen. The door to my room flings open and Saveya rushes in, rubbing at her eyes, looking half-asleep.
“What’s wrong?” she yells over my screams, coming up beside my bed.
“Burns. It burns!” I scream, tears spill from my eyes. I have never felt pain like this. “Help me,” I plead, reaching out and grasping her hand, which only causes more pain.
Saveya looks at me conflicted as she keeps a hold on my hand. “I don’t want to leave you, but I need to fetch Moryen. You need a healer.” We both jerk when a loud bang echoes in the mansion from outside. “Did you hear that?” Saveya asks me and I nod my head before excruciating pain rips up my spine.Saveya squeezes my hand one last time, promising me she will return with help. I arch my back up off the bed. The pain is like someone has snapped my spine in half. I feel like I am being burned alive.
Saveya returns minutes later with Moryen beside her. Another loud boom echoes across the valley. Moryen ties the band on her nightgown as she comes to my bedside.
“Hush, dear girl, you’ll wake the whole mansion. Whatever is the matter?” She leans over me, scanning my body for any obvious injuries.
“Pain. So much pain. Its burns.” I whimper as I thrash from side to side.
Moryen’s eyes turn black as her shadows creep out of her and reach for my bedsheets. They carefully peel them off me. Moryen reaches out and places her hand on my forehead. “No fever,” she comments as she takes hold of my arm inspecting it. I let out a scream when she touches me. “It burns, no!” I scream, sitting up and spitting out the words in between sharp spasms of pain.
“Has this ever happened before?” she asks me. She cups my face in her hand, forcing me to concentrate on her. “Breathe, dear girl, big deep breaths. Answer my question.”
I nod my head. “Once, when the mutts…” I wince as pain rushes across my chest. “When they attacked my home.”
Moryen’s forehead crinkles in confusion. “Deep breaths, in and out,” she encourages. Turning to glance over her shoulder at where Saveya hovers, looking frantic and unsure about what to do to help.
“Wake, Mistress Leysa, and tell her to fetch the Lord Commander. Now!” Saveya bobs her head at the command and runs from the room, clutching the hem of her nightdress so that she doesn’t trip.
“Make it stop, please,” I beg her, and I see genuine concern in her eyes as she strokes my forehead. “You’re going to be okay.Breathe through it; help will be here soon. My shadows don’t have healing abilities.”
I buck and bend as another wave of fire climbs up my legs and I release a scream that is so loud it echoes across my room.
Moments later he appears beside Moryen in a whirl of dark shadows. His dark hair tied up at the nape of his neck and his grey eyes scan my body. Moryen shakes her head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her. At first, I thought she was dreaming. She says her flesh burns, but I can’t see anything on her skin.”
Raegal sits himself on the edge of my bed and gently takes my hand in his, halting when I whimper in pain at the contact. “Reya, look at me,” he commands, but I’m too lost in the horrors of this never-ending agony. “Tell me where it hurts.”
I raise my face to his and hiss out the words. “Everywhere. It hurts everywhere. Please make it stop.” I am so distraught I didn’t notice Jasiel had come with him. He leans over Raegal and whispers something in his ear as another loud boom rips through the night.