Page 99 of Shadow Kissed

He chuckles against my lips. “Oh, Terror, trust me, I’m not done with you.”

38

REYA

Darkness surrounds me as hundreds of voices whisper to me, flooding my senses and overwhelming me. It’s too much. They flood my mind, all talking at once. There’s so many that I can’t make sense of their words. I cover my ears and shake my head, trying to rid myself of them, but, still, they drown me.

Eternal night.

The Ever Night Star.

Awaken the slumber.

Guide them.

Stop! I shout out. The voices continue, becoming frenzied and urgent, increasing in volume.

“Stop!”

My eyes flash open and I glance around me, disorientated. Where am I? I’m outside with the night sky above me. Thank the goddess. I tilt my head up and fix my stare on the stars in the sky.

“Reya.”

His voice snaps my attention from the skies to the man sitting up beside me. Raegal. I look at him, dazed. My eyes flare when I realise I’m as naked as the day I was born. I glance back towards the also very naked man beside me. The events of the night all come flooding back to me. We had sex. A lot of sex.

“Are you okay?”

“Nightmare,” I explain, swallowing. I place my hand on my chest to touch my pendant, but it isn’t there. I reach for my neck to touch the chain but find nothing. “My necklace!” I jump to my feet and search the ground around us.

“What is it?” Raegal asks. He stands and watches me frantically search the ground on my knees.

“My necklace. The one my mother gave me. It’s gone.” I turn to face him. “I promised her. I promised her I’d never take it off. I have to find it!”

Raegal places a hand on my arm. “We’ll find it. It can’t be far.”

I search the ground on my hands and knees, but it’s not here. I gaze towards the lake and my stomach plummets. “The water. What if it came off in the water? We’ll never find it.” Anxiety rushes through me. I promised her. What will happen if I’m not wearing it?

Raegal guides me to my feet, and he touches my chin. “We’ll find it. I’ll search the water. You keep looking here.”

I nod my head. He’s right. It must be here. I watch as he strides towards the lake in his naked gloriousness. Any other time and I’d likely drool shamelessly as I admired that perfect male form, but right now I’m too focused on finding my mother’s gift. I watch as he wades into the water and dives underneath. I continue searching where we fell asleep, but I find nothing. I walk to the edge of the lake and hug my arms as I wait. He doesn’t surface after minutes. Do Shadow Borne need to breathe? What if he has got caught up in something and he can’tswim to the surface? My anxiety climbs further. Should I go in after him? I step into the water just as there is a splash, and he resurfaces.

“Thank, Arawn,” I mutter. I watch as he takes a breath and then disappears back under the water. What will I do if we can’t find it? She was insistent that I never take it off.

Reagal dives into the lake again and again but comes up empty. It has to be here somewhere. I want to tell him to keep searching, but dawn is approaching, and we need to head back before Moryen discovers my absence. He wades out of the water, droplets running down his delicious body. He slicks back his dark hair away from his face. Images of last night run through my mind. I wondered all my teenage years what it would be like to lie with a man, and now I know. It was so much more than I could ever have imagined in my mind. In my head, though, it had always been Arkynn, not this magnificent specimen of a man in front of me. I fixate on his eyes, determined not to let my eyes drift south. His lips quirk as he walks over to me.

“I’ll come back tonight. I’ll find it for you, Reya. I swear it,” he assures me.

“It was the last thing she ever gave to me,” I say, my voice breaking.

“And we’ll find it,” Raegal says, tipping my face with his fingers so I’ll look at him. “We need to go. Dawn approaches.” He searches my face. “Do you feel okay?”

I nod my head, crinkling my forehead. Unsure if he means about what occurred between us last night or my missing necklace. “I’m fine. I just need that necklace.”

“Come on,” he says. “Let’s get dressed and head back.”

I reach for my bralette and jump when his shadows reach for me and swirl around me. I’m fully dressed without moving a muscle. “That’s handy,” I say, bobbing my head.

“I have my uses, Terror.”