Page 57 of Shaped By Darkness

“You guys are the worst.” I let my head slam back down, wincing. It’s harder than I expected. “Damn.”

As if I need another injury.

“Sorry, Carrots, but that wasn’t your best,” Sol says, even though he doesn’t sound sorry at all.

“Get her up to bed. I’ll come up later to make sure you guys don’t miss dinner or do anything that will draw attention.” Blair doesn’t give me time to argue further before he stands, walking around the table toward me.

That’s fine though; I don’t have the energy to fight with him, knowing damn well I’m going to lose.

Blair spins my chair, and I would have ended up on the floor if he wasn’t right there ready to catch me.

Scooping me up in his arms, it’s impossible to miss the smirk on his lips.

He loves when he gets his way so easily.

“Sweet dreams, Little Rabbit,” he says, pressing a kiss to my forehead before passing me to Sol as if I’m not a grown-ass woman.

“Love you, B,” I manage to mumble as I melt into Sol, the sound of his heartbeat lulling me back to sleep better than any sleeping pill.

I’m in a library again, but this one is set in dark red and black. A giant tree much like the one here in Salona, only dark. Screams echo off the walls, the smell of fire and death so familiar now that I know it immediately.

What is this?

Something tugs in my chest, and I follow it, unsure what else to do as the ceiling begins to cave in around me.

This is a dream, right?

I mean, it has to be. I’ve never been here before, and despite the fire that roars to my left, I feel nothing.

My eyes bounce around the space, entranced by the beauty of it even as it crumbles in on itself. I stop dead when I round the massive trunk of the tree and find Draven standing at its base, hand pressed to the thick black bark as he chants words in a language I don’t understand.

“Hey!” I yell, or attempt to, but nothing comes out.

Fuck! I’m not sure what he’s trying to do, but with him I’m sure it isn’t good, not to mention if this tree is anything like the one in Salona, it’s very important.

So I do the only thing I can think to do and charge at him, planning to physically remove him, only to go right through him.

That’s not normal.

Stumbling to a stop, I manage to not fall on my face, though I’m not sure it matters. Would it even hurt to fall, seeing as I’m invisible? Probably best not to test it; the last thing I need is to wake up more sore than when I laid down.

Unable to intervene, I turn to watch just as dark shadows ooze from the tree, moving around the room as if they have a mind of their own. I watch, eyes wide as they strike out, throwing Draven across the room as if he’s nothing more than an annoying bug, a flash of purple lighting the room like lightning.

“You will give me your power!” Draven hisses as he pushes back to his feet, raising his hand, and begins chanting again. His hand glows red, and his eyes do the same, but again, the tree fights back.

This might be the strangest thing I’ve ever seen, but I can’t deny I love it.

Draven got his ass beat by a tree! I can’t wait to tell Ryker… wait, if Draven’s here, does that mean Ryker is too? Before I can go and search for him, a huge section of the ceiling caves in, making Draven dive to the side to avoid being turned into a pancake. Too bad.

Once again, Draven pushes to stand, this time letting out a roar of annoyance, looking at the tree and then the destruction around him before he comes to the conclusion that he needs to leave. He doesn’t want to; I can tell by the way he lingers. Any sane person would have been long gone already, but he stayed as long as he could. Pushing until the last possible second to try to get power from a tree.

Not that it did him any good.

“I’ll be back! Your gift will be mine, and mine alone,” he snarls, stomping from the room like a toddler.

Draven disappears from sight, and for a moment, I wonder if I should follow him. Maybe I was meant to see something?

The smoke gets thicker as the fire continues to dance through the room, eating up the books, and it’s almost heartbreaking to watch.

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