Page 19 of Light and Shadow
Aaran gasps for air.
Crawling across the wooden deck, I make my way to him. Cupping his cheeks, I stare into his eyes. The soot on my fingers marks his pale face. “Talk to me!”
He blinks several times before focusing on me. “I’m okay. What did you do?” He touches the ash.
Nancy reaches for us. “Let’s get you both inside.” She helps Aaran up.
My hands shake, and my teeth chatter. Suddenly freezing, I make my way up the steps and into the wheelhouse.
The rain lightens as it hits the windows, and the boat’s rocking eases.
Colored light outlines everything and everyone. Nancy is bathed in blue, and Bert in green. Aaran shines golden like a Greek statue. My hands glow the colors of the rainbow, then flash white before the lights fade. Unable to keep my knees from buckling, I sit shivering on a storage box behind the captain’s chair. “It’s cold.”
Bert leaps to his feet. “Nancy, take the wheel. She’s going into shock.”
Everything gets a bit fuzzy as Bert eases me to my back. He puts something under my feet to raise them and covers me with blankets. “Take deep breaths, Harper. You’re alright. Just breathe.”
“I killed that thing?” My mind returns to the bright light and the ash.
“You were magnificent,” Nancy says. “I’ve never seen magic like that.”
Aaran caresses my cheek and combs my hair from my face. “You’re fine,mo chroi. I’ve got you.”
My heart slows, and it’s easier to breathe. Things slowly come back into focus. “It was a person once, and I killed it. I did kill it, didn’t I?”
“You did.” Aaran kisses my forehead. “You saved my life.”
“It’s better off now, Harper.” Nancy dries her hair with a blue towel. “They’re living in a kind of hell as shadow demons. You did it a favor.”
Bert says, “Take her down to the galley. Her pack is under the bench. Get her into some dry clothes.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened.” I clutch Aaran’s shoulders as he helps me down the narrow steps.
“Nothing to apologize for. You just used magic more powerful than any I’ve ever seen. It was bound to have some effect.” I sit on the chair by the table while Aaran lifts the cushion on the bench and pulls out my small duffel bag. “Do you need help changing?”
I can’t decide if he’s blushing because he’d like to help or he wouldn’t. My joints ache and my shoulder hurts, but I get to my feet and wrap my hand around the strap. Teeth still chattering, I attempt a smile. “Maybe you can undress me under better circumstances. I can manage.”
Grabbing his backpack, he rewards me with a smile that almost makes me change my mind about the timing. He leans on the counter and cocks his gorgeous head. “I’d be happy to do that, Harper Craig.”
The only parts of me that are warm are my cheeks, which I’m sure are bright red. I rush into the tiny bunk room. Hands shaking, I manage to get myself out of my wet clothes and into dry ones. Glad to have packed an extra pair of sneakers, I pull them on. When I walk back into the galley, I stop short as Aaran pulls his black t-shirt over his broad back. Even though I’ve just experienced the impossible, my skin tingles with desire. This is one of the most emotional days I’ve ever lived through, and that’s saying something. “Will there be more shadow demons?”
Aaran pulls his shirt down and turns toward me. “It must have taken extraordinary magic to get that one into this world. Iwouldn’t think she’d waste more magic to send a second. Even if she knows it failed, she’ll wait for us to come to Domhan.”
“Because magic has a price even for the witch queen?” I lay my wet clothes over a bar that runs along the wall. It’s probably to keep the crew upright in rough seas, but it will work as a drying rack for now.
“Yes. Even she has to live within the reality of magical limitations.” He places his wet clothes next to mine, then stares at me. “Thank you, Harper.”
A tear rolls down my cheek. I nearly lost him.
He pulls me into his arms and holds me tight. “I’m sorry to have put you in danger.”
“We both knew it would be like this.” Speaking against his chest muffles my voice, but his nod against the crown of my head tells me he heard me.
“We should try to sleep. We have a few hours before we reach the portal.”
Chapter Six
Harper
