Page 85 of Shattered Veil
“Tell me to stop,” I murmur against her neck, “and I will.”
She doesn’t. Instead, her fingers tangle in my hair, pulling me closer as I trail kisses along her collarbone. My hand skims higher under her shirt, tracing the curve of her ribs.
Brigid breathes. “We shouldn’t, not here—”
But her body disagrees with her, arching into my touch.
A burst of laughter from the hallway shatters the moment. We freeze, bodies still pressed together as footsteps pass by the door.
“Shit.” I reluctantly pull away.
Brigid smooths down her rumpled clothes. In the faint light, I can see the flush on her cheeks, her lips swollen from our kisses. It takes every ounce of willpower not to pull her to me.
I want this. Want her. More than anything in this world. After the nothingness of the void, all I crave now is her warmth, her taste, her scent. But she’s right; we get seen now then all the time apart has been for nothing. Reluctantly, I pull away, feigning nonchalance I don’t feel.
“Fine,” I grumble, adjusting my jeans. “For now.”
She shoots me a look equal parts amused and exasperated.
I lean against the wall, letting out a long breath, needing a minute before I walk back to the party. The darkness of the room feels oppressive now, reminding me too much of that other place. That timeless, endless void where I was trapped.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I just—” I trail off, not sure how to explain how I feel. How do you describe nothingness? “Being in the void, it changed things. Changed me.”
Brigid steps closer, her hand finding mine in the dark. “Talk to me, Rory.”
I swallow hard. “It was like... existing and not existing at the same time. Endless emptiness. No sense of time, nothing to anchor myself to—except you.” My voice cracks. “I thought I’d go mad. But I could feel you.”
“I could feel you too, Rory,” she says softly. “And you’re here now.”
“Am I though?” The words slip out before I can stop them. “Sometimes I wake up and for a second, I’m not sure if this is real or if I’m still trapped there.”
Brigid’s grip on my hand tightens. “This is real. I’m real.”
I nod, clinging to her touch like it’s my salvation. “It’s just... hard sometimes. Everything feels different now. Marius, the others... even you.”
“Me?”
I hesitate, weighing my words. “Your powers are growing. I can feel it. And Marius... he’s not exactly subtle about his interest in you.”
Brigid tenses. “Rory—”
“No, it’s okay. I get it. He understands the darkness in a way I can’t.” I force a smile she can’t see. “Just be careful, yeah? There’s something off about him.”
She doesn’t respond right away, and in the silence, I wonder if I’ve said too much.
“I know,” Brigid says finally, her voice barely above a whisper. “I feel it too. The darkness. It’s... tempting.”
My chest tightens. “What do you mean?”
She’s quiet for a long moment. “It’s like this pull, deep inside. Calling to me. Promising power, answers.” Her fingers twitch in mine. “Sometimes I want to give in, just to see what would happen.”
“Brigid—” I start, not sure what to say.
“I won’t,” she says quickly. “I’m scared of what I might become if I do. But the temptation is there.”
I pull her close, wrapping my arms around her. She melts into me, burying her face in my chest. “I saw things in the void,” I murmur against her hair. “Visions, I guess. Of us. Of what could be.”
