Page 92 of Shattered Veil
There’s awkwardness now between us. We’ve fucked now, but this feels different. More intimate somehow. Brigid shifts her weight from foot to foot, not quite meeting my eyes.
“So, uh, how do we start?” she asks.
I move closer, close enough to smell the lingering scent of her shampoo.“First, you need to relax. Let go of your fear.”
Brigid snorts.“Right. Is that all?”
“I know.” I reach out, hesitating for a moment before placing my hand on her shoulder. She tenses, then forces herself to relax.“But you need to trust me. And trust yourself.”
I guide her through the basics, showing her how to reach for the shadows that surround us.“Feel the darkness. Let it seep into your skin. Meet what’s already there.”
Brigid’s face is tight with concentration. A stray lock of hair falls over her cheek. I fight the urge to brush it back.
“I can feel something,” she whispers.“It’s cold. And hungry.”
“Don’t fight it. Embrace it. Open up to it.”
I move behind her, placing my hands on her hips. She inhales sharply but doesn’t pull away.“This is not what Tiernan or Lochan will teach you.” She stiffens at the mention of their names.“But that’s because they don’t know what it’s like. To have the darkness not just around you, but inside you. You understand what I’m saying, don’t you?”
She nods. Just once.
“I need you to feel that coldness and welcome it in. Don’t think about right or wrong, good or bad. It just…is.”
Brigid takes a deep breath. I can feel the shift in the air as she lets down her barriers, inviting the darkness in. Allowing it to coexist in her. Shadows from the forest swirl around us, gliding across our skin like a lover’s touch.
“That’s it,” I murmur, my lips close to her ear.“Let it fill you up.”
She shivers, leaning back against me. Her power pulses. It calls to my own darkness as her body arches.“It’s so much. I don’t know if I can control it.”
“Don’t.” I run my hands up her sides, coming to rest just with my fingers just under her breasts.“Don’t fight it.”
“Marius,” she breathes.“I’ve never felt anything like this.”
“Just wait. There’s so much more I can show you.”
Her skin’s hot under my hands, and I can feel her heart beating.
“Open your eyes,” I command softly.“What do you see?” I ask.
“Everything,” she whispers.“The shadows, they’re alive. Moving. I can feel them all around us.”
My grip on her tightens.“That’s it. Now reach out. Make them do what you want.”
Brigid extends her hand. The shadows obey their master, forming shapes. A bird. A cat. A dagger. A man.
“Holy shit,” she breathes.
I chuckle.“Impressed?”
“It’s incredible.” She turns to face me, eyes wide.“How did you learn all this?”
Something in my chest constricts. I shouldn’t tell her. Shouldn’t let her in. But those eyes...
“The hard way.”
Brigid’s eyes soften.“Tell me,” she says quietly.
I hesitate, warring with myself. I don’t do vulnerability. Don’t let people in. But something about Brigid makes me want to open up.
