Page 20 of To Crave Deeply
“Oh, sweetie. That is such a nice thing to say. I’ll put a special request in your paperwork, and I’ll be all yours, honey. Good luck.” She gave me a wave and a big thumbs up and I couldn’t help the smile that crossed my face at her enthusiasm. Now, if only I could muster that in me somehow and I’d be all set.
I turned back to Sybil, and she gave me a stern look. “Now, you tell that granddaughter of mine, Raela, to buck up her ideas. If she’s not going to join a coven, she can damn well start her own. She’s had enough time playing the rebel.”
I laughed; no wonder she looked so familiar. Now that she’d said that, all I could see was a severe version of Rae. “Yes, ma’am.”
Sybil gave me a nod of thanks and then put her hands on either side of my face. Her mouth began to move as the enchantment wrapped around me. I could feel her magic prickling against my skin and covering me like a blanket. Sybil gave me one last look that spoke of kindness and hope before pulling her hands away.
There was a moment of stillness and silence. A calmness ran through me and settled in my bones. It felt peaceful, but I knew it was only the calm before the storm.
A blinding light burst from my chest, and I felt my soul fracture into thousands of atoms. I could feel a thread tugging deep in behind my solar plexus, pulling me backwards. Dragging me to my body.
There was so much pain. So much agony. So many shadows and screams.
Then there was nothing but darkness.
***
I couldn’t see anything. Couldn’t feel anything. Where was I? There was nothing but thick, dense blackness as far as the eye could see. Not that I was sure I could see. Was I even alive?
Muffled voices filtered through the shadows. They sounded familiar but I couldn’t remember why. I couldn’t think. Why was it so hard to think?
…It will be like stepping into a black box…
Oh, god. Was I back in my body? She’d done it. Sybil had actually sent me back. Okay, deep breath.
Fuck. Why did it hurt so much to breathe?
I could sense magic. It felt like it was wrapped around me.
A flash of light appeared in the darkness. I ran to it. Well, I think I ran to it. Pretty hard to tell when you can’t feel your limbs.
An image of swirling gold and silver eyes filled my vision.
Torsten. I’d never been so happy in my life to—
A wave of dark energy swirled through me, and I instantly knew Iveri was feeding. And she was feeding from Torsten. Anger rushed through me.
Mine.
The single word was filled with such rage and possessiveness that it frightened me. I didn’t care that Torsten was bound to me through a bond of servitude; he was mine and that bitch had better get her lips off him right now or I was going to be more than pissed.
She pushed him away. Thank fuck. It was strange watching everything unfold in front of me. Was this what it had been like for Iveri? I could see and hear everything. I was starting to feel what she felt. I could feel her disgust, her desire, her thirst for freedom.
Now if only I could find a way to get out of this box. Iveri had done it before; I just had to figure out how.
An image of a woman dressed in the most ridiculous lilac gown filled my vision. Wait, I’d seen her before, at the Gathering. I knew her.
Iveri’s voice filled the room. “You’ve got yourself a deal, witch.”
Oh, Hell no. Now I remembered: she was the bloody Witch Queen. I was not letting Iveri make a deal with her. What the fuck was she getting us into?
Come on, Lori. Work the problem.
I needed to find a way out of the darkness. Out of the shadows.
Wait. That was it. Iveri might be a demon, but I was a mage, and shadows were my bitch.
I called to my magic that ran through my veins. I felt the electricity zinging through my fingertips and manic laughter bubbled in my throat.
