Page 54 of Detonation
"We're still going in blind, completely unaware of how far his reach is or what his actual goal is in all of this." I’m becoming very tired of my lack of knowledge.
Serenity stands, running her hands down her black t-shirt to smooth it out. "I will try to get something useful out of Gaia tonight and we will reconvene tomorrow and leave."
Tomorrow.
We’re going back to our realm. Will we get our memories back as Gaia said Lana would when she crossed over?
My mind whirls with the possibilities as we all rise from our chairs, Leo walking Serenity to the door as she leaves. Silencing my thoughts, I get up and head to the kitchen to make us dinner. "You guys good with pasta tonight?"
Luke and Leo call out their approval but when I hear nothing from Hale, I turn in time to see his back as he heads up the stairs. I'll take that as a no.
The bedroom door shuts upstairs and I turn to Leo. "What else happened down there?"
He heads toward the couch and plops down. "The dark witch told him he's been shadowkissed and that Erebus is coming for him now. That they share a connection because of it."
My mouth drops open in shock and my brain short circuits. "What thefuck? What does that mean and why did no one think to mention this earlier?"
"Honestly, I forgot about that. We were so focused on getting back to Lana and I just … forgot." He shrugs, looking a bit ashamed. “We have no idea what it means. Besides she said he’s been touched by darkness but that’s super vague.”
Luke joins Leo on the couch. "Do we believe her? She could be bullshitting to scare us."
Leo shakes his head. "She refused to speak to anyone for a week and then, all of a sudden, Hale shows up and she's spilling the beans, babbling like she can’t stop ... yeah, I believe it. You should have seen the way she looked at him." A chill runs down his spine.
"Well, we need to keep an eye on him and, if it turns out to be true, let him know he's not alone in this."
They voice their agreement and I turn back to the kitchen to prepare our food, thinking about Hale's situation.
Shadowkissed?
We already have so much on our plates. I hope we can hold it together.
* * *
Hale
I strip down to my boxers and fall backwards onto the bed, letting the exhaustion of the day catch up to me. I’d been trying to hold in all of my fears about what the dark witch said, knowing our focus needed to be on Lana and our plans.
It's not like anything has actually happened yet. Right?Chill out, Hale.
I'll probably be jumping at my own shadow now, thanks to her.
Do you feel the darkness—Stop thinking about what she said, idiot!
I rub my hands against my face, trying to think of literally anything else to get my mind off of that.
Lana.
Immediately, my lips tilt up at the thought of seeing my little one. I move to the side of the bed I've been sleeping on and close my eyes as my head hits the pillow. I can't wait to hold her tightly in my arms, her curls tickling my nose as I kiss the top of her head, run my hands down her sides, feel the curve of her hips as she captures my lips with her own.
Letting those thoughts run through my head, I let sleep lull me into the dreamscape.
"Hale!" a voice I know well yells out, causing me to spin from where I'm standing in our bedroom.
There she stands, in all of her beauty, wearing nothing but two scraps of black lace lingerie. Her wavy hair is tousled, her lips painted red.
Lana.
I close the steps between us, grabbing her face in both of my hands and melding my mouth to her plush lips. She moans lightly against me as her arms circle around me, dragging her fingers down my back in an agonizingly slow movement. The pleasure from her nails scraping against my skin causes my cock to throb at how painfully erect it is.
