Page 53 of Tethered to the World
Annora glanced down then shrugged again. “It never pays to heal too fast in front of my uncle. It’s like asking for another beating…like he didn’t do his job well enough the first time around.”
His mouth tightened, but he didn’t say a word.
He understood.
“Shifters view things differently. They see injuries as a weakness.” He gently lowered her arm. “Are you able to heal fully?”
She bit her lip, debating the wisdom of revealing more about herself to him…to any of them. She glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the partiers, able to sense the otherness from them, and knew Xander was right.
It didn’t matter that she was stronger than the other students and getting stronger by the day, her powers changing and adapting the more she used them. She’d never seen or heard of another of her kind, but heeded her mother’s warning to avoid them, sensing they were an even bigger threat to her than her uncle.
If she wanted to live, she needed to learn the full extent of her abilities.
“I think so, but you’ll need to stand back.” His arms tightened around her legs in protest before he nodded. He dropped his hold, and she pulled her feet back, but he didn’t rise or walk away. Even if she asked, she didn’t think he would move.
They were only inches apart, the heat of him licking against her skin, and she stiffened against the impulse to lean against him. He was commanding and intimidating, and she wanted to curl up against him when she should be afraid.
Knowing he was waiting for her to act, she closed her eyes and allowed the darkness swirling inside her to rise to the surface. It tickled under her skin, and she pushed it outward. Dark particles swarmed around her, settling over her injuries. The tingles spread through her flesh like needles were being slammed into her wounds, burrowing deeper until the particles filled the injuries, slowly merging with her flesh. The pain twisted as the wounds began to stitch shut, her skin slowly smoothing over. The scabs were reabsorbed or fell off, the skin going from an angry red to white and shiny, before that too faded to nothing.
The relief from pain was euphoric, leaving her body feeling almost too tight as it tried to contain her. The darkness vanished with her injuries, and instead of feeling exhausted from the healing, using the darkness invigorated her. Any lingering effects from using her ghosting abilities earlier were gone. She smiled, then glanced up at Xander. “Better?”
How sick was it that she missed the feeling of hovering between pleasure and pain? Missed the way her bruises and aches intensified as they healed, the exhilaration gradually fading.
He lifted his hand and laid a single finger on her unblemished arm, running it from her elbow to wrist. “Amazing.”
She shivered, his husky tone causing the darkness to hum, setting her insides tingling. It took a conscious effort to push away his effect on her, and she pulled away, not liking the way the darkness seemed to reach for him. “Amazing? Why? I’ve seen shifters heal just as fast.”
Surprised blanked his face. “We usually have to shift into our beasts, it takes time, and we still sometimes retain residual injuries. The change itself is taxing. You look…rejuvenated.”
He rose to his feet, then offered her a hand. “We should head back to the others. They’re getting restless.”
Annora lifted her brows, glancing around before slipping her hand in his. “How can you tell?”
He towed her to her feet, then lifted up the phone and tipped it toward her.
Forty-two missed text messages.
Even as she watched, another message popped up from Camden.
I fucked up.
Xander read the screen, then sighed and pocketed the phone. “Camden is an ass. Obviously he said something to upset you, but you should know he couldn’t help it.”
Annora glanced at him from the corner of her eye as they left the dock, already missing the solitude. “What do you mean?”
“He likes you.”
She snorted, then nearly choked on her laugh when he glanced at her without a hint of amusement. “You’re serious?”
“He’s afraid of you getting too close. He’s dated other girls, but his touch always presented a problem. He broke things off before they could get too serious. It only takes one time of almost killing the girl you’re falling in love with to leave scars that won’t heal.” He grabbed her hand and helped her up the hill, squeezing her fingers until she looked up at him. “He’s terrified of you…terrified of getting too close. You have the power to hurt him, and he has no idea how to deal with it.”
Annora wasn’t sure she believed him. While Camden might have been brutal, he didn’t lie.
His words were something she’d needed to hear.
She opened her mouth to ask him a question when a florescent blue light caught her attention. She stopped dead when she saw that the person’s veins seemed to glow. A quick glance showed nearly a dozen people were similarly affected.
Alarm slammed into her, but everyone acted normal, like they didn’t notice anything wrong. “Do you see it?”
