Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 123779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 619(@200wpm)___ 495(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 619(@200wpm)___ 495(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Oh God, I’m going to leave an imprint of myself on his chest.
An uncomfortable silence wraps around us, and for a long while, there’s only the sound of the horse’s hooves slamming down on the ground.
When we see the others up ahead, Raighne slows his horse down a little, and I feel his chest expand as he sucks in a deep breath.
Loosening my hold on Raighne, I try to put an inch of space between us without falling off.
Suddenly, Raighne’s voice rumbles above my head. “Once we get to the desert, we’re going to work on our telepathic link.”
I glance up at him. “Telepathic link?”
Being so close to him does things to my insides, and I squirm.
Raighne’s eyes flick to mine, then he drops the bomb of all bombs on me. “Besides being able to feel what you feel, I can hear your thoughts, and with training, we’ll be able to communicate telepathically.”
Say what now?
My mouth drops open as what he just said sinks in, then I mutter, “You’re kidding.”
No.
God, say it ain’t so.
He can hear my thoughts?
NoNoNoNoNo.
I swallow hard as an overwhelming feeling of mortification floods me.
Does this mean he’s heard my every thought? Even the ones about him?
Oh God, take me now.
My voice trembles as I ask, “Have you heard everything? Even when we were on Earth?”
This is so, so very bad.
That explains a lot. No wonder he’s upset with me.
My shoulders sag, and I wish the ground would just open up and swallow me whole. I’ve never been this embarrassed in my life.
Raighne slows the horse to a stop, then says, “I can control listening to your thoughts and only listen to them when I feel a strong emotion from you.”
My feelings for him are pretty strong, so he must know about them.
Kill. Me. Now.
“I worked on controlling it before I went to retrieve you, and right now, I have to touch you in order to hear them clearly.”
I scoot another inch away from him.
When he reaches for my face, I jerk my head backward. “You just said you can hear my thoughts clearly if you touch me, so I’d appreciate it if you don’t touch me right now.”
He lets out another sigh. “Look at me.”
I shake my head, glancing at the others as the distance between us and them grows again.
“So, you know everything I’ve thought about?” I ask, not happy at all.
“No. I’ve only checked on your thoughts a few times.”
Ugh.
“What did you hear?”
“That you weren’t being truthful about the visions.”
My head snaps to him, and I meet his eyes. “So you know what’s going to happen?”
He nods, a serious expression on his face. “Why are you hiding the vision of Adeth from me?”
My shoulders slump, and I look away again. “I don’t want to talk about it. It’s too upsetting.”
“You have to tell me about the visions so I can be prepared. Visions aren’t set in stone, and the future can be altered.”
My eyes fly back to his. “Really?”
He nods. “So don’t keep them from me.”
“Okay.”
He nudges the horse to start walking again.
Needing to be sure, I ask, “So you only heard the visions and not other things I was thinking about?”
“Yes.”
I relax a little. “Can you hear everyone’s thoughts?”
Raighne shakes his head. “No, just yours. It is part of the guardian-charge bond. That way, we know when our charges are in trouble. You can call for me like you did when Robert attacked you. It also makes it easier for me to find you should we be separated. I can see through your eyes and sense where you are.”
He goes silent for a bit, and all I can think is holy shit.
“Feeling what you feel only helps me so much, but allowing me to see where you are helps me track you down.”
God, now that I know Raighne can read my mind, I have to control my thoughts.
That’s if he’s not lying, and he already knows about my unwelcome crush on him.
Under no circumstances do you think of your feelings for him. Shut that shit down.
Chapter 14
Alchera
Slowly, the landscape changes from the forests and lush green fields to sand, dunes, and rocks as far as the eye can see.
Raighne wasn’t joking when he said we’re going to the desert. My ass hurts from sitting on a horse for hours.
“How long will we be here?” I ask as we reach the area where the others have stopped for a break.
“A month.”
“What?” I gasp. “Why so long?”
“It all depends on how quickly we strengthen our telepathic bond. We might be able to head back sooner.”
Raighne slides from the horse and placing both his hands on my hips, he lifts me off. I grab hold of his shoulders to make sure I don’t fall and try to ignore the fluttering sensation in my stomach.
When my feet touch the ground again, my legs feel weird.