Lines of script scrolled through her mind, but the words were still unreadable to her. Show me. Please allow me to understand. She didn’t know if she was supposed to interact with the spirits directly or if she should remain silent and still, but they were here. She could sense them and feel her body reacting to their presence.
Her eyes burned and she pressed her lids tighter as tears escaped the corners of her eyes. The lines of script in her mind slowly blurred, becoming shapeless blobs before reforming in crisp, clear English. “‘Osric has thrown down the gauntlet, dared us to react. His selfish abuse has already set us back by decades. We cannot allow his challenge to go unanswered.’”
Erin’s happy cry echoed in the distance, but the connection sank deeper into Ava’s mind. Ava raised her hands to her head and moaned. The journal’s weight was lifted from her legs and Ava fell back onto the bed.
“Ava? Are you all right.”
The fear in Erin’s tone sent a shiver through Ava. She hadn’t been afraid until she heard Erin’s voice. She tried to speak, to reassure the other woman, but she couldn’t move, could barely think beyond the roaring in her head.
Images swirled, disconnected and dizzying. The harder she fought the current the more disconcerting the sensations became. She bobbed and rocked, twisted and soared with no control, no specific destination. Like the steady pull of a vacuum, the trance drew her deeper and deeper into its power.
The mattress dipped as someone sat down beside her. Then warm fingers brushed her hair back from her face. “We’re here, sunshine. If you need our help, let me feel your fear.”
Kyle. Her protector, her lover, her…mate? The thought wasn’t nearly as upsetting as it had been the first time the possibility popped into her mind. But he was afraid for her, as was his mother. She needed to let them know she was all right.
But was she all right? She was paralyzed and helpless, yet she felt no threat, no menace within the tranquility.
Locating her link with Kyle, she sent him a pulse of calm, curiosity. Not sure what’s happening, but I don’t think I’m in danger.
She wasn’t sure if the thought had reached his mind until he said, “She’s not afraid, but she’s not sure what this is either.”
As if in response to their exchange, the pulling sensation increased, rushing her toward a looming void. She struggled against the hold, frightened for the first time.
She plunged into darkness like a tunnel in the middle of a roller coaster. Then she burst out the other side and sensations bombarded her consciousness. Fear and delight, excitement and dread, all compressed into one overwhelming moment.
Hovering above the scene, disembodied yet connected, she watched what was happening to the other Ava. She could feel what her other self felt, yet she saw the events from outside her body.
Her other self sat on the edge of a highly carved pedestal table, the wood darkened as if by age. All the chairs had been stacked off to one side and six people stood around the oval table. To her right stood Kyle, his handsome features stern while excitement burned in his gaze. Payne stood at her left, his strange golden eyes glowing. No one moved. No one spoke. And tension increased with each frantic heartbeat.
Ava looked at the other shifters, suddenly understanding what she was witnessing. Three men and a woman. They were strangers to her now, but she would know them well by the time this scene took place.
“Are you ready, my love?” Kyle asked her, his voice hushed and filled with love.
“Finally.” Her future self smiled. “I’m sorry this took so long.”
“No.” Kyle reached over and took her hand. “You were right to wait. Your certainty will make the bonding that much stronger. Besides, you’ll always be worth the wait.”
“Will you go first or last?”
“Last.” A slow, sexy smile parted his lips. “Once our bonding is complete, I won’t be able to hold back. I don’t particularly want an audience for what I have planned.”
“I wouldn’t mind.” Payne’s tone was surprisingly playful.
“Not in your wildest dreams.” Kyle growled out a warning and Payne laughed.
“If you two are finished posturing, I’m ready to begin.”
Ava felt the suction reverse, drawing her back into the present. She quickly shifted her focus to the unfamiliar faces, doing her best to memorize their features.
The return trip was far less gentle. Her consciousness was hurtled back into her body and she arrived with a startled cry.
“Are you all right, love?” Now Kyle sounded scared.
Ava blinked until her eyes focused and then she smiled up at him. “I’m fine. The ancients just wanted to silence my doubts once and for all.”