Kyra rushes over, placing her palms against my hands, and I jerk, thrashing the more she thinks. I can no longer hear her thoughts, yet her energy continues bathing my mind in a tsunami of magic.
“Please…Stop…Thinking!” I yell. Begging and clenching my teeth so hard, I think they are on the verge of chipping. I tear away from her grasp, pressing my head against the floor, and heave. Pushing my fingers into the tender skin of my temples, I draw blood as another voice enters.
“Power. Mine.”Abraxis growls, and in an instant, everything stops. The pain, high–medium–low–fading until it’s gone, and I’m left sprawled on her floor, taking in so much air that my lungs burn. I manifest shields by the hundreds–then hundreds more, and more behind those, surrounding my mind.
“Ca-Caspian?” Kyra speaks, her tone so soft my aura reaches for it. Despite her being my damnation, I blink, acclimating to the light of her living area, and sigh.
What the fuck just happened?
She backs away, hands clasped and eyes sparkling with tears.
“I’m okay.” A lie. I’ve never been this vulnerable.
“Can you sit up?” she whispers, afraid to speak. I don’t blame herafter my verbal attack when she only tried helping. Soft and delicate hands slide under my arms, lifting, until my back is pressed against her sofa. Sitting beside me, she stares whilst picking at her thumbs. “Did I hurt you?”
“No. It wasn’t your fault.” Groggy words pass through the raw muscles of my throat. “I’m sorry for lying to you, Kyra,” I get out, still catching my breath.
“Let me get you some water.”
I lean back, tilting my head towards the ceiling as Kyra jogs past me, knowing she would rather not create a cup herself, on the off chance it’s bad.
Not long after, she returns with hurt lining her features.
“Thank you.” Downing the entire cup, I feel better with each sip. I sigh once more as she speaks.
“What happened?”
“You were angry, and rightfully so, but somehow it blended into your magic. Your thoughts were consumed by so much emotion that I couldn’t fight them.”
“Oh,” Kyra says, frowning and turning away.
“Hey, look at me. This wasn’t your fault.”
“You say that–” her frown deepens, “but it looked as though I was killing you.”
“I’m not so easy to kill, My Sweet.”
“Stop being cute. I have questions, Caspian. Important questions I’m hoping you’ll answer.” I’d like nothing more for her. My one hope is that she asks the right ones.
“You have my word; I’ll answer as best as possible.”
She wastes no time diving in. “Good. How long have you been reading my mind?”
“Not reading, hearing. Your thoughts, your inner voice or dialogue, has a magical signature. Everyone here does. But with you it’s different. As per your question, in my current state, I can’t remember the first instant I heard your inner voice. But, when possible, you’ll be the first toknow. Promise.”
“Fine, I can accept that. You said mine is different. How?” She folds her arms, and I fight the temptation to stare. She isn’t wearing a bra.
“Minus Clarissa and Kahlan’s, yours refuses to yield to my mental shields, always finding a way in. And if there isn’t one, it creates one.”
“How?” She frowns.
“I don’t know. Still searching for an answer myself.”
Kyra leans back, pondering which questions will satisfy her thirst for knowledge. “Okay, you don’t know when you first heard me, but you do know if it’s been since my arrival?”
“Yes.”
“Fuck, Caspian, I’ve thought of some crazy things. Please say you didn’t hear my thoughts in your class.”
