I pull back. “You scared me there for a minute.”
“I was holding back. I knew I could never kill another person in cold blood.” His eyes are narrowed in thought. “I was kind of hoping that West might feel the same way. I…” he shakes his head. “It’s over now.” He sighs.
“What did West say to you?” I ask. “It clearly influenced your feelings.”
“Some bullshit about taking you as a mate and then doing everything in his power to ensure you love him as much as he loves you. There was more, but I didn’t catch it. It was more of the same…” He shrugs.
I frown. “And that pissed you off so badly you found your second wind?”
“It gave me a chance to regroup to a degree, but that’s not it.” He shakes his head.
“What then?”
“I’m not sure how to tell you this.” He’s frowning. He rubs his hand up and down the sides of my arms. “I’m not sure you want to know.” His eyes are narrowed with concern.
“I’m pretty sure I do.” I nod.
“It’s bad! I had a vision, Raven,” he says. His eyes have this look in them.
“You read West?” I sound unsure. I must have misunderstood somehow.
Stephan nods. “Yes, and it was bad. It was really bad.”
I fall hard as someone crashes into Stephan’s side. I turn to my right in time to see West and Stephan rolling. West lands on top of Stephan.
Stephan’s eyes are wide. I know that look. He’s having another vision. West pulls his fist back, ready to strike. “What the hell is wrong with him?” he asks, confusion in his eyes.
22
Stephanus
I’m seeing flashes of West’s future. Like video clips. In some, he is with a woman…there is a child. They are happy. In others…he is alone. He is drinking. I think it might be nectar of the gods because he is drunk. Then he is fighting a whole group of men. Oh, fuck! I don’t need to see this. He’s having sex with…I think she might be a prostitute. It’s no one he cares for…I know it. Now we’re back to a woman in his life, someone different this time. They are breaking up; they’re screaming at each other.
I moan.
I try to shove him off me.
I can’t. He’s too heavy, and my arms won’t work. Why won’t my arms work?
The visions turn into snippets. Same as in the longer visions, some are good. Some bad. Some are terrible. Snippets. Pieces. They’re moving from one to the next to the next. Going faster and faster. My arms feel like lead. I try to shake my head. I try to talk, but I don’t think I can even moan anymore.
My head hurts.
It throbs.
My whole body hurts.
I have never had a vision from a non-human for this long. It’s not right! It feels all wrong! Bad! So bad! All I have are the visions. More and more. Faster and faster. I think this is it. Stay away from the sea. I can feel him on me. West. His weight. His hands. I’m stuck. Falling deeper. I’m being taken with the tide. A tide of visions. His visions.
West is the tide.
It’s him.
My undoing. I’m losing myself. I can feel my mind as it slips away. I’m sinking. Being swept away.
“Thank god!” I hear someone say. I’m not sure if it’s another vision or if it’s reality.
I’m still seeing snippets. My body jerks, like it’s been shocked.
“Easy,” a voice soothes. I feel a cool touch. I think it’s real. I hope it’s real. This is like a nightmare.
My body jerks again as more flashes accost me. I feel like I’m sinking away to nothing. I groan.
Suddenly, my forehead is cool. “I’ve got you,” the same voice says.
“How is he?” another voice.
“I think he’s…” The voices are fading.
I’m not sure how much time passes. Seconds…minutes…hours. I jerk awake. I think I’m sitting upright. I can still see the flashes of West’s future. I can see him having sex, pounding into some woman, telling her to keep her head facing forward. He doesn’t want to look at her. Then he’s drinking…he falls and tries to get up but falls again. Then he is with another woman. She is looking at him with love. He touches her swollen belly. Then I see him staggering and falling, his eyes hazy. Flashes. Snippets. My head.
“Stephan.” I see Raven. She’s holding my face. “Oh, my god! I thought I lost you,” she whispers.
“Raven.” I touch her cheek. “I see you,” I say. “I see you.”
She laughs. I love the sound.
“Is that…? Stephan!” Jarrod yells. “Fuck! You’re awake. Is he awake?” he asks Raven.
“Yes.” She laughs.
“What happened?” Jarrod asks.
“West is the tide.” I fall back against soft pillows, feeling drained. A blanket is bunched around my hips. I’m wearing sleeping shorts. How is it that I’m wearing sleeping shorts? “Where is he?” I croak.
“West?” Raven asks, brows raised.
I nod. “West is the son of Poseidon.”
“I heard all about that,” Raven says.
“Where is West now?” I ask again, feeling weak.
“In his room at Jarrod’s house. He refuses to come out or to talk about what happened. He says he needs space,” Raven says, her eyes clouding.
“That’s what he told Trident,” my brother says. “He’s the only person West would talk to, and then only briefly. Do you want something to drink?” Jarrod asks.
He must see how dry my lips look. They feel parched. I nod.
Raven holds a straw to my mouth, and I drink. I feel so incredibly tired. “How long…how long was I…under?” I ask, for lack of a better word.
“Twenty-six hours,” Raven says.
“Twenty-six very long hours. I didn’t think you would come out of it,” my brother says. “Raven wouldn’t leave your side.” He smiles at her.
“How did…? What happened?” I ask. “I could feel myself being pulled into the vision. Getting stuck. West wouldn’t get off me…”
“I wonder how it happened,” Jarrod interjects.
“I think it’s because he’s a powerful non-human.” I shrug. “And the length of the contact. I think that combination. It has never happened with a human.” I’m reminded of how my head throbbed. “I was nearly a goner. How did I break loose?”
“It was Raven,” Jarrod says. “She shoved West hard. He was just looking down at you.”
“You shoved him?” I ask Raven.
She nods. “Of course. I could see that you were in a bad place. Your eyes…” She shivers like she’s getting the creeps. “I couldn’t get West off you. That’s where your brother came in.”
“I may have broken his jaw…again, since you broke it the first time.” His eyes harden with a flash of anger. “He can be a serious jerk, especially where you are concerned. And jerk is putting it lightly.”
“West went down hard,” Raven says. “He was out cold for a while.”