Their Light

Chapter 32

Ryder

The last thing I expected was to be ripped from the depths of sleep by a scream. Her scream. I knew I would never be able to get that scream out of my head. One minute I was fast asleep and the next I was out of my bed and racing down the hall. My mind whirled trying to think of what could be happening. Had the Tenebris managed to get through our wards again? Did her protection amulet fail?

Was she hurt?

I burst into her room just in time to see her hit the floor. Pain filled her face, and I reacted instinctively. Surveying the room in an instant, I didn't find a threat but still she screamed. I wrapped her in my arms but she fought against me.

I shouted her name but even though her eyes were open she wasn't seeing me. She froze like a statue sending worry flooding through my veins. When she finally turned and stared at me, tears leaking down her face, I could breathe again. I grabbed her shaking hand as it reached for me unable to stand it anymore, squeezing it lightly.

"You're alive?" She asked me. Her voice almost breaking. It sounded more fragile than I had ever heard before. I nodded nonetheless. If she needed reassurance then that's what I'd give her.

"I'm alive." Hadley grabbed me, pulling me into a tight hug.

I cradled her in my arms, stroking a hand through her hair. Suddenly, she jerked again, trying to pull away. She tried to stand, demanding to go check on the others. Even after I told her they were fine she still insisted. Even with a hurt ankle.

I placed her on the bed even as she fought me. We needed to figure out what happened, but she was too hysterical. She whimpered, finally sinking into the bed. That whimper killed me. The others thankfully burst into the room at that moment. It's like she needed to make sure each of us was okay. That we were all still breathing. She needed to see it with her own eyes.

All my questions were answered once Kent felt her protection amulet. Tenebris. The fucking Tenebris did this, again. How did it manage to invade her dreams when she was wearing the protection amulet? I met Kent's eyes and knew he had the same questions as me.

Once she was settled, we stayed the night in her room. I couldn't even think of anything except her safety. We had watched over her the entire night. Her sleep was restless, but every time she woke we were there to reassure her, to comfort her. Kent was usually more successful at that than me.

Now that morning had come, I leaned against her doorway, watching as she tried to bargain her way off of bed rest with Kent. She was still shaking in the doorway, looking too pale. The details she told us of the vision the darkness forced upon her were gruesome and vile. I knew there was more that she didn't share, though. She was always trying to protect us. When would she understand that that was our job?

I could tell the vision was still haunting her. It probably would for a while. I hated feeling this useless. I couldn't help with stuff like this. This fucking Tenebris needed to come see me face to face and we'd see who'd come out the winner. I really needed something to punch.

"My ankle is fine. I'm going downstairs where everyone else is," she stated, glaring at Kent who finally sighed.

"Your ankle is sprained so you will stay on the couch with it propped up."

She thought about it for a moment before nodding. She moved to get off the bed, but before she could I was there. I scooped her up into my arms and started for the stairs. Kent trailed behind us.

"You should take a nap," she told me. I glanced down at her, scrunching my eyebrows in confusion.

"What?"

"You need to take a nap," she said again. "I know you didn't get any sleep last night. The dark circles under your eyes are making you look like a panda."

I glared at her playfully, making her laugh. She was not wrong, though. There was no way I was sleeping last night. Her safety above everything else. I would not let the Tenebris get to her again.

Her laughter abruptly cut off when we reached the stairs. Her face paled as she glanced at a specific spot on the landing. I didn't ask, but just continued on quickly. She focused again on the railing on the way down. She looked away quickly before looking away and taking a deep breath. Her hands gripped the fabric of my shirt a little tighter.

I was going to end that fucking Tenebris if it was the last thing I did.