VISION ✔️ || The Keepers of Astraela #1

32.0 || Of Barriers and First-Time Drivers

EMRYS

DRIVING A CAR WAS NOT as easy as YouTube made it seem.

Emrys could hardly control the metal beast while they sped along the narrow dirt road, missing trees and large rocks by mere inches. Winding curves snaked through the woods, so sharp that taking them at such an accelerated rate nearly brought the vehicle up on two wheels.

When dirt faded into blacktop, with no obstacles along the straightened main road, he slammed his foot on the gas. Every sharp curve brought the pleasure of feeling weightless. Streetlights flashed like strobes as they zipped past, blurring the landscape on either side until his eyes couldn't focus on anything but the road ahead.

It was freeing. Exhilarating. Something he could see himself doing for fun on Earth if fate would allow him one more day in a carefree existence.

A genuine laugh escaped his lips, filled with such excitement that it worsened the stabbing pain in his abdomen. It had subsided from its intensity at the cabin, no longer feeling like his organs were being sliced to ribbons, but the potion wasn't finished with his body—not with the burning sensation in his bladder that he hoped wouldn't be venomous when he emptied it.

But as long as none of the symptoms spread to his ballsack, he would be safe from any rupture... or so he hoped.

Emrys peered into the rearview mirror to check on his passengers. Mystia sat at attention, perched on the edge of her seat to watch for trouble, though he wasn't sure how much she would see with their traveling speed.

Bobbi, however, was not quite as settled as her silence made it seem. She had pressed herself against the faux leather interior, gripping her seatbelt with trembling hands.

Emrys passed her a smile. "Hanging in there, Bobs?"

"I'd be better if you kept your eyes on the damn road."

He laughed, but before he could return his attention to the road, he caught a glance of an unnerving sight in the mirror: his eyes.

A sinking feeling dropped to the pit of his stomach. While his right eye shimmered gold, brighter in his magic's resting state due to the potion, it was the left that made fear convulse in his chest. It had grown dim, overtaken by a steely gray. Silver flecks had even crept into his hair, standing in stark contrast to his black locks.

"Emrys!" the girls cried in unison, drawing his eyes back to the road.

High-beam headlights blinded him. Another vehicle barreled head-on, too close for him to swerve away at their current speed. He yanked on the wheel regardless, bracing for an impact that never came.

A flash of green illuminated the vehicle. Emrys fought to keep the car straight as a glittering barrier surrounded them, just in time for the oncoming SUV to collide with it in a show of spark and flame. The SUV ignited and was forced up and around the shield, tumbling through the air before crashing behind them, only a flaming ball in the distance.

Bobbi vomited. Emrys winced and listened to Mystia patting her softly on the back, shushing her as she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the floor.

"Now, now," cooed Mystia. "It's just a minor casualty."

"You're psychotic!" sputtered Bobbi.

"Don't be so closed-minded." Mystia stood enough to lean between the front seats, chin resting over Emrys' shoulder. "What's going on, love? Your thoughts went all wonky."

Bobbi coughed and stared up at them. "His thoughts?"

"A mind reading potion. Quite simple with the proper ingredients." Mystia dropped her voice lower to speak in Emrys' ear. "What was all that about? We can't have you distracted while operating this... thing."