Beyond The Shadows (Shadows Saga bk3) ON HOLD

Chapter 14-Project

Marx had given a signal immediately and sat down in front of me, his eyes trying to read me. Within minutes the guards in the room had tripled and in walked Feray, her hips swaying in a confident manner.

"Oh so you actually leave the castle now, do you?" Mara tried to banter, but her heart just wasn't in it. She was glad to see that Feray was doing something though.

"Only when my dear brother asks me to help his mate." Mara could tell what she was trying to do by the way she said 'brother' and 'mate'. She could feel the way it put everyone on edge, the most uncomfortable topics currently in the land of royalty. One of the Tremontes was a Nightshade; the other was somehow mated to a witch. They were both topics that stirred up much controversy, and were better left in a box at the back of the closet, never to be opened.

"Feray, you're needed for this, so please don't try to push any buttons," Marx said with warning.

"Who me? I've no idea what you're talking about, little brother."

Mara could see the tense set of Marx's jaw and knew he was seriously debating on whether this was a good idea. Mara still had no clue what that idea even was.

"I'm going to ask you to do something for me, Mara. Do you think you can do it?"

"I can try, but I won't know until you tell me what it is."

"You've used that spell twice now. You've seen two sets of events and you've told me that The Order of Katar is responsible in both cases." He let his sentence fall off, waiting for her response.

"Yes, that is correct, they were there both with Natalie, and...my parents."

"I need you to do something that's probably going to be incredibly difficult for you. I need you to replay both those events in your mind, and project them to Feray."

"Oh Marx," Feray cut in. "I might be an evil Nightshade, but even I know that's awful."

Mara looked between the two and tension ran deeper through Marx.

"I know that, but she's the only person who has been there witness to both events. She's the only one who has seen The Order in action and if you want to make any headway instead of sitting in that gods forsaken room twiddling your thumbs, then something needs to be done." The words were spoken through clenched teeth and Mara could tell how much the idea pained him.

He knew how Mara felt about her aunt, and he could only assume the feelings ran deeper for her parents. To watch them both die, to see what she had, he knew it must have been awful. He didn't want to make her relive it again, because that's exactly what it would be. When Mara slipped into that state and used her magic to project the events into Feray's mind, she would be living it all over again. That was the last thing he wanted for her, but he also knew that something needed to be done. If anyone was strong enough to handle this, it was Mara.

"I'll do it."

Mara repositioned herself on the bed and Marx stood, letting Feray take his place. The women sat facing each other and Feray held out her hands. Mara looked down at the long fingers tipped with ragged claws. They were similar to the claws she experienced when she slipped into the partial shift; only Feray wore them permanently. Hesitantly, she grabbed Feray's out stretched hand.

They locked eyes, dark brown meeting blue-green.

"You're going to have to invoke your magic to make this work. It can sometimes be overwhelming." Feray spoke as if she'd experienced it before, but Mara couldn't bring herself to ask any questions. She was too busy worried about what she was about to do, what she was about to see again.