Clarity: A Young Adult Paranormal Vampire Romance (Blood Haze Book 4) by Tara Shuler Page B

and refused to let me look away.
    “No w you listen to me, Alice,” Liam said. “And you listen good. You are the strongest woman I have ever met in my life. The only reason you think you’re not is because of your own fear. Let… it… go. Right here. Right now. Let that fear go and be the strong woman I see every time I look at you. Let it go!”
    I allowed myself in that moment ten seconds to feel fear, and I promised myself from that moment on I would do whatever it took to quell it once and for all. I was so done with being afraid. I was ready to st and up and face it.
    “Four… three… two… one,” I counted down the last four numbers aloud. “Done. No more fear.”
    I lifted my chin high and took a deep breath. Liam smiled proudly and said, “Don’t you feel better?”
    “No,” I said, and I dissolved into laughter, which Liam quickly followed me in. Kai soon joined in, and we were still laughing when my brother entered the room.
    “What’s so funny?” Will asked.
    “I’m not afraid!” I said, tears of mirth rolling down my cheeks.
    “ Ooooooooo-k,” Will drawled. “And why is that funny?”
    “Never mind,” I said, snorting as I tried to stop my laughter. “It’s too stupid to explain.”
    Will shrugged and sat down, saying, “So what are we researching?”
    “Actually,” I said, taking a deep breath to contain my fit of glee, “I already found i t. But you’re not going to like it.”
    “Why not?” Will asked.
    “Ok, so… I guess you know that Jamie is trying to learn to mix potions,” I said.
    “Yeah…”
    “Well, I found a potion called Wolf’s Bane that would practically assure us victory against Carson’s pack,” I told him.
    “And?”
    “And it’s only mixable by someone who’s highly experienced with potion making,” I said. “And if Jamie attempts it, she could die just from the fumes if she makes a mistake.”
    Will’s face drained of color, and he said, “You can’t tell her about it.”
    “I know,” I said. “Because she won’t worry about the danger it puts her in. She’ll put everyone else first and she will attempt it.”
    “Don’t tell her, Alice,” he said. “Please don’t.”
    “I’m not going to,” I promised. “Alexi is on the phone trying to find a master potion maker who might be able to help.”
    Will sighed with relief and said, “She mustn’t find out. Ever.”
    I nodded and said, “Will, I agree completely. I’m not going to tell her.”
    “So there’s nothing else to do?” he asked. “You’re saying there’s no need to keep looking?”
    “You can keep looking if you want,” I shrugged. “But we’ve all been reading these books all afternoon and that’s all we’ve come up with.”
    “Well, I’ll keep checking through them for a while,” Will said. “It’ll make me feel like I’m doing something useful, and you never know, I might find something.”
    “I need a break away,” I told him. “You’re welcome to keep looking, but my eyes are so tired the words have been blurring together for quite a while.”
    “No problem,” Will said. “You go take a break and I’ll let you know if I find anything.”
    “I’ll stay and keep looking, too,” Kai said.
    “Why don’t we go have dinner?” Liam suggested.
    “I’m not particularly hungry,” I said. “Maybe just a quick snack.”
    “Alright, then what?” Liam asked.
    “I think I’ll just go to bed after that,” I answered. “I’m exhausted.”
    “I’m pretty tired, too,” Liam said. “Let’s grab that snack and then turn in. Maybe Alexi will be done with his calls by then.”
    We headed to the dining hall, leaving Kai and Will to con tinue the research, and I asked the cooks for a quick bowl of soup. Fortunately they had a pot of tomato basil soup made from earlier in the day, and it was still simmering. Liam decided to have the same.
    As we quickly slurped down the steaming soup, which I couldn’t help but think would have been much