River Cast: Part Two in the Tale of Lunarmorte by Samantha Young Page A

She
yelled, pulling and twisting ineffectually in his grasp.
    “ No!” He
bellowed in her face, her hair blowing back with his anger. “You’re
going to tell me what is going on. Now!”
    She had never
seen Ryder angry before. He was the most together male lykan she
had ever met. She began to tremble. Oh
goddess, don’t let me cry. No! The tears
streamed down her face with a mind of their own, and she felt
Ryder’s death grip ease. Abruptly she was pressed against him, her
face snuggled into his chest whilst he sighed and stroked her
hair.
    “ Dammit,
don’t cry, Jae, please don’t cry. You know I can’t stand to see a
woman cry.”
    “ I’m
s-s-sorry,” she managed, hiccupping. But the tears wouldn’t stop.
She continued to sob in his arms as he cradled her against him,
whispering soothing nonsense in her ear. She cried all the tears
she hadn’t allowed herself until now. She cried for the way her
captivity had broken her innocence and faith; she cried for letting
fear get the best of her; she cried for the sharp, breathless pain
any remembrance of Sebastian brought; and she cried for the shame
of having the telekinesis as a permanent scar from Ethan’s
torture.
    After a little while her
tears subsided, her trembling eased, and she managed to catch her
breath.
    “ I’m sorry,”
she apologised hoarsely, trying to pull away, but Ryder wouldn’t
let her. Instead he brushed her hair aside, stroking her face
tenderly. His warm eyes seared into her own cool ones.
    “ Don’t be. I
think it was a long time coming.”
    She nodded, unable to tear
her gaze away from his.
    “ Jaeden...”
he seemed reluctant to continue.
    She decided to put him out
of his misery. “I have telekinesis because of Ethan.”
    He shook his head. “How
did that happen?”
    Sucking in a deep breath,
she prepared herself to say the words out loud. Admitting it all
would just make it… real.
    “ He tortured
me for weeks. He was a fire magik. A good one. Very inventive…
creative.” She laughed bitterly. “He used fire as a whip. He lashed
me dozens of times, and then allowed me a day to heal before he
began again. Sometimes he didn’t use fire… he would just use his
energy to slice me open.”
    “ Oh god-”
Ryder’s hold tightened on her, his lips pressed thin with white
fury.
    “ He used to
play ‘bloody’ knots and crosses on my stomach, or quiz me about
literature, movies… whatever. And if I got the question wrong he’d
score my skin... everywhere... my back, my legs, my breasts, my
face, my arms... sometimes he would use this illusion on me, make
me think my entire body was burning from the inside out. I’d scream
and scream until I passed out with the pain, and then when I woke
up... I-I was OK again. Then he would just start it all over again,
laughing the more I screamed, the more-”
    “ Sshhh.” He
crushed her so tightly against him she could hardly breathe. “I
don’t know if I can hear anymore.”
    “ I’m just
trying to explain,” her voice was muffled against his throat, “he
used his energy on me so much that I think it seeped into my
blood.”
    “ Can you do
anything else?”
    “ No.” She
managed to pull away. “Just telekinesis. I ran away because I
couldn’t control it.”
    “ And
now?”
    “ I’m getting
better. When I have nightmares I can’t.”
    His jaw clenched, his eyes
blazing. “Do you have nightmares a lot?”
    “ Sometimes.”
    “ Jae...” His
eyes seemed to glisten, and he abruptly looked away, fighting his
emotions. “We should have gotten to you sooner.”
    “ No!” She
grabbed his arm, tugging him back to face her. “Don’t. You all
saved me. Don’t do that.”
    “ I can’t help
it... I had no idea it- I knew it was bad, but that-”
    Panic shot through her.
“Ryder, you can’t tell. Please,” she pleaded.
    “ What do you
mean?”
    “ I don’t want
anyone to know how bad it was. I don’t want them to know about the
telekinesis.”
    “ Why, it’s
not