Between Shadows (Shadows Saga bk2)

Chapter 6- He's Back

Mara's friends were staring at her silently, none of them knew what to say. Mara could almost feel the tension crackling in the air. 

She had probably just said the last thing they ever thought she would say, the last thing they wanted her to say. 

Trixle was the first to break the silence. 

"Mara," She paused not fully sure of how to continue. "Are you sure? I mean is this because of the dream?"

"It wasn't a dream Trixle, he was using his magic to get inside my head. He has done it before and it felt the same way. It was too real." Her voice trailed off as she remembered his hands wrapped around her throat, the sensation of having to fight for every breath she took. 

"What's wrong Mara?" Marx asked. He tried to hide the worry in his voice, but she was able to pick up on it. And judging by Emmett's reaction he was able to as well. Both of their bodies had visibly tensed, and the action worried Mara what might happen if she revealed the entirety of what had occurred in the dream. 

"It was nothing." Mara started the lie, but she couldn't finish it. She didn't have the heart to lie straight to Marx's face, not about something as severe as this. 

Trixle shot her a sideways glance as if she knew the thoughts racing through her mind. The look showed that even if Mara had been able to pull off the lie, she would have said something. 

Marx got up from his seat and crossed the table to sit next to her. The gesture shocked her, especially after what he had told her the day before about his father. Not to mention meeting the man and discussing the exact same topic just minutes before. 

"Please don't try to hide anything from me." He pleaded to her. In that moment everything around them ceased to exist. Marx had wrapped an arm around her and the warmth that spread through her body from that one simple touch soothed all her nerves. 

She couldn't believe the power he had over her, the power they held over each other. She knew that no matter what his father said, Marx wouldn't be able to stay away from her, and she couldn't keep away from him. 

She also knew one other thing - she couldn't lie to him about the dream. He deserved to know what was going on as much as anyone. He had been there to bring her back to the school when the entire incident involving Zander had happened. 

He had even been the one to give the order to Emmett to kill him. 

Emmett she thought. How was he handling the news she had just dumped on them? How was Marx going to handle the situation with Emmett away from the public eye? Mara shuddered at the thought of what might happen. But she refocused on the question at hand. 

She couldn't look at Marx as she spoke, if she saw his reaction she would most likely be incapable of finishing. 

Mara had omitted the part about the nakedness of her and Zander when she opened her eyes to see him in her bed. She felt that was one detail that was better left unknown to the three. He had most likely just used the tactic as a distraction - a way to make her feel insecure and catch her off guard - if that were the case he had succeeded.

She described the whole gory scene she had stumbled upon in the field when Zander had transported them there. 

As she described what she had seen, she couldn't look at Trixle or Marx - she was talking about their fathers after all. 

She had then moved on to Zander essentially telling her his plan for the world they lived in, how he would finish killing the last of the council, herself, and then he would create a new one from the ashes.