Shadows of Darkness Read Online Free PDF Page B

energy unlike anything he'd ever felt. It was a distinctly female energy, filled with some sort of golden glow that he could almost see in his mind. It was pure strength, unfettered with all the sins that littered his soul. It was beautiful, and he was honored she'd let him experience it. Okay, I'm ready.
    He tightened his arms around her, all his energy centered on her. Let me in. He touched her mind, and for a moment, he felt her resistance, and then she lowered her mental shields, opening herself to him on every level of her soul.
* * *
    The moment Maya opened herself to Levi, he swept inside her mind, filling her with the raw power of his being. His strength was pure male, a cauldron of sex, danger, and intimacy. He enfolded her in his presence, sending his energy through every cell of her body. His invasion was instantaneous and all-encompassing, sweeping through her so deeply she felt as if she had no secrets left from him. She started to panic. Levi—
    I swear on my life I will keep you safe. The moment he spoke, she felt the intensity of his protectiveness, the depth of his commitment to safeguard her, and she knew he spoke the truth.
    She was safe with him, truly safe, at least in this moment. Okay.
    Good. He twisted his body, and she lifted her head from his neck just in time to see him call out his weapon again with a crack and a flash of black light. In one effortless move, he hurled it straight ahead. He didn't release the weapon, however, and they were jerked forward by the sheer force of the weapon's trajectory.
    It dragged them out of the river, and she gaped as the river careened to the right, disappearing into what looked like a solid wall of rock that would have crushed them if they'd hit it. She turned around in Levi's arms to see where they were going. Ahead of them was a thick wall of steam, almost twenty feet wide, making the air so hot she could barely breathe. She knew that's why there had been no ice wall above them when Levi had dragged them out of the river. Unfortunately, she was as susceptible to boiling hot steam as a wall of ice would be: instant melt. Are you serious, Levi? That will incinerate me.
    No chance. Levi's energy cascaded through her, coating her cells, encircling her body. Tuck yourself against me as close as you can, he commanded.
    I really hope you're right. It was too late to back out. She immediately pulled her arms and legs inward, relying on him to hold her as she made herself a tiny ball in his arms, burying her face against his chest. He wrapped her up tightly in his arms, using his body as a human shield to protect her. He shifted their position so he was beneath her, and she knew he was going to take the brunt of the steam on his own back once they reached the geyser. Isn't it going to burn you?
    Sweetheart, I've been dreaming of this race to freedom for a hundred years. I'm going to relish every last second of pain this thing gives me.
    She had one moment of stunned surprise at the endearment, a moment where her heart seemed to turn over, and then they were in the geyser, being hurtled upward so violently she lost all sense of equilibrium and balance. For a split second, the heat assaulted her so viciously, she screamed in pain, and then Levi's energy filled her, protecting her, somehow shielding her from the worst of the heat.
    She tucked herself more tightly against him as he held her, keeping them balanced as they were hurtled upward. The steam swirled around them, a violent energy trying to attack them both. Instinctively, she reached out to Levi with her mind, and his energy swirled through her. She felt his strength and his protectiveness, but she also felt a regret so great that it seemed to eat right though her heart. She felt the depths of his self-loathing, and the weight of a thousand destroyed souls weighing on his. She realized that despite his strength, he was more broken than anyone she'd ever met.
    Tears were falling on her cheeks when they burst from the