Ria's Visions (Hearts of ICARUS Book 6) by Laura Jo Phillips

Author:Laura Jo Phillips [Phillips, Laura Jo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kathleen Honsinger
Published: 2016-09-27T03:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Ria woke up thinking about the late meal she’d shared with the Katres. She frowned, wondering why thinking of them didn’t fill her with the usual dread.

The events of the previous day and night rushed through her mind like a vid on super high speed. When it was finished, the answer to the question she’d been struggling to grasp the night before blazed in her mind. It was so clear, so obvious, so easy to see that she wondered how she’d managed to miss it despite her exhaustion.

She understood now why they’d been so nice to her. Why they’d been crowding her. Why Thorn had risked his life to rescue her and Star from that planet despite how angry he was at her. The only question she had now was how long had they known she was their berezi?

She sat up, drew her knees up close to her chest and rested her head on them while she thought about that. She didn’t think they’d known as long as she had. Maybe. But she doubted it.

Why aren’t I having a panic attack about this? I should be. I should be flying around here tossing things into a bag and running for the nearest transporter as fast as I can. Well, as fast as I can after finding someone who’ll tell me where it is. I should be hyperventilating and shaking and stuttering so badly…well, I never stutter in my head but still, I don’t think I’d be stuttering.

She took a deep breath, then deliberately cast her mind back, thinking of things she was usually very careful not to think of. She shuddered, her stomach tightened, and she felt like something was squeezing her throat so tightly that she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs.

She jerked her thoughts away from the memory, focusing on the here and now, reminding herself that she was safe, that she had nothing to fear. It wasn’t working this time though. She didn’t know why but she couldn’t breathe, and panic was closing in on her, gibbering at the edges of her mind, reaching for her with its hooky little claws so it could drag her into the icy darkness where she’d be completely alone with no one to help her, no one to trust.

A bright, shining light shot through her mind, cutting through the panic, banishing the darkness. Star. Ria held her breath, hesitating for just a moment. Then she focused her whole mind on Star. On her warmth, and caring, her trust, and gentle humor.

The tightness around her throat loosened, then fell away. She breathed in deeply, refusing to think of anything or anyone but Star, Belle, and Lonato. When she’d succeeded in bringing her heart rate down to something closer to normal, she began relaxing her muscles, one by one, until she no longer felt like she was tied up in one big knot.

That was a stupid thing to do, Ria. But, having done it, I might as well finish what I started.

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