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"Choose," the voice commanded.

I didn't want to choose. I just wanted to go back to my normal existence, where I went to Starbucks in the mornings and did homework in the afternoons.

Those days were long gone.

"Choose," it said, louder this time.

I swayed toward the hand.

But something held me back.

The pain flared again — unbearable — as if someone had stabbed me in the heart.

"I can take it all away," the voice soothed. "Just take my hand."

Was I crazy? To choose the pain over this man's hand? Over what I was sure would be complete and total peace?

Ethan meant pain.

And as much as I hated him in that instant — I needed him… even if it meant pain.

It was his eyes.

They reflected what I felt in my own body — in my soul.

He was suffering, just like me, only it was a different kind of suffering, one that I'm sure had to do with the vision I'd seen of him and the woman.

"Choose!" the voice boomed.

I stepped backward and wrapped my hands around my body. "Him. I choose him."

The cloud disappeared, revealing a man who looked a lot like Cassius. I wasn't sure if he was a Dark One, but the air around him seemed to freeze in place. I shivered.

His eyes flashed white.

So he was a Dark One.

His teeth were shaped like tiny knives.

"It won't be easy," he spoke softly, "choosing life."

"It shouldn't be easy…" I found my voice. "…to choose death."

He smiled, bowed his head, and disappeared.

The pain in my chest spread to my back. I arched, and then everything stopped. The pain, the heat, my heart slowed.

And I blinked my eyes open.

Ethan hovered over me in a shielding stance, almost like he was protecting me from someone coming into the room and knifing me in my sleep. His eyes were black.

"I…" My voice sounded groggy, foreign to my ears. "I think it's done."

His eyes slowly faded to gray and then green. "You chose me." His voice cracked.

"Well…" I licked my lips, just looking at his mouth at my body, yearning for his touch. "It was either you or the guy with the creepy voice."

Ethan's delicious mouth broke out into a smile. "Does that mean you don't find me creepy?"


Tags: Rachel Van Dyken The Dark Ones Saga Paranormal