Free Veiled by Caris Roane

took a long look, but he couldn’t act on his ever-present desire for his woman. Instead, images began moving inside his head, one after the other in quick succession.
    Then he understood. He was having his first vision in a month, though this one had come on stronger than anything he’d yet experienced.
    But even as the images began to coalesce, he realized he didn’t want another vision, he didn’t want the gifts given to him. It was all too much, all at odds with his deepest beliefs of worthlessness. Then he understood how right Merl had been when he’d said Duncan had been holding back.
    He just hadn’t seen it until this moment.
    As he stood with sword in hand in the doorway of his master bedroom, with Rachel looking beautiful and vulnerable on his bed, he knew he had a decision to make.
    From the time Yolanthe had held him in a trance and he’d broken free in order to keep Rachel safe, he’d been building to this moment. Having a vision descend on him a few hours after making love to Rachel proved Merl’s theory — Duncan’s powers were connected to his relationship with Rachel.
    He shifted slightly to meet her gaze. His fucked up life had always been about his love for Rachel and his inability to allow her in.
    “Are you okay? What’s going on?” She’d pulled the sheet up to cover herself. Her long, blond hair was in disarray and concern filled her blue eyes.
    Could he go forward?
    The viper lifted its head, fangs dripping with poison once more. And as doubt filled him, the approaching vision began to recede.
    He made a quick grab for it, unwilling to let it disappear entirely, but his hold felt tenuous.
    The snake within his gut moved swiftly now.
    Rachel called out, “Duncan, you’re scaring me.”
    He couldn’t respond; he could only reach deep inside and press the snake’s head down beneath the waters, trying to subdue it.
    One of his father’s favorite taunts rolled through Duncan’s mind: You’re not good enough, my son. You’ll never be a real warrior. Your test will come and you’ll fail. Then you’ll remember I was always right about you. You’re weak like your mother.
    But Duncan was a warrior, a powerful one. And he’d exceeded his father, who’d never reached Warrior of the Blood level. Yet Duncan had. For this reason alone, he knew his father’s words were a lie.
    He glanced at the sword which he still held aloft. The bright metal glowed. His gaze ran down his body and a slight trail of smoke with a faint bluish hue began to rise into the air. Holy shit, he was looking at grayle power, a Third Earth ability. Somehow he’d accessed it or maybe having a vision at this level had opened up his grayle ability.
    Still, he held back. He didn’t know all he’d be facing once he embraced the powers that seemed ready to flow within him.
    Turning toward Rachel and ignoring the terrible pain that lived inside him, he knew he had to choose. Should he embrace the vision and move forward, or should he retreat into a life he understood, of repressing the pain of his growing up years and of never getting close to anyone?
    But as he peered into the future, one thought rose above all others: he didn’t want to be a slave to the past. He wanted to be more than he was and apparently, every other part of his life was ready take the leap. All this power had come to him unbidden and a beautiful, worthy woman loved him despite his flaws.
    He knew then he couldn’t go back and as painful as the future promised to be, he wanted to be part of the team, to have visions that could aid in battle, and dammit, he wanted to share his life and his bed with Rachel.
    With that, he lifted his sword higher still and let the vision come.
    ~
    Uncertain what was happening, Rachel stared at Duncan. “Duncan?”
    No response.
    Oh, shit, what now?
    She listened for the faint rumbles of an approaching grid incursion that would usher in the sudden presence of Third Earth wreckers and their sawed-off shotguns. But she