Greylith, page 14
“Thanks,” I say.
“Remember, you’re still in a lot of pain,” he says, raising an eyebrow and giving me a slight smile.
That’s right. Limp, be in pain, don’t show strength right now.
Xander opens the door to my room and for the first time I see a long, well-lit hall. We walk down the deserted hall lined with a few hospital rooms similar to mine.
“So, why are there so many rooms here?” I ask Xander, pretending to limp, in case someone sees us.
“Camp Liath used to house a lot of the sick people in Aetheria,” he tells me.
“Why was it abandoned?”
Xander stops. “There were claims that the Shadow Army had stationed scouts in the area, so the Aetherian Army felt it was best to leave it abandoned.”
“How’d they know if the scouts had left before sending us here?” I raise an eyebrow.
“They didn’t,” Xander says softly.
“So the Commander-in-Chief really sent us on a mission to test the waters?” I ask, rolling my eyes.
More proof that he wants me dead.
“We’re safe, and we will be tonight,” Xander says. “I’ve been using my Weave to look at the days ahead, and currently, nothing.”
“Okay,” I nod.
There’s not much more I can say. Xander is keeping me safe and I need to accept that. He’s going to continue keep me safe, just like I would. I need to be willing to kill for Xander if he was willing to kill his best friend for me. And just on cue, I hear his voice.
“Hey guys!” Caspian shouts.
I swing the blanket off me and spin around and see Caspian’s face, with a smile, walking toward us. I throw my hand up, the phoenix symbol glowing silver. A blanket of silver wraps around Caspian and slams him against the wall closest to him.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I snap.
“Phoenix, put him down,” Xander places his hand on my arm, trying to get me to lower Caspian. “We’re cool.”
“Cool?” I lash out. “Cool? He held a knife to your throat, threatens me with the same knife, and swears he’s going to kill me. Now I know why my sister wants to kill him too.”
“Phoenix, that’s what we’re trained to do,” Caspian says, struggling for air.
“Bullshit,” I say flatly. My abilities squeeze tighter as I watch Caspain’s eyes turn red.
“He’s right,” Xander says behind me. “Fort Weave trains us to be ready and willing to kill anyone in our lives, even those closest to us.”
I turn slowly to him and see the sincerity if Xander face. I lower my arm and put Caspian down.
“Fine,” I say quickly.
I pick up the blanket and continue to fake-limp my way down the hall. Caspian and Xander are talking behind me, but I can’t listen. All I can think about are the words that Xander just said ‘Fort Weave trains us to be ready and willing to kill anyone in our lives, even those closest to us.’ Does that mean me? Is Xander willing to or ready to kill me at any moment? Do I need to watch my back? Am I ever actually safe? What about Wren? Lyric? Are they also going to be willing to kill me at any point in time?
“Hey!” Xander shouts from behind. “Wait up!”
He places a hand on my shoulder and I jump, “Sorry, what?”
I turn around and see Caspian’s gone.
“Are you okay?” he looks at me with a worried expression.
“I’m fine,” I say coldly.
“Good, because we’re almost there,” he says with a smile, unaware that I’m, in fact, not okay.
We turn the corner and head down a shorter hallway. At the end, a pair of doors leads us outside. The sun has set but the brightness from the small amount of natural light makes me squint my eyes.
The air is cold as it's mid-winter now. The harsh, snow-filled breeze hits me in the face like a thousand tiny needles. My lungs constrict as it’s hard to breathe in the colder environment.
“This way,” Xander leads us down a narrow path in the woods that leads to an opening filled with about twenty people sitting in a circle.
“There he is!” one of the Senior Recruits shouts.
Everyone stands up when they see me and begin clapping.
“I didn’t know I meant this much to people,” I whisper to Xander, fighting back a smile.
“You’re their Reality Weaver,” Xander says softly. “No pressure, but they all think you’re the key to winning the war against the Shadow Army.”
There it is again. The pressure of being ‘the key.’
Xander and I walk over to the circle of people and he seems to know everyone because they’re all patting him on the back. I guess they all have respect for the best fighter at Fort Weave.
“I’m gonna go take a seat over there,” I point over to the edge of the circle.
“Okay, do you want me to come with you?” Xander asks me, drawing all his attention to me.
“No, keep talking with them, it’s fine,” I force a smile, but lose it quickly.
I walk over to the edge of the circle, reminding myself to limp a little, which is getting annoying and hard to do, since nothing hurts.
Wren comes over and sits next to me, “What’s wrong with you?”
“Good to see you too,” I say, taken aback.
“Phoenix, don’t play, I’ve studied your face for our entire lives and can tell when something is wrong, so spit it out,” Wren is always blunt and to the point, which I actually appreciate nowadays.
“It’s something Xander said. That we are trained to be ready to kill anyone we’re close to. Is that true?” I look at her and can tell I won’t like the answer she’s about to give.
“Yeah,” Wren says with no expression. “But that’s in case someone we’re close to becomes a traitor or something of that nature. Why? You think Nightingale is going to kill you?”
“Honestly, I don’t know now,” I say, realizing my feelings aren’t where they should be. “He said that’s what we’re trained to do, kill people we’re close to. Then he just kept going on with the conversation like it wasn’t a big deal.”
“You think I’m going to kill you?” Xander says behind me.
I close my eyes. Damn, why does he always have to show up when I don’t want him to.
“I-,” I can’t find the words.
“Love,” Xander sits down. “I just told you I love you. I can’t imagine losing you.”
“But you could kill me,” I stop him. “If the time came, and I became a traitor, you could do it.”
“Between the three of us,” Xander looks at Wren and then at me. “No, I couldn’t.”
I draw back slightly.
“I’m telling you now, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kill you even if I wanted to. And I don’t,” Xander says out loud, but the next part comes to just me. “If I was ordered to hurt you, I would fight the entire Aetherian Army.”
“Okay, you guys need to relax and enjoy the night,” Wren leans over to us and then turns to the group. “Hey, Draven, let’s get this fire started!”
A guy that came to Fort Weave with me jumps up and blasts a ball of fire into the pit in the center of the circle. The wood inside bursts into a fiery explosion.
Everyone around jumps into a party and begins mingling, including Wren and Xander. For the most part, I keep to myself. It’s hard to just sit here and pretend like I care about these people or that they care about me. If I wasn’t a Reality Weaver, would they even know I exist? Would Xander?
As I scan the faces within the group, my attention is drawn to Celeste, the same girl who was in my room when I came to after my fall. Her narrowed gaze, tinged with a hint of anger, is fixed squarely on me. Does she know that I’m fine? No, how could she?
♪ ‘Last Man Standing’ by Livingston ♪
“Get up,” Xander says walking over to me.
“I’m not really in the mood,” I say quietly. “I think I just want to go to bed.”
“Nope, not an option,” Xander says.
“And why not?” I ask sarcastically.
“I still owe you that dance from Halloween,” he smiles, holding his and out for mine.
“Here?” I look up at him, but take his hand.
“Of course not here,” he smiles. “I want something more private.”
As I stand up, Xander interlocks his fingers with mine and guides me into the woods.
“Do you know where we’re going?” I ask him.
“Not really, just away from everyone,” Xander says, leading the way in the dark.
We walk into a small clearing in the woods. He holds out his hand and takes a slight bow.
“One second,” I say. I close my eyes and raise my hands slowly at my sides. As my hands glow, the same lights that were present at the Halloween Dance line the trees, the ground, and the surrounding sky, showering us in a warm glow of light.
“You never cease to amaze me,” Xander smiles.
Xander holds my right hand with left, and places his other hand on my waist. I remember an old slow song and play it in my head, our heads, and we synchronize our movements to that.
“Love, can I tell you something?” Xander looks down at me, the soft glow of light cascading perfect shadows across his face.
I give him a smile.
“I’m in love with you too,” his smile is the biggest I’ve seen it. “I’ve never been in love and I should’ve told you sooner. It’s just a weird feeling,”
“It’s not weird,” I smile at him too. “Scary and terrifying, but it’s still a good feeling,”
We keep dancing until we’re both dizzy. We fall to the snow-dusted ground and lay there in each other’s arms. My eyes are heavy and I crave sleep, but my heart wants to live in this moment forever.
“We need to go,” Xander says quietly.
“Go where?” I sit up.
“Back to my tent,” he kisses me, and falls back down.
I raise my eyebrow at him.
“I want you, right now,” he bites his lip while looking at mine.
“I want you, but I want to stay here for just a minute longer.”
“Anything for you, Love,” Xander wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me back down on to his chest.
My mind keeps darting back to Fort Weave. Everyone there is training for war and I’m still being protected. I want to train, I want to fight, and I need to develop my Weave more for battle.
I sit back up.
“What is it?” Xander looks at me again.
“I want to go back to Fort Weave,” I say matter-of-factly.
“Love,” Xander starts, and I know what he’s going to say.
“You’re not strong enough,” I mock in my best imitation of his voice.
“I wasn’t going to say that,” Xander starts. “I was going to say, I think we should get you back, but I want to train you more myself. We need you to be ready for anything before you go back there.”
“Are you going to surprise attack me, like you did before?” I ask, smiling.
“No, that would be too easy, you expect it now,” he laughs.
We lay here for a few minutes longer. My hand is rubbing his abs and making me swell. I can’t take it anymore.
“Come on,” I raise my eyebrows with a smirk.
“Come on?” he raises an eyebrow.
“I thought you wanted to go back to your tent?” I ask.
“I do,” Xander smiles, “but you wanted to stay here?”
“I can recreate this for us anytime that I want,” I say, as I’m starting to grow confident in my Weave. “But right now, I want you naked, in your tent, loving on me.”
Xander jumps up quickly, picks me up, and starts to carry me out of the woods.
Xander takes me to the row of tents that have been set up here for the time being while we wait to go back to Fort Weave. He opens the flap at the entrance of his tent with his foot so he doesn’t have to put me down.
In his tent is a mattress with a single pillow and a thin blanket. He tosses me onto the bed and begins taking off my boots.
“It’s not much, but I haven’t been staying in here,” he says.
“It’s perfect,” I whisper. “Kiss me.”
Xander climbs on the bed and straddles me, with his hands on either side of my head. My eye glimpse at the veins extruding from his muscular forearm. He places his lips on mine, tries to put his tongue in my mouth, but I lift my chin.
“Lay down,” I say seductively.
“Why would I do that?” he smirks, placing another kiss on my lips.
“Because tonight, I’m pleasuring you.”
♪ ‘Body Say’ by Demi Lovato ♪
Xander lies on his back as I hop off the bed and stand up. I place my hands at the bottom of my uniform shirt and pull it over my head and toss it to the corner.
“Fuck, you’re sexy,” he growls.
I feel the heat of his gaze watching and waiting for me to show more. My hands move down to my trousers and I hesitate for a moment, thinking about how opposite our bodies are, how inadequate I’ve always felt. Will he want someone with more muscle and experience? Then I refocus on his eyes holding mine, they instantly calm me and I remember he loves me and I don’t need to be worried. I finally unfasten my trousers and slowly push them down my legs exposing everything to him. I lower myself to my knees at the end of the bed and start undressing Xander.
I try going slow, I want to see this magnificent man burning with need for me and get him to beg for it. Pulling off his untied boots and tossing them over into the corner, he seems to be done with the anticipation.
“Come here,” Xander demands in my mind.
I get on all fours and begin to slowly crawl up the bed to meet Xander’s eyes. Now with me on top, my hands in the same place his were moments ago. He leans up to kiss me, but I back up just enough so that he can’t reach. Finally Xander snaps, his hand grabs the back of my neck and pulls my head down toward his. As soon as I’m close enough, his lips are against mine. He shoves his tongue into my mouth and down my throat, taking control from the start. I am in love with every second of it, soaking up the heat and dominance rolling off of him. Fuck, I want this.
I lower my ass down onto his lap and get the friction I’ve been dying to experience. I can feel him throbbing under me, aching to be free of his pants and inside of me. I stop kissing him so I can get his clothes off. I tug on his jacket first; he sits up, rips it off quickly and throws it off into the abyss of our clothing. He stays upright to keep kissing me like he can’t stop, like he’s addicted. By now, his tongue knows exactly how to make me moan. It’s still not enough. I push him back down, his head hits the pillow hard.
Leaning over him again on all fours, I slowly crawl backwards, placing my hands on either side of his pants and give a tug. Xander raises his hips to assist me and I can finally get to where I really want. As I’m pulling them down, his swollen manhood pops out and swings back, hitting his stomach.
“Fuck,” I whisper.
“Mmmmm,” Xander lets out a long groan.
I lower my face, open my mouth wide, and begin to love on Xander’s swelling piece. I suck slowly and hard, making Xander know that he’s mine.
Xander moans again.
I glance up at him without taking him out of my mouth. He slightly lifts his head so he can look down at me, but at that moment, I suck harder. He quickly throws his head back and arches his back with a blissed out look on his face. I feel his fingers shifting through my hair at the back of my head and forces himself deeper down my throat. As I gag, my eyes water but that doesn’t stop me from continuing to try and drive his needs even higher. He tastes better than I ever could’ve imagined, I want this, and only this, forever.
“Stop,” Xander seduces in my mind.
“Never,” I think back.
“Love,” he whispers, looking down at me, who still hasn’t stopped pleasuring. “Grab the thing from inside my jacket pocket.”
I pause for a moment, shuffle around to find the jacket he threw somewhere in the darkness. I feel the smooth leather and get my bearings on where the inside is. I feel the outline of something small. I reach in and pull out a small bottle of a thick, clear liquid.
“What’s that?” I get back to pleasuring my love.
Xander pours a small amount into his hand before he moves my head out of the way and starts stroking himself with the liquid. He grips my chin with his thumb and index finger to pull me up to him. I crawl over him as he lays back down with my hands on the pillow beside his head, my knees at his waist. Still with his grip on my chin, he pulls my face down and I kiss him like I never have before. Wanting him to feel all my love and need for him.
“Sit back,” Xander says.
I stop kissing him so I can sit up on my knees. He starts rubbing his swollen cock against my hole. I can’t help but rock against him trying to get more. I’ve been wanting this. This moment with him is happening. Shivers jolt around my body at the feel of him.
“Fuck me,” I moan.
“Are you sure?” Xander smirks.
I nod with a slight moan.
“You ready for my big dick?” he grunts.
Before I can even mutter my demand for it, he’s already slowly pressing into me, stretching me. It hurts but the intoxicating feeling of him, giving all of himself to me takes all that pain away. Xander sits up so he can kiss me while rocking back and forth, rubbing my insides with his massiveness in all the right places.
Holding my lower back, he flips over and has me on my back. He’s on top of me, moving his hips in a motion I didn’t know the human body could do.
“I love you,” I say, catching my breath with each rock of my body.
“I love you, always,” he whispers in my ear.
Xander slowly works his mouth down to my neck, sucking hard, while still burying himself deep inside of me.
