The Lion And I

(23) The Lion: Part 1 - Concerns

Celeste

Diary,

I officially met Uriel today. He's freaking tall! And scary as hell!

His resting b***h face is damn near a scowl.

I don't know how Constance and everyone else can be so easy going with him. I don't think I really ever saw him smile. Maybe a grin. But that was it.

And those eyes! They are soulless! And so damn black! It's unnerving! All throughout the meeting with the archangels he just stared at whoever was talking. Just taking in information but never speaking. What was all that about?

And talking about the meeting, it was confusing as all get out. There was a lot I didn't understand. At least that was until I went digging into Obsidian's mind for answers which he was more than happy to provide me with.

Is that normal? To be so at ease with someone roaming around in your mind?

He doesnt' seem at all upset by this one-sided bond and it baffles me that he's so cool about it. I don't understand why he isn't bothered by the fact he doesn't have privacy anymore. Like, I can just invade his mind whenever I want. Heck! I can stay connected with him twenty-four-seven if I so desire, until the bond wears off naturally. I'm not used to this rather lax invasion of privacy and its kind of throwing me off.

Victor had always been adamant about privacy.

Well, except when it came to me. He always invaded my privacy but always told me it was for my own good. Becasue I was such a bad child and all...

Is that called hypocrisy?

I remember Obsidian mumbling it under his breath before in regards to Victor.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I'm just afraid this little bubble of happiness is going to pop.

Is it wrong of me to think that?

And what's going to happen when the temporary bond wears off?

I know Obsidian isn't happy about the new development with Mikhail. I can see it all plain as day in his mind, and how concerned he is and how pissed he is with the archangel. If he had it his way, he would skin and pluck the archangel alive. Just the brief images I saw flit through his mind as he played out that vicious fantasy had me cringing.

Though, I do understand his frustrations with the archangel. What Ickarous did was ridiculous. He did come by and apologize to me about his rash and quick decisions. I'm sure Constance had a hand in that apology. The archangel looked as though he was a scorned child.

Talking about Mikhail, though, I won't have to start seeing him for another few days. I did ask for that time specifically, mainly to allow my temporary bond with Obsidian to wither away. It would be too distracting to be connected with him. Plus, I didn't want Mikhail to have any reason to question me about this. It could be in contention with whatever Ickarous and his archangel cohorts agreed to.

Ugh! This is a mess!

I wasn't able to go with Obsidian into the mines either. Something else came up and our little escapade into the mines was postponed. Hopefully, he will be able to take me there soon.

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Diary,

I still cannot get over how many knives or, perhaps more accurately, sharp things in general Uriel carries on his person (I don't know what all of them are called. He has some star-shaped things. And others that have different blade shapes. It all looks so scary and daunting, and maybe that's the point). I mean, I'm just still baffled. Like, how does he not get stabbed by all those stabby things?

Maybe the next time I see him, I'll ask.

He won't be offended, right?

I mean, he shouldn't be.

Anyway, today was amazing! Obsidian took me down into the mines where his people mine for those precious gems and stones he told me about. It was all so pretty down there! When the lights from the flashlights hit the walls, you could see damn near the entire cavern walls sparkle. There were even veins of gold in a different part of the mine.

And do you know what the best part was?

I got to try my hand at mining! Obsidian showed me how to use a pick and the gem stones I got out of the walls I got to keep! There's a small handful of them, and they are so beautiful. Obsidian offered to put them into some jewelry for me if I wanted, but I'm not sure exactly what I want to do with them yet. So for now, I'm keeping them in a safe spot.

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Diary

Uriel still hasn't left, the brooding dragon.

I feel like he's avoiding going back to the fairy realm for some reason, but I'm not sure why.

Obsidian took me with him to the training arena today just for observation purposes. He asked me if I wanted to learn how to fight and I'm not sure if that's something I want to do. I mean, Nikolai started training me on how to fight using my powers, and I was trained in hand to hand combat along with sword fighting from Victor. But, I'm sure, with everything else Victor taught me, I was probably only half-ass trained. The whole ordeal left a bad taste in my mouth and I am afraid of being the laughing stock, or perhaps of just failing in general.

But that damn dragon!

He scared me today!

He just showed up out of nowhere and loomed beside me in the training arena. I don't know how long he was even there before I noticed him! And the infuriating part was that he looked smug about it.

I am proud of myself though! I did ask him what all of those stabby things were for and he told me what each was and what they were for. The star ones in particular were for throwing, along with some of the shorter, stubby knives.

I mean, nearly all of them can be thrown--at least that's what he said--but the ones I was most interested in were specifically for throwing. And then that's when things escalated.

I asked him to show me how to throw them. It was a spontaneous question I hadn't meant to ask, but I'm so glad I did! Uriel took me aside and found a safe place for me to practice and he instructed me on the proper technique and was very patient with me as I tried and failed to throw them. I think my anxiety got the better of me, because I was waiting for him to explode, but he never did.

When Obsidian came to collect me, Uriel gave me the knives I was using to practice with and told me he looked forward to seeing my progression when he came back.

Uriel isn't that bad of a guy, I guess.

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Diary,

I'm worried about Obsidian.

He hasn't been his normal self since the meeting with the Ivanov's and the other one pertaining to the immortal laws.

He's been very quiet and brooding.

I've caught him on several occasions staying up late into the night bent over some kind of document. From what I've gathered while snooping around in his mind, they are the old laws. He's driving himself mad with them. It's almost like he's obsessing over them. And I guess I understand. He wants to make sure his people, and everyone else, are safe. That what happened to his people and the halfbreeds won't happen again.

But there's something else bothering him. I can feel it. But he's keeping it from me. I know it doesn't have to do with the Ivanov's. He's very open about his dislike of them and his disdain towards the whole agreement that was made at my expense.

I'm worried it has something to do with me, but every time I ask about it I can't get a clear read on his mind. My one-sided bond is starting to wear off.

How do I bring up these worries and concerns without sounding hypocritical myself? I have demanded my privacy and he has given up his. If he wants to keep something from me, why should I complain? He's been so forth coming on everything else...

I just want to know, so I know if it is something I need to worry about or not. Or if it is something I need to try and fix.

Tomorrow is the first day I have to split between Obsidian and Mikhail. Maybe I'm just overthinking everything with the pending unwanted and, in my opinion, unnecessary interactions with the Ivanov wolf? I'm really not looking forward to spending time with Mikhail. While Obsidian is gone in the morning, doing his Demon Lordship duties, I will be with the wolf. Wish me luck!

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I set down my pen tiredly and looked up towards the door. It had to be nearing midnight and the lights in the common area were still on.

It had to be Obsidian again.

I sat at my desk, contemplating what I should do. The other night I had only peeked out and seen him sitting there. And then I'd turned around and gone to bed. Perhaps tonight I could go out and ask him about my concerns?

Or maybe I should just wait it out and see what unfolds? Maybe I was being paranoid? Maybe I was overthinking things?

Ugh!

I rubbed my temples as a headache started to come on.

This was ridiculous!

If Obsidian knew what was going on in my mind, he would probably tell me I was being silly and would encourage me to voice my concerns. Especially if they were causing me to lose sleep or affecting my mental health. Which this definitely was.

Alright! I could do this!

Taking a quick side trip to my walk-in closet, I pulled out my long, gray silken robe to cover my scantily dressed body. I wasn't shy necessarily in front of Obsidian anymore. But if someone else walked in, I didn't want them to see so much of me.

Once I had it secured around me, I confidently opened the door and stepped out.

Only to come to a shocking halt when I saw Obsidian and Constance facing each other, eyes closed, hands interlocked. They looked so comfortable together, their bodies and faces so close. It looked so intimate.

An intense rage I had never felt before tore through my chest and I felt my heart breaking in two at their intimate pose.

What was going on!?

I must have made some kind of sound because both of them were startled and Obsidian jerked away from Constance. But, the most gut wrenching thing was the lack of guilt on either of their faces.