The Rise of Valcrum's Warriors

2. Arianna Deeds

Arianna Deeds

My failure sent a sharp pain radiating from my lower belly all the way across my chest. Bending over, I fisted my hand in my mouth and stifled my cries. Tears ran down my cheeks blinding me, and I was grateful for the ambiguity of the world. I didn’t need to have anyone looking at me. I had one job; to protect Cyrus and Catalia, and I failed. Michael stole Catalia. Only Valcrum knew what he had done to her.

The heart machine buzzed, and I wiped my face and sat up. Her vitals were steady. It didn’t matter how many times, I sat here perched at the foot of the bed, it was like looking at her for the last time. Memories of the blade dancing across her neck… so much blood. Trevor’s screams as her body fell forward lifeless.

Kyra was alive. It seemed her being pregnant with the DAO twins had saved her life. She was having twins. I rehearsed this moment in my mind a thousand times, yet I still dreaded it. How does one tell a mother that her child is missing and in the hands of a vicious murderer?

Every night, I closed my eyes, I relived the horrors of that night. My body might have survived but the fragile boundaries of my mind had shattered into infinite pieces. It broke me. Time waited for no one and I was no exception. The clock was ticking and every minute that she was in Michael’s grip, she was in mortal danger.

Glancing at the bed, my muscles relaxed as I noticed Kyra’s eyes were still closed. I had to do something and sitting watching her wasn’t it. So far, we hadn’t been successful finding Michael or any of the DAO’s. They were as cunning as they were ruthless. I wasn’t sure this was a battle we could survive.

Crossing to the room door, I opened the door, and startled at the sight of Cade. Without any words, he pulled me to him, and closed the bedroom door.

“Brent, you and Henry stay sharp, nobody enters her rooms without my authorization.”

Henry nodded and leaned against the wall along the door. Brent looked down the hall. Following his gaze, I was relieved to see the hallway empty, but how long would it be before Trevor came barreling down the hall?

He rubbed the back of his neck.

“What do you want me to do about Trevor? He’s not going to stay asleep forever.”

Cade smiled. “His first meal was laced with a heavy sedative. He shouldn’t wake until tomorrow, and by that time he’ll have rested enough not to tear his stitches.”

He hadn’t released my arm, and without further delay ushered me around the corner, and into an open room. The room looked like a standard room for a first-year student at the academy. There weren’t any family portraits, personal items, or academy paraphernalia welcoming the student. This room was yet another reminder of what the battle between Trevor and his demons, and now the DAO had done to the academy.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I ignored the butterflies in my stomach. “What are you doing? I need to be out looking for Catalia?”

He closed the door. “We need to talk, and this conversation is private.”

The way he emphasized the word private caused me to clench my jaw. In addition to almost dying and watching my sister die; I had decided to confess my feelings for him. I love him and thought he should know what he meant to me while we were still alive.

I crossed to the bed, needing some support. When he remained at the door, I relaxed a bit. I could look at the wall or anywhere in this room if the conversation got too heavy.

He slid his hands inside his pocket. “There have been some changes and I wanted you to hear it from me.”

Licking my lips, I braced myself. “Ok.”

This didn’t sound good. On one hand, I was comforted that we weren’t discussing us, but apprehensive at his shift in tone. His body language suggested that whatever had changed I wouldn’t like it.

“You won’t be leaving the academy grounds. It’s too dangerous with Michael, the leader, determined to get his hands on you. If you attempt to leave the grounds you will be, moved from your room to the dungeon, where your personal guards will continue to keep you safe.”

“You can’t be serious. You can’t just keep me a prisoner here.”

“Yes, I can, and I will.”

“It’s no more dangerous for me than anyone else here at the school. It’s my life to do what I want with it.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Wrong. Your life belongs to Valcrum. Please try to be reasonable. Don’t make me have to enforce punishment on you with everything else weighing heavily on your shoulders.”

Pacing back and forth, I replayed his words in my head. My blood was boiling, and I wanted to punch him. When I stopped to glance at him, he was calmly leaning against the door, while he inwardly seethed.

“You can’t treat me any different than any other student. My niece is missing and possibly… because of me. I have to go looking for her.”

His nostrils flared. “When he gets his hands on you, he intends to force himself on you. Is that what you want? Do you want to be brutalized by a man?”

“Of course not, but I must do everything possible to find my niece. She was my responsibility. If anything happened to her, it would be on me.”

“Wrong. We would have all failed. The sole blame for her abduction wasn’t on you. The battle was brutal, and we were regrouping safely inside. This wasn’t your fault.”

This matter will not be argued. “You’re acting different because I told you I cared for you. Admit it. This is one of the reasons I kept my feeling to myself for so long.”

“You told me you loved me.” He took his hands out of his pocket, He wasn’t leaning against the door anymore. Cade stood to his full height before me, his burning gaze boring into me.

“I know what I said.” Rolling my eyes, I turned from him to pace again.” This conversation had gone from bad to worse. He wasn’t being reasonable. Diplomacy wasn’t one of my qualities and it seemed like these four walls were closing around me.

“Did you mean it?”

That was a low blow. How dare he want me to repeat it now. We’re arguing. This was why I’m careful about telling people how I feel about them.

He swung me around to face him. His strong arms wrapping around my elbows, holding me in place. A salty ocean scent filled my nostrils. I liked the way he smelled. His scent had always reminded me of a scorching summer day at the ocean.

His breath smelled like apple cinnamon cobbler. He spoke through clenched teeth. “Did you mean it?”

“Yes. It’s not appropriate to bring…”

“You’re scared of your feelings for me and probably wish you hadn’t said anything, but I’m glad you did.”

“I bet you are.” My face and neck felt hot. I was happy I wasn’t near a mirror since I was sure my face was red as a tomato.

“Why not, I have told you over and over how I felt about you and you denied your feelings. You rejected me at every turn, so much so I thought I would forever suppress my feelings so we could at least remain friends.”

My mouth fell open then closed again. “I didn’t reject you; I just didn’t tell you how I felt. It was too intense. I’ve never felt anything this intense before.

His finger caressed my jaw. “It was one of the happiest moments of my life.”

Cade knew how to express his feelings. He was staring into my eyes, like a drowning man clutching for a rope. He was hyper focused on me. It was like no matter what was going on, he was able to tune it all out and focus only on me. These emotions he caused deep within my chest were scary.

He bent his head down, and his lips brushed against my forehead.

Pulling back, he stared at me. “Do you trust me?”

Blinking, I attempted to focus on his words. My heart pounded in my chest. His arm was around my waist and his face was inches from mine. Why hadn’t he kissed me?

Running my tongue along my teeth, I tried to look unaffected. “What?”

“Trust is an issue for you. It’s one for me too so it is a challenge we share. Do you trust me?”

I knew he would protect me at all cost. Many times, we had spent time alone and he hadn’t forced or pressured me to do anything. He has always been a perfect gentleman. I trust him.

“Yes.”

“Thank you for trusting me.” He dropped his arm from around me and stepped back.

His muscles seemed to lose some of their stiffness. He didn’t look as hot and bothered by me as I was him. A sudden urge to make him feel some of what I felt came over me. Grabbing his cheeks, I leaned up on my tippy toes and planted a soft kiss against his lips.

He groaned and opened his mouth. My arms tightened around his neck as I plunged my tongue inside his mouth. His tongue was hesitant at first, then he picked me up and plastered my body along the wall. When my feet touched the ground, he braced his hands on either side of my head. That was when he kissed all the air out of my lungs. When I broke away from his kiss, we were both trembling.

“It’s not safe to kiss a guy like that.” He lifted his head and stared at me.

My body felt like someone had doused me with gasoline. “I’m not kissing a guy; I’m kissing you and I trust you.”

He shook his head. “Don’t.”

Inhaling he took several steps away from me and headed for the door.

What?

Frowning, I touched a trembling hand to my swollen lips then moved away from the wall.

“I don’t understand. You don’t want me to trust you?”

“You can trust me. I would never hurt you or allow anyone else to cause you pain.”

Why does he think I need protection from myself?

“You can’t kiss me.” He jerked his phone out of his pocket and scrolled across the screen.

The phone hadn’t rung but it was clear he had it on silence or vibrate. I didn’t like that he stopped talking to text whoever was sending him a message. It was rude to stop in the middle of a conversation to text someone. We were just kissing for God’s sake. Apparently, kissing me wasn’t something he wished to do.

It never dawned on me that there might be a wrong way to kiss. I wasn’t experienced. Kyra was the one who had all the mileage on her. Learning how to kiss never crossed my mind but it is now that he doesn’t want to kiss me. Maybe kissing him wasn’t such a good ideal after all. There’s no need to continue this embarrassing discussion. Passing him, I crossed to the door. Relief flooded me when my hand closed around the knob.

“Where are you going?” He spun me around to face him.

“I want to check on Ivy. I told her I would come and sit with her for a while.”

“We weren’t finished talking.”

Raising my eyebrow. “We’re done.”

“There’s no need to be prickly, and don’t look at me like I wounded you.”

“I can’t be that horrible at it, you kissed me back.” I folded my arms across my chest feeling a bit attacked and embarrassed.

“I’m a guy just like the others, and you can’t kiss me like that when we’re alone in a closed room with a bed.”

The way he said bed and then looked at the bed along the wall, made whatever snarky response I had die in my throat.

He didn’t look so nonchalant. When his eyes traveled down my face to my swollen lips, I held my breath.

“I can’t lose you too. I have a lead. If everything goes according to plan, I’ll be coming back with Catalia.”

“You know where he is? Did they see her? Please take me with you. I can help.”

He shook his head. “You’re helping more than you know.”

Cade stepped around me and out the door. A second later the latch clicked. My mouth hung open, refusing to believe what I heard. Running to the door, I tried the doorknob.

“Let me out Cade.” I beat on the door but there was only silence. Placing my ear to the door, I listened but heard nothing. He’d planned to lock me in here the entire time. How had I miss read his intentions?

Several hours passed. The light that was filtering into the room had long gone. It was dark outside. When I get my hands-on Cade, he’ll wish he hadn’t locked me in here. I was tired of sleeping, not that I had caught up on my endless sleeplessness.

He hadn’t shared much on the tip. It was nice to see a guy who was selfless.

Flopping down on the bed I was determined to wait up for him. He didn’t play fair.

Why should I trust him when he doesn’t trust me? It upset me but I wasn’t intending to stay behind these walls when Catalia was still missing.

What else was I supposed to do? Patience wasn’t something I had in spades. Closing my eyes, I listened so I could spring up from the bed if I needed to.