Chapter Six #2
A cold chill ripples at my legs, causing me to shiver and instinctively feel around for my duvet. My hands claw for something to hang on to. The surface feels cold and moist; it loosens around my grip and embeds under my fingernails.
Where am I?
Startled, I sit up and rub the sleep from my eyes. Surely not another bad dream?
My eyes squint in the darkness, and I scratch the back of my neck in confusion.
I can just about see the twisted branches of the towering pine trees above me.
I’m in some kind of forest. My heart skips a beat as I come to the realisation that I am in Moon territory.
I must’ve sleepwalked here. I need to find my way back to the castle.
I look around, but I am disoriented. My eyes take a moment to adjust to the dark, but I’m unsure which way I came from.
A few dim lanterns are hanging high in the trees above, which settles my nerves a little.
At least it’s not total darkness, but the unforgiving air is still biting at my skin.
I am not wearing nearly enough clothes for this shit.
The snap of a branch in front of me makes my head swing dramatically in its direction. Someone is here.
I cower behind the closest tree. If I am caught out here, I will surely be expelled or worse; if a Moon catches me, I am as good as dead.
I press my body close to its trunk and grip my hands tight around it.
Peeking around its wooden axis, I encourage my eyes to focus on what may be lurking in the darkness.
The second snap of a branch coerces my head in the opposite direction this time.
My heart beats to an unfamiliar rhythm. It’s him. The blindfolded one.
“You have got to be kidding me,” I whisper under my breath, not meaning to say it out loud.
His head pivots in my direction, and I conceal myself behind the tree as quickly as I can manage. In this moment, I forget to breathe. He didn’t see me, did he?
I wait a couple of seconds, and his heavy footsteps trail off in the other direction. I exhale in relief. That was a close one.
Unwrapping my hands from the tree, I turn around and tiptoe in the opposite direction from him.
This seems like the most logical thing to do in my head to get back to Sun Castle.
With every step I take, sharp twigs crunch beneath my bare feet, making me wince.
Way to go, Asha. Always finding yourself in the worst situations.
As I make my way through the forest, wading around each staggered tree, I tread lightly in an attempt not to alert the Moons that there is a trespasser in their midst. I really need to get a handle on this sleep situation.
No sooner than I think that than I feel the ground slip out from under me, and the side of my face slaps into the side of a tree.
I flinch at the impact and try to push away, but a hand is pinning my cheek against the rough bark.
“Who are you?” a deep voice asks, pressing me harder into the rough grooves of the tree. The lanterns clank as the tree shakes with his force.
“I-I’m no one,” I mutter between winces, my voice shaking with fear.
“I said, Who are you!?” He pushes my head harder into the rough bark, and I scramble my brain for a correct way to answer. Nothing good can come from a Moon knowing my name.
“Just let me go, and I’ll be on my way,” I stutter again, resisting his grip. He doesn’t reply straight away but keeps his hands firmly on me.
“Let’s try something else then.” He leans in and whispers in my ear, “What are you doing spying on the Moons?” The tone of his voice instils fear in me, and the words fall out of my mouth before I can even think.
“I’m not a spy. I-I don’t know how I got here.” My cheek grows sore from the pressure.
“You really expect me to believe that?” He scoffs, and a sinister chuckle escapes his mouth. My heart thumps ferociously against the wood.
“I-it’s true. I swear it.” I catch my breath.
“I have these dreams. A-And now I apparently sleepwalk. You have to believe me!” I plead, and his grip loosens up a little.
I take this chance to push his arm away from my cheek and spin it around behind his back before pushing him away with all my strength.
He stumbles a little and then realigns himself.
I watch as confusion lines furrow on his brow at my attempt to fight back.
“Nicely done… But you’re going to have to try harder than that.” He smirks before locking eyes with me and striding in closer.
I back up slowly, trying to control my heart rate. His tall frame towers over me. It’s the blindfolded one.
“You’re that girl from the other night. You’ve been getting in my head!” His eyes narrow in on me as he continues his strides. I retreat slowly until I find myself backed up against another tree.
“What do you mea-”
“Who are you really?” he cuts me off. His voice sends shivers down my spine as he stretches out his arm and smacks his palm on the tree beside me, making me jump.
I gulp as I watch the inky veins travel up and down his arm, and suddenly I’m mute.
He leans in, and my heartbeat quickens as the obsidian in his eyes renders me paralysed.
“Didn’t Mummy and Daddy tell you not to mess with the Moonkind?” His warm breath torments my eardrums.
“Didn’t yours teach you how to treat a lady?” I counter, trying to keep the fear from seeping through the cracks in my words. His jaw tenses, and I know I have hit a nerve.
“Watch yourself, you’re coming dangerously close to pissing me the fuck off,” he speaks through gritted teeth, and I scrunch my eyes closed.
“Oh, and we wouldn’t want to do that,” I bite back, sarcasm lacing my words.
“Don’t you forget that you are on Moon territory right now,” he points at me. “One signal from me and I can have the rest of the school out here to help me decide what to do with you.”
I gulp.
“Something tells me they won’t be so kind.”
Kind? Did he really think he was being kind? Well, I suppose he hasn’t killed me yet.
“Why? I haven’t done anything. I haven’t been getting in your head, and I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about,” I confess, hoping his anger subsides. “Just let me go.”
I go to walk past him, but he blocks my way and walks me closer to the tree again.
“I saw you last night.” He clenches his jaw, pointing his finger at me. “Those eyes, I’d remember you anywhere.” His hand reaches out to touch my face, but I slap it away before he can get too close.
“Don’t touch me!” I grit my teeth.
“Or what?” he says, his face serious. I saw him in battle. There’s no way I would stand a chance. He grips my wrist, and I let him. “You’re feisty, I’ll give you that… For a Sun,” he mocks, and I roll my eyes, turning my head away with them.
“I don’t know how I did it. I saw you in my dream… I didn’t know you saw me too. How is that even possible?” The last bit was more of a whisper to myself.
“It’s not,” he says, scanning every detail of my face as if looking for more answers. “And you clearly haven’t got your Gifts yet, otherwise you would’ve used them on me already,” he thinks out loud. “And even if you could, Sun people don’t possess the power to manipulate minds.”
He kisses his teeth and furrows his brow. “Something does not add up.”
“Are you done?!” I push at him. “Now that you’ve deemed I’m not a threat, you can let me go.
” I motion to his hand that is still gripping my forearm and go to walk past him again, but his grip tightens.
I think about my training and pull him in towards me whilst sweeping his left leg from behind him, shifting with the weight of his body so I land on top of him, keeping his arms close to his chest and straddling him on the forest floor.
My face is now inches away from his. He looks startled.
“How did you do that?” he questions. The golden glow of the lantern perfectly highlights his flawless features, and it’s hard not to feel some sort of attraction to him, even if he is a dick.
“What?! You’ve never met a girl who can fight before?
” I remark, but before I can finish my sentence, he spins me around and reverses our positions.
Now he is on top of me, and for some reason, I don’t hate it.
My cheeks redden as the weight of his body increases on mine, and butterflies swarm in my stomach.
“Don’t flatter yourself, darling. I’ve fought tons of girls tougher than you.” He pauses for a moment, as if trying to find the words to say. “I couldn’t predict your moves.” His eyebrows tense in confusion. “I am a foreshadower. I can always predict the next move.”
“Well, maybe your Gifts aren’t as powerful as you thought,” I prod, blowing a curl away from my lips.
“No, you don’t get it…First the dream, now this.” His stare intensifies. “There’s something off about you…” He cocks his head as if trying to read me. “Unless?”
“Unless what?” I ask, my eyes tracing the intense lines on his face.
“You just became a whole lot more interesting, little Sun.” The edges of his lips curve into a dangerous smile as he places his thumb under my chin and tilts my head slightly.
“Stormwood?” a male voice calls out from beyond the trees.
His hand rushes over my mouth, and he whispers in my ear, “Shhh, if they find you here, they will kill you.”
His whisper ripples through my eardrums like silk, causing my body to crave more of his touch. But I quickly shake this thought off and nod my head in agreement. He lets go.
“Really, your name is Stormwood?” I whisper as a chuckle escapes my mouth. His hand reclaims his grip over my lips as he shushes me again.
“Give me a minute,” he calls back to the distant voice.
“Okay, second meals in ten,” the voice calls back, and I hear his footsteps retreat.
He turns back to face me, his eyes lock on mine.
“And my name is Ryder, idiot. Stormwood is my last name,” he whispers into my ear as his hand still traces the softness of my lips. There is a moment of silence between us where neither of us knows what to say. His deep brown eyes search mine, still trying to figure me out.
He takes a minute, then stands up and brushes the crumbs of the forest floor off his dark trousers. I watch his muscles flex in all the right places and feel my cheeks reddening.
“Are you just going to lie there all night?” He offers me a hand and smirks whilst eyeing me up and down. I bat his hand away and get myself up, not wanting to give him the satisfaction.
An icy breeze whooshes past us, and I can’t help but shiver again; my arms hugging my body for warmth. A chuckle escapes his lips.
“Not really dressed for the occasion, are you?” He bites his bottom lip and stares down at my pink pyjama shorts.
“Shut up.” I begin walking away from him.
“No, they look good on you.” He follows for a moment, and I fold my arms in annoyance. “You don’t wanna go that way.”
“Why not?” I question not bothering to meet his gaze.
“Because your dorm room is that way.” He smirks and points in the opposite direction.
I turn around, trying not to acknowledge him, and begin walking the other way.
“You know I can’t let you walk back like that.”
He takes his black hoodie off and holds it out to me. His abs glow in the moonlight.
“You don’t have to let me do anything!” I say, ignoring his offer.
He stands in front of me. “Just shut up and take it.”
I do as he says, not feeling like I have much of a choice, plus I am freezing. The dark black hoodie swamps my small frame and falls just above my knees. Why is he being nice now?
“You tell anyone about this, and I’ll kill you myself!”
Of course, I spoke too soon.
“Trust me, I won’t!” I pull the hood over my head and begin making my way back to the castle.
“Meet me back here tomorrow at one a.m…”
“Are you crazy!” I reply in a whisper-shout.
“You didn’t think I was going to let you keep that, did you?” He motions towards his hoodie now drowning my body, and my eyes follow his stare.
“Fine. But I give you this, and that’s it! No funny business.”
“Do I look funny to you?” his voice serious again. Not one bit.
I scoff at him and carry on walking away.
He grabs my forearm. “What is your name?”
“If I tell you, will you leave me alone?”
He doesn’t reply, just stares at me menacingly and tightens his grip on my arm.
“Asha, my name’s Asha.”
He lets go of my arm, but I can feel his eyes following me as I wander off into the distance.
What the fuck just happened?!?