Chapter 4 #2
“Is it true?” I ignored him, excitement tinting my tone. I knew the glasses were probably just a precaution, and while I appreciated it, I wasn’t very worried at all.
My father looked at me with a skeptical glance, but instead of pushing it, he nodded. “Yes. Cy, this is my daughter. Arabella, this is Cy.”
Stepping up next to my father, my eyes widened as I realized why exactly he had been wearing special glasses. My mouth popped open at the truly massive basilisk that was barely visible in the shadows, a glint of large eyes and fangs causing my entire body to break out into shivers.
Instead of being fearful of the venomous fangs or ability to petrify its victims, I stepped forward, honestly not completely in charge of my actions because of the awe running through me.
His coiled pale and dark green body was truly enormous, so much so that I couldn’t even fully see it because he was taking up most of the darkened room.
His head suddenly appeared, dropping down to be level enough that he was meeting my gaze, a pair of fangs dripping with venom that sizzled on the floor.
Oddly, it smelled very appealing, and I walked forward further, reaching my hand out in need to touch his scales.
I could hear my father making a concerned muttering from behind me as the door buzzed open, letting me know Razar and the others were soon to interrupt. I mean, I didn’t blame them fully—I probably looked like I was about to get annihilated by this amazing nightmare.
“I’m fine, guys, seriously!” I called out, keeping my eyes on the basilisk.
My fingers brushed his large face, his head dipping to rest on the ground.
See? I had no idea why they were so worried.
His hot, dry scales felt good under my skin, and I let out a soft happy sound as his eyes closed, looking relaxed.
I had absolutely no idea why I felt so much fascination with this nightmare, except for the fact that a part of my chest warmed at the concept of him being near.
“Let her,” my father encouraged. “He came here willingly; she’s fine.”
Fine? I was better than fine. I mean, sure, Cy could probably slaughter me with a poke of his massive fang, but I knew he wouldn’t. I was proven right when after a few seconds, he pulled away from me, a green mist filling the room as the scent of mint filled the space.
The mist glinted off his frame as I saw just how large he was, and my breath caught, wondering what he was going to do.
I should have been bothered that I not only found all of this amazing but also somewhat impressive and attractive.
I know, who knew I would find a man’s snake size so attractive…
nevermind, there was totally a sex joke to be made there.
“Hi.” My voice came out as a whisper, the mist clearing to reveal a stunning man in an expensive dark shirt and jeans.
There was a weariness to his expression, matched with exhaustion and caution.
Still, he approached me, and I found myself reaching out a hand once again, this time to cup his cheek.
I smiled as he leaned into the touch, his hands hesitating to touch me as I stepped closer.
I knew the others would be upset about the change I was about to suggest, but there was something here.
He felt it as well, and I knew without a doubt that this man needed to be on our team. A part of our life. My life.
And he still was. While Cy was a bit quiet and reserved, I never doubted our connection.
I would call it a friendship, but somehow I knew it was more than that between us.
I mean, I often just held his hand or touched the side of his face whenever I felt like he was tense or upset, and he always let me, always leaning into the physical connection.
We had gotten to a point that I didn’t even need him to say a word to know how he was feeling.
Although I did love hearing his voice, so when we were alone and he started talking more, I would ask him as many questions as possible, not wanting it to stop.
My gaze moved from my coffee to his lips as I considered what I would need to do to convince him that I wanted him to bite me.
I mean, sure, there was a possibility it could kill me, but it also really turned me on…
so there was that. I mean, that couldn’t surprise him, that I was attracted to him.
I felt like it was even possibly reciprocated.
Physically, I had felt that I turned him on, his hard length pressed against me while holding me, yet he never did anything.
So maybe it was just a natural response?
I mean, I had to assume that he didn’t want to start anything since nothing had ever happened before between us.
Maybe it was because of work? Maybe he knew that I wasn’t just attracted to him but the others as well, let alone the emotional spectrum I felt for all of them?
I mean, the bastard was extremely perceptive.
I didn’t really understand what was holding them back.
I had my reasons, but what were theirs? I could have asked.
I didn’t know a lot about nightmares’ dating…
or mating habits, at least not the extent that I should.
In fact, I purposefully avoided that information because it led to a spiraling thought process that left me feeling both needy and a bit depressed at our lack of a relationship.
Plus, I didn’t really see a lot of ‘relationships’ here at the institute, so there was no way to gauge it through experience.
Inhaling sharply, I frowned. Maybe after this mission I would lay my cards out on the table.
I felt like I’d made my feelings for them pretty obvious, but considering their lack of comment on it and the fact that we hadn’t made much progress, I would probably need to take more direct action. I just needed to decide when.
Taking another sip of my coffee, I moved my gaze towards the door as Zain sauntered into the room before returning it to my father’s office, who was now waiting for Amun.
I really hoped Damian and Blackwell wouldn’t encourage Saint’s violent streak.
That was the last thing we needed right now, considering the mission they had tonight.
“Don’t worry, Bella, they are heading this way. Saint hasn’t killed Amun… yet.” Zain flashed me a sexy smile that had me attempting a scowl.
It was difficult, because the bastard knew that I melted somewhat when it came to him using that nickname.
The one only he was allowed to call me. I wasn’t even a huge fan of it, but off of his lips, it sounded different, and so after a few times of trying to get him to stop, I’d given up.
The charming nightmare got away with far too much, in my opinion, and even worse, I was the one who let him get away with most of it!
“Don’t make jokes, you know he would.” I shook my head at the very real concern of Saint’s actions. The nightmare was absolutely bloodthirsty, something I greatly appreciated and… well, found sexy. I know, surprising—but I wanted Amun around. “Trust me guys, he will be good for our team.”
“I have no doubt in your instincts,” Zain said, leaning back in his chair while stretching his arms above his head and yawning.
His messy blood-red hair fell in waves and curls over his handsome face as he clearly tried to wake himself up.
In some ways, I truly felt Zain was the most ‘human’ out of all my nightmares.
Well… when he wasn’t shifted into his apocalyptic terror form.
There was nothing human about that in the least.
My memory flashed briefly to earlier this week when I had woken up from a late afternoon nap in the dorms to find him floating above me, watching me with an almost curious, affectionate expression that seemed at odds with his intense form.
By all regards, apocalyptic terrors should have been terrifying because of their intense appearance.
Not only that, but because they literally caused chaos.
It was why he was such a fantastic addition to the team, because he could use minimum magic to rain down absolute insanity and cause a distraction.
On a major scale, the man could easily bring down an entire city, and that was just with his magic.
There were more nightmares like him floating around out there, so if you brought them together, the apocalypse concept was truly possible.
Unlike legend terrors, where there were multiple individuals and everyone had specific magic or natural abilities, apocalyptic terrors were all very similar in their nature and just changed in form.
All of them, though, were descendants of the titans that could have been called legend terrors but far exceeded that.
I found his form beautiful, personally. The man moved so easily through spaces, sometimes taking on a more humanoid shape, but other times he seemed to just move in a cloud of black smoke that radiated with red pulsing energy.
Everything about him seemed almost untouchable, ghostly and not solid, except for the razor-sharp teeth and glowing ruby-red eyes that would make an appearance through the inky darkness.
When I had found him hanging over me, I had simply reached out into the darkness that cocooned me in warmth and the black magic had swarmed my hand, leaving me feeling almost out of breath.
There was a source of radiating ruby energy that seemed to feed him, and whenever I touched him, it grew stronger, making me wonder if that existed within Zain even in his ‘human’ form. I would bet so.