28. I see and hear red
I see and hear red
CASPIAN
She’s back. A sweet, red wave of wine stimulates my thoughts, slithering past the many barriers in place for such invasions. Something happened after my encounter with one of House Death’s leaders, and for a few hours, Kyra went dark.
Irretrievable and untethered from this reality.
Realizing they fought, to what extent remains a mystery, I’d planned on killing Ethan and sending his soul to meet Hades. More-so had she not returned. And if Alex intended on intervening, we would have been down both Death Leaders, and I would not have batted an eye.
Either way, Kyra is back, nonetheless.
Now she is meeting Yasmine over missing her class with intentions of stopping by mine.
I duck my head back beneath the water, drowning out everyone else’s voices.
Despite the drum of my energy raging from Ethan taking her, it gave me time to self-reflect on how Rebirth almost lost its Assistant Dean.
Thinking about it boils my cells, and magic crackles at my fingertips, convulsing the water with ripples of waves. Drown out the noise. A few minutes under this chilling liquid does what it can in muffling the noise, but I resurface, taking a breath and plunging once more.
I’ve kicked everyone in House Earth out of our pool, and no students contested me. Good. Rarely do I discipline their actions, but today has me fuming with an insatiable urge. My inner beast desires a fight.
A few more minutes elapse, and I’m back up for air. It beats the purpose of forming an air pocket underwater, and I need this element’s thickness as a blocker.
“Damn, Cas is in the pool. I’m trying hard not to walk in there and suck his cock under water.
A trick I’ve learned that males like. Gods that man is fine.
More than fine, he’s…” And I plunge. Everything becomes a whisper.
One minute–two–three–I breach on minute four, emerging with havoc, pushing against my shield.
“I’m dreading seeing Caspian. Please don’t let him be pissed at me. It wasn’t my intention to witness him and Rebecca.” I hear Kyra think. She will be on her way to my lecture room soon.
I step out of the pool. Flicking a wrist, I remove thick droplets of water from my skin and hair. Another reason for vacating everyone, I swim in the nude.
“Steph? What’s she doing standing by the pool, and…Gods, she’s watching and lusting over Cas.”
My shoulders roll, easing the tension they’re forcing upon me outside the entrance door.
House Earth is already down two students after a recent mission, so we can’t afford losing another.
As for this Academy, our Dean ceased announcing the death tolls for good reasons before he left.
More and more students were fleeing to other Academies out of fear of being next.
But after today, we will hear which House leads in points again. So, the intruding fays outside may have a chance at seeing another day. May fate guide their path, or my hands shall do it for them.
Magic, a crystal cinnabar hue, alerts me of Kyra receiving a gift from Yasmine. Information on a book that requires seeing Elder Kraven, it appears. A male she will find more trouble with than Ethan , and one who doesn’t do favors for free. He will demand something she might not be willing to give.
Nor will I allow it.
With a finger’s snap, fitted threads encompass my now warm flesh, and my hair drapes over both shoulders in thick loose strands.
A white, wrinkle free, long-sleeve button-down is tucked into charcoal black slacks with a matching vest atop.
I exit the swimming area after dawning a pair of dress shoes.
I need a way of seeing if she’s injured without alerting her of my actions.
Unhurried, not wanting to appear rushed or…eager, I keep a steady pace. A two-minute walk stretches into ten, and after nine, I round the corner to see her frozen. Anxious, alluring, and terrified all at once.
Her thoughts trickle into mine, and I listen.
A crimson river flows past the barriers of my mind as though they’re mere boulders, smoothed from her rushing magic.
No matter how many walls I’ve set in place, the call of her magic seems to search for every crack and miniature hole, squeezing through it until it becomes a larger area to seep into.
It’s near impossible for such an action by anyone else. My shields hold firm despite their thoughts repeatedly pounding at my defenses. Yet Kyra, without much effort, always finds a way in.
Always.
“He’s going to scold me for missing class, on top of witnessing his leisure endeavors. Fuck, I hope he doesn’t kick me out. Is that even a thing here? Do they expel students? Shit.”
I grin at her panicking nature; it’s cute. Then again, everything she does is cute. Like sleeping with a pillow between her legs for comfort. A sleep assistant. And I laugh at the thought.
Many moons have been spent lying in bed, listening to her nightmares invade my dreams. My own blend with the sounds of her horrid past, or much better days.
How she tosses and turns, adjusting the pillows she finds comforting, and missing someone by the name of Rosie. Or crying out another name. Dominic.
A repeated occurrence.
Until one of my students’ springs to mind.
I’m quiet upon approach as Kyra reaches for my door handle and pauses. This gives me time to conjure a few pieces of parchment to ensure it appears I’m heading back for a different reason, allowing me to check her over. I don’t trust Ethan.
“Nope, I’m out of here. I’ll deal with getting in trouble later. I can’t look at him without seeing Rebecca. Damn it, why did it have to be her?”
She turns in haste, not seeing me until we collide, and I toss up my loose parchments to draw away her attention. Flicking a wrist, I soften the earthy marble, forcing her to stumble. I catch Kyra before she meets the floor.
“I got you.” A sea of my claret hair curtains our features as I lean forward. “Are you alright?” I ask, and her lips part, inhaling a single breath as though she wants to savor the taste of me. A sentiment we both share.
My red mane glints against her green-freckled, brown eyes, and I watch them become larger. An oval shape, wide and expanding, sends my aura spinning like a glass of swirling wine. A need of primal urge scratches at my core and demands me to devour, but the repercussions will be unforgiving.
And I’ve vowed against it.
“ Shit. It’s Caspian.” And I smile. My name is pronounced as though she practiced getting it perfect.
I hold her steady for a fleeting heartbeat. One hand at the small of her back and the other behind her neck, but it never settles, neither of our hearts, yet they match in perfect synchronicity.
By the Gods, she’s more beautiful now than when I first saw her.
Seeing my reflection dance around her wondering stare, I stand Kyra up, close to my chest, and inhale her intoxicating fragrance.
Wildflowers and honey melons. Mixed together they become a trap for fays, beasts, and even ethereal beings. Fuck I want to breath this in forever.
I make quick work using my aura to check her for injuries, and my chest hums from an internal rumble working its way out. Minus a scar and these new strands of crimson hair now encompassing the left side of her head, she is fine. She doesn’t notice my rather quick assessment.
I fight the festering urge to keep her close from the shadow lurking within. No.
Two years hasn’t been long enough. Throughout it all, this is the closest we have been, and pulling away now feels forbidden. As though my soul knows it will damage me if I do so.
I’ve filled countless journals of her thoughts, most invasive and private, but not for my own storage. A time will come when Kyra is forced to choose. A decision that will change her future based on her past, and during this, a line will be drawn. A foretelling reached me beyond the Gods’ domain.
‘Three’ chains will bind her to ‘Three’ lives of redemption or despair, and ‘One’ end will decide her fate. Thus ‘Eight’ souls will succeed or perish at the hands of ‘One’ whose past they may never escape.
Apollo, the God of Prophecy, felt inclined to share this bit of wisdom after my first encounter with Kyra’s scorching mental thoughts. A hellish yell traveled through realms, which forced me into transferring here, leaving everything behind.
Never has someone blazed a path into my thoughts, let alone from such a distance. I can only hope my suspicions of what is to come are accurate. Then again, I’ve been wrong on more than one occasion.
Kyra shifts, her movements resulting in a hand rubbing against my lower abdomen, and sparks of a blush pepper her cheeks. A skin shade of polished red painite speckles over hues of a champagne diamond. Two of the rarest gems and a beautiful mix of colors.
“Are you okay?” This magnetic pull nudges us closer.
She takes a breath, calming the rush of heat flushing everything above her collar. “Yes, I’m okay.” A whisper, yet my body screams in defying the restraints set upon itself. “Sorry for not paying attention.” She forces a smile, which makes this encounter more…uncomfortable for her.
“ Why is he so damn close, and why don’t I want him to move?”
“No need to apologize, accidents happen.” Backing up, I notice her shoulders ease.
I’ll punish myself later for this distasteful violation.
I know better, yet a simple urge forced my hands into acting on the pleasures of a caged beast. You will yield to my command. Not the other way around, Abraxis.
Her smile morphs into a more genuine one as she catches my hand pushing back a few tendrils of hair, lingering on my ears before tracing my features down to a tattoo peeking under my collar through a few unfastened buttons. Curiosity gleams at what lies beneath my thin layer of threads.
“Kyra, is it okay if we take a walk?” Perhaps this will lessen the unfair environment she has found herself in, standing by the effects of my lecture room.