Chapter 8 #3
“Braxton. You can come up to me,” he murmurs, looking at the ground.
Braxton’s face doesn’t change. His mouth is formed in a small line.
He strolls towards me. I take my hand out and extend it to him.
“Hi, I’m Eliane,” I introduce myself to him, smiling.
His eyes peer at my hand like I don’t wash my hands after going to the bathroom.
I shrug. His bad. I am going to find this boy’s soft spot.
I take the dagger from the table and make a firm cut in my palm.
I keep my emotions under control and pass the dagger to him, not reacting to the pain, just like Da taught me.
“Here, your turn, Brax.” His eyes widen at me.
“My name is Braxton,” he tells me, putting emphasis on the word Braxton. His voice is deep and raw. I smirk.
“So he does talk then, huh?” I can’t help but notice the corner of his mouth lift just a little before he shakes his head.
He cuts his hand and presses his palm against mine.
A tingle spreads through my body. My heart races in my chest, and my breath quickens.
A beat of sweat trickles over my back. I can feel Braxton’s breathing against my face.
It feels like this goes in slow motion. He stares deeply into my eyes.
I can feel the blush rise to my cheeks. His eyes are this amazing kind of blue.
They have a green middle but this bright blue on the sides.
It reminds me of the waterfall and trees next to my house.
It is breathtaking. My body reacts in ways it only does when I am having a panic attack.
I need to fight this feeling away. And that is what I do. I try to steady my breathing.
I breathe in for four seconds.
Hold.
And breathe out for four seconds, all while calling out the colors of his eyes in my head.
“Does this have to take so long?” I cough, trying to shake the still present uneasy feeling off me.
Laughing kind of embarrassed, I step away from him.
Not sure what this was. Not another panic attack, right?
I pace back towards the other candidates.
I tap my foot on the ground, but I turn to see Braxton glaring at me.
I have no time to process any of the things that just happened because Zephron starts talking again.
“As you probably guessed our last duo is logical now, but I will check,” he tells us. He takes the last two names out of the vase. “Hazel and Kailey, you can come up. You are the last duo of the trials.”
They cut their hands the same as the ones before.
“Now that every duo is made, I can inform you more about this week. This week you will get to know your partner, learn how to fight them and learn how to live together.” He coughs in his fist, smirking.
“This week you will stay in a room together, do everything together and learn how much you depend on each other.
“You will depend more on each other than you could have ever imagined. And I promise you all. There will be only benefits from getting to know each other.”
I hug Da tightly and wave him goodbye. He will be gone, for now at least. I watch as every duo walks away. I turn to Braxton to ask what’s next. Before I can say something, he decides to finally start talking.
“Let’s go,” he snaps, still holding his face in this brave, cool, emotionless position or whatever. I furrow my brows. All right. If he wants to play it that way and wants to command me like the prince he is, we will. I can play that game too. I lift my chin as I peer my eyes at him.
“You could have just told me you think you’re better than me, you know.
You don’t have to act like a self-centered prick to make clear that you’re the prince.
I know who you are, but in this game we are even.
So you better start treating me like your partner, or I will make you regret it,” I tease him. I turn around and take a step.
“Honey, don’t bother trying. You won’t be able to make me loveable.
My heart isn’t as soft and sunny as yours,” he yells after me as I already stepped away.
The word “honey” stings in my chest, almost like hearing my parents say it to me.
But it’s not pain I feel when he says it.
He’s cocky, and I don’t like the way he raises his brows at me.
O this boy, come on, man.
You don’t have to be a bitch about everything.
I spin around. My fingers reach my leg, seeking for the handle of my dagger. I lift my knee up and hit Brax in the groin.
“How,” he murmurs. I make a slice movement with my right arm. He is too fast. He blocks it and spins, pushing my arm with my dagger to my back. This causes me to stand with my back against his stomach.
Against his hard abdomen.
I can feel him breathe against my temple.
“Want to make another blood sacrifice, Honey?” he whispers in my ear just a little too long. I clench my jaw, and I can feel my anger rise. The sun burns hot on my skin and sweat trickles on our bodies. A tingle creeps inside of me, and I feel like I am going to explode.
“I am not your Honey, you self-centered prick!” I scream at him.
I kick my free elbow back straight in his stomach.
He loses his grip a little and I turn around.
I push my dagger against his throat, closing him against the chapel.
My heartbeat thunders in my ears and the sun shines so bright that it feels like I am going to burn alive.
I watch my dagger as I push the end harder on his throat.
A droplet of blood drips down my dagger.
Blood drips down on the dagger I got from Da for my 14th birthday. The dagger has a little sun embedded in it, reminding me of my strength.
It is the only dagger I don’t throw.
My eyes track the droplet going down. I give the dagger a little push before I step back. I take a few more steps backwards before I say something, shoving the dagger back in its belt.
“Are you coming or what?” I exhale sharply, clench my fist around the dagger and raise one eyebrow. This boy has some nerves. As much as I would have liked to have seen his dimples an hour ago, I could not have been more annoyed right now.
He smirks, like full on smirks at me. Ugh. I don’t want him to see that I am annoyed.
“I am going to go. See you inside.” I stomp away before he has a chance to reply.
As I push the door of my room open, someone bumps into me.
“Sorry, ma’am, I was just cleaning this room.” Wide blue eyes stare up at me. “Eliane. Hi. I didn’t see you there,” Annie whimpers, recovering herself, smiling at me, the fear from before disappearing as snow for the sun.
“Hi.” I sigh, not being able to act all positive and happy, but she catches onto my bad mood immediately.
“What’s wrong, Ellie?” she asks me, looking concerned as she calls me by my new nickname.
“Nothing, I am fi—” I breathe out almost annoyed by the fact how easily the lie slips of my tongue.
“No, you know what, fuck it. I am going to be honest with you. I am paired up with this ridiculously handsome boy, but he is cold as stone and as unethical as someone could ever be,” I hiss, lifting my shoulder in annoyance.
“May I ask who this bo—” she tries to ask, but her smile drops and her mouth falls open. A warm hand lays down on my shoulder. I look over it in astonishment. My eyes wide visibly as I see who is standing behind me.
“So I am not just an annoyance to you. You think I am ridiculously handsome, huh?” Braxton breathes out.
“Oh hello, Annie, didn’t know you were matched to my partner.
” He winks at me, but besides that, his face is completely in control.
Annie is trying her hardest to sneak out of this awkward situation.
She steps away from us, and gives me a small nod before bolting away.
“What are you doing here? And how do you know Annie?” I snap at him, crossing my arms together as I turn to him fully. But the words stumble over my tongue and I can’t fight the blush that is appearing on my cheeks. His eyes dart off to them, so he must notice it.
Manes, would I like to disappear. Crawl away under the ground, so he wouldn’t see what his words do to me.
“I thought you knew I was the prince? So I kind of live with her on a daily basis,” he says, looking as cocky as before.
He got me there, giving me a taste of my own medicine.
How could I forget that? But I am more surprised by the fact that he knows her name.
The guards didn’t even know the name of the servants.
“Alright, you’re right about that. But what about, why are you in my room?
” His face is still in form, not letting his mask slip.
Something passes by in his eyes. Like he has a mask on, but it is kind of offbeat.
“You got to be kidding me,” he hisses. He turns around, leaning his head forwards and putting his fingers on his forehead, covering his eyes.
I don’t get it.
Just answer me goddamn it.
“We are paired up. We have to stay together, get to know each other, and live together. He told us that we should get to know each other until the deepest.” He stays quiet, and I raise my brow in confusion.
“We are sharing a room this week,” he answers, while I try to fit the puzzle pieces together.
Wait what? I didn’t know I said that out loud. Then I would have been a bit nicer, or maybe not. I smirk to myself. My mouth drops open as the words sink in.
“This can’t be happening. There is only one bed!” I shake my head exaggeratedly before holding it with my hands in disbelief.
“I know there is one bed, Honey. We will have to share. I am not going to sleep on the floor.”
“I didn’t mean to say that out loud,” I murmur, ignoring he is calling me ‘Honey’ again.