Chapter 20 Fire
Chapter twenty
Fire
Alaceandra
Enraged screams echo behind us as we escape into the dark forest surrounding the cave.
My stupid dress snags viciously on the brambles reaching out for us as we run.
I hold it close to my body but find the loss of arm movement is only making my running slower than the dress was.
Sorin stops us with a hand and looks around.
Finding another little cave we can hide in; he grabs my arm and pulls me inside it.
The cave is much longer than it looks on the outside, curving slightly to the left.
A little divot sits in the center where we can both just barely fit laying down.
The curve hides us from the casual passerby, but would not protect against any sounds we made, as it is relatively shallow.
It will need to work for now. If only Sam was here.
He could use his noise cancellation skills to ensure we remained completely undetected.
I slant my eyes over to Sorin. I cannot help but find myself impressed by his display of skills over the past couple hours.
We both are sitting next to each other in the cave.
Me, totally out of breath, my body thrumming with adrenaline, chest heaving from the effort of keeping up with him.
Him, not only looking stupidly handsome with sweat glistening softly across his forehead, but also not even slightly phased by all that just took place.
“I am learning about a lot of... interesting talents of yours lately... should I be concerned?” I blurt out.
He laughs but sobers when he realizes I am not joking. “Of course not, Lace. Is that even a question?”
“Maybe...” I wrinkle my nose at him. A quiet moment spans between us before I ask in a small voice. “Why did it take you so long to save me back there?”
He frowns at me. “I was trying to save you from the moment the guard walked in, Lace. I thought you saw my vine closing in when you glanced at me.”
I look away. “I did not. I just saw you staring at me and that guard. I was not sure how far you were going to let him go.” My voice catches.
He grasps my face in his palms. “I’m sorry.
I was working as fast as I possibly could without alerting him or any of the other guards who might have been nearby.
It killed me to watch him touch you and I wish I could have made his death much more slow and painful.
” He grits his teeth. “I never meant to make you think I was just going to watch that monster touch you.”
“Maybe we should have a little signal for next time. I can still feel the asshole’s fingers against my breast.” I cross my arms.
“Agreed,” Sorin grunts.
I start to readjust my sitting position when my foot catches in a small hole in my dress causing pain to shoot through my leg. I cry out in frustration and then hold out a hand to Sorin. “May I see that rock?”
Sorin narrows his eyes at me. “Um... yeah.”
Grasping the rock tightly in my hand I finger the edge to test its sharpness. Sharp enough. I start violently hacking away at the length of the dress aiming for it to fall just above my knee.
“What are you doing?!” Sorin reaches for the rock.
“This fucking dress got me caught in the first place.” I laugh out loud, my voice a touch hysterical.
I was having maybe too much fun. I admire my work, before looking up at Sorin.
“It is far too long for exploring and running from madmen in the woods.” I hack away more of the restrictive fabric.
“I do not want it to cause more trouble in the future.” I pause.
“Now, can you please help me with the back?”
He eyes me, before snorting out a laugh of defeat. “Sure.” I spin around in my seated position pulling the dress from underneath me.
Taking the rock, Sorin continues cutting my dress.
Once he sets the rock aside, I spin back around, throwing the extra fabric away from me.
A wild smile curves my lips. I catch as Sorin’s eyes latch onto the scrapes and bruises along my legs and arms before his eyes finally land on my face, troubled. “Are you okay, Lace?”
I stare at him. Might as well tell the truth.
“No, definitely not,” I say, fingering the frayed edge of my dress.
“Honestly? I feel like I am one more disaster away from a mental breakdown.” I take a breath, trying not to laugh hysterically once again.
“And on top of that? I feel like everyone knows a lot more about what is happening around me than I do myself.” I watch his face for a reaction.
“Including you who seems to be entirely unsurprised by the huge foreboding rock back there.” I hitch a thumb back to where we came.
I know I am about to break down and cry, so I quickly turn away from him, trying to keep my composure.
Blowing out a breath of frustration he gently grabs my face to look in my eyes, his thumb tracing over my cheek.
“Lace, look I—” He looks pained. “It’s eating me up inside that I can’t tell you all I know, and I promise I will make things clearer to you when I can but for the time being I just really need you to trust I am doing my best to not only protect you but to keep us both alive.
If I were to reveal everything too soon, I couldn’t—” He chokes on his next sentence.
I try to pull away from him, but his grip, although still gentle, firmly holds me in place.
I bite my lip. “I know. It is just—a lot.” Giving up for now, I lean into his palm slightly, the feel of it against my face causing longing to bubble up inside me.
I have always found it so difficult to stay upset with Sorin.
Whenever he touches me, my body seems to short-circuit the heat of the room racking up a thousand degrees warmer, making it hard for me to focus on whatever I was upset about in the first place.
Truthfully, I prefer not to be upset with him, especially after everything he has done for me, but I just hate being so fucking confused about everything: my next move, my purpose now we are fuck knows where, Sorin, Sam, the prince.
Everything that I have ever known or will know is out of my hands or hidden behind some riddle.
I just want to be able to control one thing.
Sorin’s eyes flick to my lips and a spark lights within me.
My nipples are hard, and the adrenaline is making my head rush, twisting my anger into forbidden thoughts.
I chew my lip a little harder trying to distract myself.
Completely oblivious to my inner struggle, Sorin softens, speaking to me in a tone full of reverence.
“Lace, if it is the last thing I do, I will get us through this and make it up to you. I swear.” His eyes catch on my bitten lip, and he pulls it free from my teeth.
A soft noise escapes me, and I watch his eyes dilate and as he rubs a finger over my swollen lip.
We sit, staring at each other as time seems to still, the air in the space seeming to become alight with some foreign energy.
I feel myself slowly start to close the space between us, until we are a hair away, breathing in the other's next breath.
"Lace?" Sorin whispers, his lips barely brushing against mine.
I glance up at him and then back down to his lips, one of my hands finding its place on his thigh.
Energy crackles through my palm. Maybe it is the stress of the situation, maybe it is being stuffed in a tiny cave, but either way, I am not letting this opportunity go— not this time.
“Fuck it.” I whisper, more to myself than to him.
Before I could over think the action, I press my lips to Sorin’s, a move he meets with the same force, and I am lost. Drowning in the feeling of his lips moving on mine, I thread my fingers into his hair, pulling him in.
He responds by lifting me onto his lap, our breaths filling the quiet of the enclosed space, his hands roughly grabbing my hips.
Breathless and dizzy, my body aches for more.
I grind myself into Sorin’s leg, trying to soothe the growing need inside me.
With a tortured groan, Sorin lets go with one hand to entangle his fingers in my hair, using the leverage to tilt my head deepening the kiss.
My skin heats further as my arms continue to trace the planes of Sorin’s chest before vines weave themselves over my body, encircling my waist and arms like a harness.
Gasping I pull away for a moment. The greenery sprouted from behind Sorin, its tendrils feel like a soft rope against my skin, holding me firmly in place.
Sorin pulls me back into him and I moan as the vines start to squeeze and massage my body with a gentle force hitching my desire and turning my thoughts to mush.
My newly shortened dress allows Sorin more intimate access to my thighs, which he takes advantage of his hands wandering to squeeze them, while his vines do their work massaging my breasts.
Overwhelmed, I pull away from Sorin’s lips for air.
He starts trailing kisses down my neck and I whimper, opening my eyes to watch him.
Something flickers in the corner of my vision, and I freeze.
The entire cave is alight, the rocks around us glowing molten red.
I blink rapidly. Not only red but on fire.
The rocks are on fucking fire. Are we under attack?
I jump from Sorin’s lap and pick up the sharp rock we used earlier, glancing around the corner to watch the entrance of the cave.
Sorin still has yet to move from his seated position but worry coats his expression.
“Lace? Everything alright?” His voice is breathy, and he clears it before slowly standing.
His gaze turns watchful, but more towards me than any intruder.
Even in my alarm, my body is screaming at me to go back to him and finish what we started.
I will it to calm down, but it chooses to do the opposite, my heart racing as the flames start to grow.