Skye's Arrival

Chapter Twenty-Six

When I get to Fidda I give Dawn a smirk. “Looks like you get to ride with one of the boys. You still need to recover.”

“That’s not happening,” she tells me firmly. “I’m not the one with bite marks still on my neck.” She puts her finger on my cheek and turns my head, exposing my neck to prove her point. “I still see two different sets of teeth marks.”

I move her hand and glower at her. “I’m not the one that fainted this time.”

“A miracle within itself,” she says, scowling at me.

“Ha ha,” I say as I notice Rafi walking towards us from the corner of my eye.

“I’m not kidding Skye. You’re still too weak to ride by yourself. Floren is a two-day journey. It’s going to be rough.”

“Which is why the one that hasn’t slept should ride with someone so she can get some sleep.” I point out.

“Alright you two,” Rafi says, breaking into our conversation. He picks me up by the waist while Dawn starts laughing.

“Rafi,” I protest, “put me down.”

“Bite marks,” is his response.

“What about Dawn,” I protest.

“Got it,” Gerrickson says, sweeping her off her feet.

“I will kick you,” Dawn cries, a deep blush settling over her face.

“Better than stabbing,” is his only remark to her threat while he walks off to the horse.

“I don’t need to be coddled,” she growls.

“The fact that I’m getting away with this tells me differently.”

Rafi spins to take me toward Midnight; which is his horse. “Rafi I can ride by myself,” I repeat, feeling so annoyed. “And if you say bite marks I’ll flick you.”

“Bite marks,” he tells me, sounding more amused than anything.

I flick his arm on his bicep and he teasingly drops me. I take the opportunity and race toward Fidda.

“Oh no, come back,” Rafi says in a bored tone as I mount Fidda.

“Go,” I shout as I urge Fidda into a run. Fidda starts off with a run, making Rafi yell out his surprise. Did he really think she wouldn’t go anywhere? Fidda runs through the trees as a grin spreads on my face. It’s been so long since I’ve been able to do anything myself.

After ten minutes of Fidda weaving around trees and over logs, I can feel myself beginning to grow tired. I’m sweating and my heart is pounding. I never realized how bad of shape I’m in. Then again, I did just kill three demons-one being the Demon Prince-by myself, and vanquish a top-tier demon with Dawn’s help. Plus diving for so long likely didn’t help.

“Skye, you had your fun,” Rafi calls after me, barely behind us. “Remember you still have venom in your system. Your heart is beating quicker right now and it’s pumping through you much faster. Faster than your body can break down. You need to rest.”

“I can handle it, Rafi,” I pant, refusing to stop. I’m not weak. I can do this.

“No one said you couldn’t. For your safety, please allow me to take care of you until those bitemarks have left you. I’m not trying to be overbearing. I’m genuinely concerned.” Rafi begs, just out of reaching distance.

I open my mouth to respond and I don’t notice Fidda jump over a fallen log. I scream as I get tossed into the air, losing my balance. I feel Rafi’s hand snag the back of my shirt and yank me into his lap. Rafi loses his balance at that point and we fall off Midnight.

I land on Rafi’s chest, evident by his hard grunt. I moan as my heart tries to settle. It’s beating uncomfortably fast.

“Are you alright?” Rafi asks as I bury my face into his chest.

“Just lightheaded is all,” I tell him, calming myself as I close my eyes.

“Your heart is beating a bit too fast.” He remarks, putting his hands on the small of my back.

“That’s from the fall,” I lie smoothly, knowing full well it’s from the ride.

“I told you it would be too much.”

“It’s riding a horse.”

“With the amount of balance you need, and strength required to stay on, it’s not a small task when you’re in this condition.”

I put my hands on the ground on either side of his head to get ready to lift myself. When I open my eyes my heart leaps into my throat. I’m less than an inch from Rafi’s face. He’s frozen under my gaze, my eyes entranced by his ice-colored eyes. His scent is intoxicating, stilling my mind; blocking all thoughts from my head. My heart starts beating faster, and it’s certainly not from the fall.

Rafi seems just as spellbound; his eyes searching mine for some unknown answer. The sound of a stick breaking makes Rafi slightly lift his head, forgetting where I’m at, and pushing his lips to mine. A world of warmth trickles through me, spreading from my lips to my toes. I push into him, my stone hand caressing his cheek. After he gets over the initial surprise he moves his mouth with mine, creating a blinding heat that feels hot enough to meld us together.

I’ve never felt such an intense kiss before, even from Koan. It feels natural. My stomach is quaking, while my body demands more. My hand rests on his chest while my eyes seem to have taken on a soft glow.

The sound of galloping horse hooves intrudes our minds, and both of us briefly come back to our senses. I quickly roll off of Rafi and get to my feet, my breathing labored as I pant. What did I just do?

“Are you alright?” Gerrickson calls, still sounding slightly far away.

“Just fine,” Rafi says, getting to his feet. “Skye just fell off her horse.” He comes over and scoops me up, cradling me into his chest. “She’s a little winded from the ride and the fall.”

When I look up, Dawn is sitting in front of Gerrickson; allowing her to relax into him. She’s giving me a worried look so I give her a small smile. “I’m fine, I just overdid it.”

“At least the horses came back,” Gerrickson says, nodding behind us. Rafi and I turn, seeing Midnight standing on a broken stick with Fidda right behind him. At least it wasn’t Koan getting ready to kill us.

Dawn gives me a dirty look. “Was it worth it?”

I immediately redden. “Yep,” I tell her flatly, leaving no room for further comment.

Rafi slightly stiffens under my word, likely wondering if my words hide a double meaning. “Let’s get moving. I want as much space between us and that camp as much as possible.”

“Is there any other demon that has tracking abilities?” Gerrickson asks, sounding weary.

“Just one more. Morticia. However, she can only track demons, or things, below her caliber. She also can’t track Celestials. Also, she can track non-demons.” I say, giving him a pointed look. “So don’t leave anything behind Gerrickson. If she catches your scent, she can find you.”

I just catch the sight of his face falling before Rafi turns us around and gets us on Midnight. I’m honestly trying my hardest to remain relaxed, but I know my back is tense. I’m more than ever aware of him. What had I just done? If Koan even gets a whiff of Rafi’s scent on my lips, he’ll gladly murder his brother. I can’t believe I just kissed my ex’s brother. What is wrong with me? Am I so desperate for a non-toxic connection that I’d kiss one of my oldest friends? No matter my feelings, I cannot explore them. I have to stop them. I cannot let Koan kill Rafi. Not because of me.

I ride the rest of the day in silence, slouching into Rafi; allowing him to hold me. He’s gentle with me and seems to be lost in his thoughts as well. Dawn keeps looking back at me, so I keep my face set in a permanent pout. Seriously, what did I just do? Koan is going to kill me.

I flinch at that thought and push further into Rafi. Dawn catches that and raises her eyebrow. I shake my head at her questioning look. She gives me a serious look. I give her a tired look and flick my eyes toward Rafi. She gives me an expectant look, causing me to blush. Her jaw immediately drops at that point.

“What are you staring at?” Rafi asks Dawn, sounding more curious than annoyed.

“I-uh,” Dawn starts while I give her a hard look. “Skye just seems a little pale to me.”

I twist my face to look sickly a split second before Gerrickson looks back. He looks me over. “She does, but she probably just overdid it. We’ll stop to make camp in a few more hours.”

With that said we return to silence. Well for Rafi and me. Dawn and Gerrickson talk the entire time. I don’t think I’ve heard Dawn giggle in my life until today. It wasn’t even over something funny. Dawn must be delirious due to sleep deprivation.

Once the sun begins to set, we stop to make camp. I stay far away from Rafi and help Gerrickson to set up camp, while Dawn learns from Rafi how to get the horses settled for the night.

“Skye, do you want to gather some firewood, and I’ll get everything ready to cook dinner?” Gerrickson asks me, not thinking his question through. That or he wants to ask Rafi that burning question I notice in his eyes.

More than willing to leave and get a moment to myself, I nod and walk off into the woods. Numbly, I start picking up dead wood on the ground, while that scene runs through my head over and over again. How did it even happen? Rafi grabbed my shirt as I fell, and pulled me into his chest to protect me as we both fell.

I grab a tree to steady myself, as realization and anxiety tear through me. I hunch over, feeling as if I’m about to vomit. Rafi’s always been protecting me. Before Koan, during Koan, and after Koan. How did I miss that? When Koan found out I was alive, he became obsessive and controlling. He was afraid to lose me again and didn’t mind hurting me to keep me as his possession. That’s all I’ve ever been to him. Not Rafi. He looked surprised and is doing his best to keep me safe.

How did I fall in love with Koan? I can’t remember. As I try to force the memory, locked away ones start ambushing me, making me nearly cry out in pain from this revitalized emotional turmoil. With what feels like centuries, which are only minutes, I can remember so much of our life together now. Every part, good and bad. Why can’t I remember our courtship? I barely remember anything until after we were bledded. Did he do something to me?

Rafi is the exact opposite of Koan. They’ve always been polar opposites and have never gotten along. It wasn’t that surprising to me that Rafi was barely around when Koan and I got together. Now that I’m thinking about it, it was enough to be suspicious. I never noticed because Koan always kept me busy, and would get mad whenever I asked how Rafi was doing. If we were to have a training session with the Demon Soldiers, Koan was always present and would keep himself placed between Rafi and me. There was never a moment he wasn’t there when we were together. Even if he had a meeting with his father. One time he and Rafi got into a horrible fight when Rafi showed up to one of my training sessions unexpectantly. That was the day before Adam had captured Rafi. I never did find out why Rafi was there.

“Skye, are you okay?” Dawn calls, looking for me.

“Fine,” I croak, just realizing that I’ve been silently crying.

“Oh honey,” Dawn says, seeing me like this for the first time. “Did you remember something from your past?” she asks, putting her hand on my back.

I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts. “Yes,” I squeak. “I remember almost everything.”

Dawn sucks in her breath and speaks after a moment of silence. “What triggered them?”

It’s hard for me to push the words out of my mouth, forcing myself to come to terms with what had just happened. “Rafi and I kissed.”

“I knew it,” she hisses under her breath before correcting herself. “Sorry, that was the wrong response. How did that even happen?”

“Rafi tried to catch me when I fell off Fidda, and it ended up knocking us both to the ground. I landed on top of him. When he lifted his head to see what was approaching us, our lips accidentally touched. I was the one that leaned into the kiss after that happened.”

It falls silent as she processes it. “How was it,” she asks, unsure how to take it from there.

“Hot, like wildfire,” I tell her, my heart quickening as I remember it. “More passionate than anything Koan and I have ever experienced. That’s including the effects of the blooded haze.”

Again, she pauses. “Are you going to tell Rafi how you feel?”

“I can’t,” I tell her, my breathing quickening and becoming painful as a panic attack begins to rise. “I can’t,” I cry, agony breaking me. I drop to my knees as my breathing begins to hitch. “Koan,” I gasp, “Koan,” I repeat, trying to force the rest of the sentence. I can’t finish it. I can’t picture that scenario. It’d be too painful.

Dawn drops to her knees and pulls me into a hug, wrapping one arm around my waist and the other around my head. “Shh, it’s okay Skye. I understand.” I nod as I grip her arm, trying to kill my emotions. I can’t deal with this right now. I can’t.

When I have calmed down, Dawn kisses the top of my head. “Let’s go back to camp. You just go to sleep, and I’ll sneak you dinner later tonight.”