Braxton
I lied to her.
Or at least, I didn’t tell her the whole truth. When I saw her in that wet black bra and undergarment all kinds of emotion ran through. She looked so happy and free in that water, she had no worries when she bolted in. She wasn’t thinking about the trials and I was glad, but that feeling of relief wouldn’t last forever. We had to get to the island and with all those emotions rushing inside of me I knew I could do it.
My eyes feel lazy as we set foot on land.
So yeah, I lied over at least two things.
One: I have used my signet with my emotion as a trigger often, way more often than I said. I do it all the time. It is my source, strength, and weakness all at once. I have it under control most of the time, but sometimes my emotions do things with my magic I don’t ask for.
Two: I cannot only teleport and move objects around but also myself and people. No one knows, and I’ve never done it with anyone else, but it was worth a try. I just hope Eliane can keep it a secret. The king doesn’t need to find out. He already thinks I’ma disappointment and it wouldn’t change anything. And even if it did, he would use it to his advantage, putting my brother beneath me. The thought makes me shudder and I realize I’m gripping Eliane’s hand tightly.
“Sorry,” I blur out. Two honey brown eyes look at me sparred open and her jaw hangs to the floor. She must have felt my walls break down a bit because I can feel her break in and burst through my mental doors.
“You lied, didn’t you?” she states, water welling up in her eyes, but she blinks her tears away. She sniffles her nose and releases my hand in shock as I try to hold on tight. My throat feels thick and dry as I try to swallow away the knot that I stuck there.
“I didn’t want to get your hopes up.” I shrug. Something flickers in her eyes.
“What do you mean get my hopes up? I am learning to do it anyway. You have no idea what I am working for—what I am trying to do. You hate me anyway, so why do you care if I fail?” she snaps, taking a step back. Her whole body tenses, and I hear her breathing loudly.
“I wish I hated you.”
The words leave my mouth in whispers and I already regret them as her eyes wide. She points her finger, pushing it in my hard chest. She shakes her head furiously.
“No, don’t you dare play this game with me. I hear rumors about you too, Braxton. Don’t ask to kill me first and act in front of me like you wouldn’t do anything for the win.”
She growls—actually growls. I thought that was my thing to do. “I am not letting you play that game on me. Don’t act like you care,” she spits out in a soft cry, looking down. She turns around and starts walking away from me. I have no answer to that, but she got it all wrong. How can she even think of me that way?
“If you really think I am that kind of a monster, why do you keep coming back,” I spit out in a shout. I clench my teethtogether as I chew on a cheek. The taste of iron fills my mouth as my heavy feet drag me forwards. A sting in my chest appears and I fight the tears welling in my eyes. I never cry and neither am I doing it now. Does she really believe I am a monster? After all the little moments we had? And why does it hurt so goddamn bad? I tried to deny how good it felt to be liked by someone, but I know the sting in my chest is revealing the truth. My body feels drained, but I have nothing to do about it. I follow her as she takes the lead, leaving me in the dark.
We step out of another carriage in front of the small village Taploz has. Eliane hasn’t said a word. She jumps out, ignoring my presence as she strolls through the street looking for street signs. Over the tops of a fence, me and my 6.5 feet find a street sign saying Vrynella. I want to talk to her, fix it. Because I wouldn’t mind the quiet when I first met her, but not hearing her makes me sick to my stomach.
“Over there,” I announce. Eliane’s gaze meets mine as I nod my head in the right direction. I start to move, but she just stands there. Her hands are balled into fists, and worry crosses her eyes.
“I am scared,”Eliane whispers. She sounds vulnerable and my feet stop. It is why she says the words in my mind. That I know at least. Because I do it too. It feels less real speaking them that way. More intimate. But you know for sure someone listens. Someone understands.
She blinks fast and looks up at me. The light of the street pattern shines on her face.
“We are going together, Honey. You can totally do this,”I comfort her. I have never been good at comforting people, but I have been trying to do it a lot around Eliane lately.
“I don’t remember my parents,”she breathes out shaky and a tear falls to the ground. The words finally make somethingclick together for me. I knew her anger must have come from somewhere. All that build up tension for this moment came out in anger. She isn’t angry often. She is strong opined and maybe a bit bossy sometimes, but under that mask is a soft and energetic person.
“You have already found your own father, Honey. This isn’t going to change anything if you don’t want it to.”I wrap my arm around her, and she steps closer. I can hear sob as she worms closer and presses her face in that one spot next to my shoulder. Tears wet my fighting leather and a muffled cry escapes her throat.
It is the most horrendous thing I have ever heard.
A sort of ache I have never felt before fills my chest. I was hurt by her when she called me a monster, but hearing her cry hurts worse. I need it to stop. Emotion rises inside of me and sobbing sounds fill my ears. My hands glide around her waist. Her waist feels strong and slim, even under the fighting leather I can feel her muscles and skin move. One hand scans her waist, exploring everything while the other brushes her hair.
“If you don’t want to see them, I will make sure they don’t see you.”I make her clear. Doe eyes look up at me as she sniffles and scrunches her cute button nose. It makes it hard for me to count her freckles. The last time I counted them only on her nose there were at least 43—and then I haven’t even counted the other ones on her face.
Her face is like a work of art.
“No, I am ready. I have to see them sooner or later anyway. I just hate that they didn’t want to fight for me.” She sniffles, stepping out of my hug. And this time she speaks the words out loud, revealing she is ready to believe her words. “They didn’t want to fight for me, and worst of all, they took my freedom,” she snaps, all kinds of emotions rushing through her. I can feel it through our bond. It confuses me already. I can’t imagine whatshe must feel. She feels so much. Like she is being washed away sometimes by a waterfall of feelings. She feels so much herself, but also is really empathic and feels a lot for others.
It makes her beautiful—human.
But I am not sure I could handle that much emotion. I am hot-headed and hardened sometimes. I know that. I am not stupid, but I can’t let my emotions rule me, not the way Eliane let her emotions rule her. It will break me and so will the other people around me.
