“Maybe you’re right,Venom.” The crunching of his boots on the ground comes to a halt as he turns to face me.
“Don’t call me that!” Ryder orders, his voice a low rasp which makes my heart skip a beat.
“How do you expect me to know you, when you have so many secrets!” I exclaim, and his features soften.
“Asha.” He cups my face, his voice soft enough to make me gasp. “I hide things from you because I want to keep you safe.” He runs his hands through his hair, and the dark in his eyes whirls with a silent fear. Fear of losing me again. “And I didn’t tell you about Venom, because I’m not him anymore.” He exhales and turns away from me, looking up at the crescent moon hanging in the starry night.
“But I want to feel like I know you…All of you.” I walk the distance between us and place an arm around his waist, resting my head on his bicep.
“All you need to know is that I love you.” He kisses the top of my head, and my stomach flutters. “This Ryder now loves you.” He points to his chest, making me smile. “And I’m the only Ryder that counts.”
“There’s nothing you could do or say that could make me not love you,” I whisper into his lips. His tongue drags slowly across his bottom lip, and suddenly it feels as if the space between us is too large. “Kiss me,” I plead, standing on my tiptoes, his hot breath caressing me.
“I like it when you tell me what to do,” He growls, the black swirl in his eyes twisting like a tornado. “Beg me,” his hand traces the skin on my inner thigh, making me gasp. It rises higher and higher until it caresses the bundle of nerves between my thighs.
He feels electric.
I moan into him, but his hand drifts away. “Beg,” he demands again, pulling his bottom lip into his teeth.
“Please…kiss me.” I plead again. “Please—
The growl that escapes him is animalistic as his lips crash onto mine for the first time in weeks. I have longed for this, dreamt about the sweetness of his lips on mine; the incandescent feel of our bodies pressed tightly—so tightly—against each other.
His hand trails down my back and stops at my waist, sending shivers down my spine as his tongue enters my mouth. My heartbeat races as I trace the hard ridges of his abs with my fingertips and tug on his belt. I let out a moan with every wet kiss he leaves on my neck. I feel his cheekbones rise as he smirks at my vocalisation, though his fingers don’t stop rubbing between my legs.
He can’t be close enough.
“Are you sure?” Ryder whispers in my ear; the sound ripples through my whole body, making my back arch.
“We have five days, best believe I’m making the most of them,” I whisper back, and he chuckles before smashing his lips intensely on mine, walking us forward, lips still tethered, until the small of my back meets the cold ridges of a tree trunk. Heplaces his knee between my thighs, and my hips buckle against it, sending tiny waves of pleasure rippling through my body. His trousers tighten as my hand squeezes the hard shape blooming beneath them. Now a moan escapes him, and a small smirk plasters onmyface. He massages my breasts, fiddling with my nipples, as his other finger enters me.
“You’re so wet for me,” He breathes, and I gasp as he plunges his digit deep into me in a sweet rhythm. I kiss him harder, wanting all of him as soon as possible, but before I can get what I desire, his body stiffens, and he pulls away from me.
For a heartbeat i just stare at him, perplexed, trying to catch my breath.
“What’s the matter?” I ask, my heart pounding against my ribcage.
“Something doesn’t feel right… Something’s wrong with River.” Ryder states and looks down at his body as if assessing it, his cheeks a little flustered. “We need to get back… Now!”
***
It’s hard to keep up with Ryder. His feet are moving quickly with determination and worry. There’s a dull ache in my chest, an anxiety creeping up the back of my throat. If River really is in danger, we are walking ourselves right into it.
“How do you know something is wrong?” I call out to him, my ragged breaths overpronouncing each word.
“Something just doesn’t feel right,” The wind takes Ryder’s voice as he wades a few metres ahead of me, his boots crunching under the sediment of the forest. I can see Sun Castle, the sun’s rays varnishing it in an incandescent light, but the ache still follows, an eeriness sticking to us like shadows. “Can you portal to his room?” Ryder asks as I catch up to him.
“He shares his dorm with Ty; it’s too risky,” I respond, the melodic sound of birds contradicting how we are both feeling. “We’ll have to go to my room and take it from there,” I say, the vortex opening in the palm of my hand. Ryder just nods, only once, and his teeth tug at his bottom lip slightly. I can tell there is trepidation in his demeanour. My heart beats a little harder.
My floorboards screech at me as we enter. Nala’s bed is a canvas of untucked sheets and pillows with no body finding comfort in them.
“That’s strange, Nala’s never up this early,” I speak out loud, touching the fabric as if it could talk back to me. The sun rises through the splinters in the curtains, followed by the ring of first bells, but the usual sound of footsteps and chatter that normally floods the halls is dulled, the doors in the corridor don’t open and close, and no hungry students stampede down the stairs ready for their first meals. Ryder heads over to the door and opens it just enough for one of his dark caramel eyes to peer through the gap. He waits for a moment before pushing the wood at the hinges; it opens wide with a creak.
“Where is everyone?” He asks, looking out into the empty hall. My wrist wraps around his instinctively, my eyes also staring perplexed at the emptiness.
“I have no idea, it’s never this quiet,” I respond, the anxiety slugging up my throat again. He takes a step into the hall, and I follow, like two ghosts haunting an abandoned building. Ryder doesn’t even try to hide in a castle he doesn’t belong, there are no prying eyes to expose his darker gifts. “The dining hall, that’s where everyone should be.” I point to the stairs in front of us and lead Ryder down to the first quarter, then into the dining hall. He pushes at the doors we pass on the way, checking for any sign of life.
The double doors to the dining hall are pinned open, ready for the expectant crowd, but they don’t come. The sounds ofour footsteps against the oak flooring echo off the cathedral-style ceiling and around the empty castle. No other noises are present, not even a peep. The orbs of light that hang above each table flicker like static, casting an eerie strobe light on the plates of food—baked breads, spreads and other breakfast-based foods like cereals and bacon line the three oak tables, accompanied by cutlery, glasses and jugs of juice. I pick up a loaf of bread and gently squeeze it between my fingers, the spongy texture bouncing at my touch whilst flour clings to my fingertips. “It’s still warm.” I think aloud as Ryder investigates further. He drags his index finger across the edge of the middle table as he walks along it, staring intensely at the wood and his surroundings, then inspecting the tiny crumbs on his fingertips.
