Page 17 of Her Ivory Flame

“Because you have a big heart, and you care about others when you shouldn’t.” He kept his voice low. “Always do what is best for you Alyra, don’t worry about anyone else.” She felt him pull away and place his hand on her cheek to tilt her head up. “Except when it comes to me, cause well… I’m the best.”

His smug smile made her chuckle through her tears, her hand playfully pushing against him. “I need sleep.” she confessed, hereyes now burning from crying and making them more irritated. She knew she should eat the food on the table, but exhaustion was taking over and Silas didn’t force her.

Without another word he scooped her up unexpectedly, a small squeal sounded from her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder while he carried her to the bed.

Silently he set her down before walking towards the other side of the bed, pulling his shirt off and joining her under blankets. He laid his arm out to her, a silent invitation for her to curl up against him and she accepted it. She laid on his chest, her hand resting just above his heart casually.

“You really think I can get it back again? My power?” She whispered softly.

“It’s in your blood, Alyra, which makes it a part of you and your body. We just need to figure out how to unlock it quickly, ” he mumbled back. “But to answer your question,” he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, “yes, I believe in you.”

She nuzzled closer to him and felt his arm tighten around her in response. They were friends, and that was what they would continue to be, no matter how much the line between friendship and something more seemed to blur.

Chapter 8

Apounding on the door scared her awake, Silas jolting himself up next to her with his arm protectively going across her. She looked outside to see the sun barely rising over the city, the orange hues illuminating the room and the bed. Silas let out a calming breath and looked at her.

“It's Kaden.” He sighed before pulling the blankets off and walking to the door to unlock it. Moments later Kaden’s large build entered the room in thin training leathers and only one sword on his back.

“Sorry Kaden, it was a long night.” Silas shrugged, sauntering back to her.

She was still in bed, sitting up with the blanket pulled up on her chest and realized all she had on still was Silas’s shirt.

Kaden glanced at her, seeing she wasn’t ready and parted his lips to speak. “You have 5 minutes of privacy, then I come back whether you are dressed or not.” His tone was still dull like the day before and turned quickly before exiting back out the main door without another glance.

“Well this will be fun.” she muttered.

“He’s a good guy.” Silas shrugged. “He just has a hard outer shell from what I’m told. ”

He tossed her some pants out of her drawer along with undergarments, Raine putting them away for her while she was in the bath last night. She grabbed them and put them on, the brown leather pants feeling soft on her skin.

“Well, he will be a fun one to take a crack at,” she laughed.

“Careful Alyra, can’t have you liking him more than me.” His familiar cocky grin forming on his face.

“Oh don’t worry.” She smirked as she walked towards him, grabbing his chin playfully. “You’re prettier than him.” She winked, even though it was technically a lie, and lightly tapped her hand to the side of his face playfully. She kept the black shirt on and tucked the excess into her pants.

“Damn right I am.” he chuckled, pulling a new shirt over his head.

She had just finished lacing up her boots by the bed when the door opened and Kaden came strolling back in, his eyes goingstraight to her. She rolled her eyes and stood walking towards him, grabbing her sword and axe propped against the wall.

“Let’s go,” Kaden barked.

“Easy dude,” Silas warned.

“We need to start training right away. If we are to get her magic back then we need to work, not play house.” Kaden glared from her to Silas, eyes narrowing.

“Don’t push her,” Silas growled, his body tensing.

“Don’t coddle her,” Kaden snapped back.

“It’s ok,” she said walking back towards Silas and placing a hand on his arm. “You forget how I grew up training. The Valkyrie training was cruel and unyielding with people dying if they failed. I will be fine, I’m just rusty remember?”

She stared up into his eyes, his jaw tense but relaxed slightly as she smiled at him.

“I’ll see you tonight,” she said and rose on her toes to give him a small peck on the cheek.

She walked out the door without giving Silas another look, Kaden right behind her. Something about him set her body on alert every time he was around, but she couldn’t tell if it was a good thing or bad thing. She figured she would find out as they walked to the training grounds in silence.