by A. S. Oren
He doesn't even bat an eye. "I asked what you were going to eat?"
"I don't know. Probably the garden salad and a strawberry cream soda."
"No steak again? You normally always get that two or three times a week."
Oh dear Sun god, this version of me eats meat too? I thought that one time down in the Outcasts tunnels would be the last time. Do I play it off as a diet thing, would their version of me be worried about my figure? “I don’t really want it. I’m trying to watch my figure.” That just sounded wrong.
Dante, Horace and Amr laugh. “You don’t need to watch anything, Rosenip, you’re perfect. Have a steak. We have our normal training session tomorrow; we’ll burn off whatever you eat today. You need to the protein, have it.”
“I’ll have a small steak and a salad, will that make you happy?”
He smiles and nods.
Maybe I can hide most of it under my salad. A few bites won’t kill me, just for show. An entire slab of red meat may send the bathroom or me to Dr. Quinn the entire night though.
“I’m surprised you’re not getting the spaghetti and meat balls, Big bro. I know how much you loved them when we were kids.”
It’s Dante’s turn to supress a gag. He puts the back of his hand over his mouth. Minos smiles. “I hated spaghetti and meatballs. All because you decided to transfigure them into earth warms one night.”
Minos holds up his hands in defence. You know I didn’t mean to do that. At five we can barely control our magic, we had just found out what elements we were.”
“What element are you anyway?” I ask. Trying to divert the conversation away from earth warms. Dante might spew if it continues. I wouldn’t put it past Minos that he wants that.
“Water.”
Of course he is. As changing as the tide. The servant comes by to take out orders.
A guffaw echoes throughout the room. Lusk sits a few tables away, again with the group of guys I don’t recognize. He looks to me with grey eyes. I wonder what is so funny. I haven’t noticed it until now, but the scars on his cheek are back to full length, as if I never fixed them back in the barn. Why would it matter to Roseman and the rest of them what size his scars are? I wish I could heal them for him now.
Wait, I can heal now. Maybe if I use my Angel powers on one of the guys it will bring back their memories. Dante will be the easiest to get away from the group and into one of the passages, so that The Watchers don’t see.
Healed Mind
The piece of steak touches my tongue and in an instant I want to spit it back out. How could anyone want to eat something that tastes so bad? I push it to the side of my mouth and force myself to chew without really tasting it.
I preoccupy myself with cutting the steak into small pieces and taking a bite of salad. At least this dish comes with a bread roll too. Otherwise, I would be starving still by the time I get back to my dorm. I hide most of the cut up pieces of steak under the bigger leaves of my salad. Hopefully it just looks like I’m playing with my food.
“Remember that time . . .” Minos starts. My mind has already drowned him out in the sea of voices around us.
I roll my eyes. How many stories of when he and Dante were kids does this guy have? Most of them aren’t even good or cute memories. He keeps bringing up fears Dante has had or where his shortcomings were in training. If he were truly his twin, why would he do that? I barely remember my time with Amr before we were five, but I don’t go around bringing up the fact that he wet the bed. Not that he remembers we’re twins right now anyway.
"This is surprisingly good," Minos says as he takes a sip of his pumpkin soup. I also liked it when I tried it a few nights ago.
"Of course it is. Would you expect anything less from the Spearwood Chefs?" Horace asks as if it should be obvious that Spearwood only supplies the best. I look at my plate so that I won't make a weird expression. If only he knew what was really going on in this place, he wouldn't put so much faith into it.
Minos takes another sip of his soup before nodding. "I had heard that the school had the top of the line everything, but you can never truly trust word of mouth."
Amr uses his fork to steal bite of my steak; he could eat all of it, if he wants. I wonder what kind of relationship we have in his head. Obviously, we're close, or he wouldn't be so ballsy about stealing bites of my food, but I don't think they made us siblings. I don't know. I wish I could talk about it with him, but it will have to wait until I can heal him next. Dante is definitely the best choice right now to unbrainwash first, or at least try to. In return, I steal a piece of his cheese tortellini. Sun god that is good. I should have gotten that. He just smiles before stealing some chicken from Horace.
Horace sends him a glare. "Hey, I was saving that piece!""
Amr finishes chewing and winks at the boy. "You still love me though, so it doesn't matter."
Horace sighs before also stealing a piece of tortellini. "If I have too. I'm in love with a goofball," he mumbles, before putting the piece in his mouth. Amr laughs, leans over and kisses Horace on the cheek; his cheeks turn red. I laugh.
Guilt rolls in my chest. Should I fix them? Sure Amr doesn't remember we're twins, but he seems so happy like this .He finally has gotten what he has wanted. He didn’t have to tell me that he liked Horace more than a friend. I saw how he acted after the battle with Aibek. What if Horace stops liking him once they are fixed?
"Can't you two do that in private?" Minos asks.
He did not just utter that. I let out a sigh. I must keep myself in check. If I use my powers, or get violent right now The Watchers would know. "If you have a problem with them showing affection, you're welcome to leave this table. No one has you glued down to the chair," I say. I stare into his eyes, daring him to try me.
He stares unblinkingly and leans back into his chair. “I see. I will watch what I say from now on, so I don’t offend you.”
I push my food around more. .” I point to both Dante and Minos with my fork. “I still can’t believe you two came from the same egg and sperm. You may look like the mirror image of each other, but you’re nothing alike
“Yeah, I have the same feeling,” Dante says as he pushes his empty plate away. He had the same as me.
“Ouch,” Minos says.
“I’m not going to hide my feelings. You can’t come walking back into my life after eleven years and think that you can be part of my group, or my life. You need to prove yourself.” Dante scoots his chair closer to mine. I take his body language as a cue and lean into him. I place my head on his shoulder. He puts and arm around me. I think he’s doing it more for his own comfort than a way to try and ‘claim’ me in front of his brother. It will help with keeping up appearances as well.
Minos just stares at Dante for a long time as if trying to tell him through thought what he wants to say. Finally, he opens his mouth and actually says it, “Such a Silver user. Ever the leader, aren’t you big bro? Making demands and expecting them to be followed.”
I lift my chin to whisper in Dante’s ear. "I'm ready to get out of here." My hot breath ghosts over his ear and his Adam's apple bobs as the hand resting at my side tightens its grip ever so slightly. Two sides rage for dominance within me. Onside likes how I'm teasing him, a small thrill fills my chest, but the other side wants to shy away, not wanting to believe that I am doing this.
"Okay," he says in return. He starts to stand and looks to Horace and Amr. "Ready to go?" he asks them.
Crap. I can't have him alone if they are around. I'm sure he wants to watch another movie with them tonight. It has sort’ve become our ritual of the evening and then they all fall asleep in my living room. I like that, because then I don't have to be alone. When will this fear of being alone leave? I can't be like this forever. I grab for his hand and stand with him. I lean into him again, pressing my body against his arm. "I was hoping it could just be you and me tonight." I daringly kiss his neck, dragging my teeth over the warm skin.
He nods, finally catchi
ng my drift. I wonder if this is how the me inside his head acts. Am I keeping an accurate portrayal of the girl they have everyone believing I am? "Actually, we'll have to do a movie tomorrow night, guys," he says.
Amr winks to me and gives a nod. As if saying I should go get me a piece of Dante. A giggle escapes me before I have a chance to muffle it. Horace nods as well. "I think you have the right idea. We'll get together for a movie and Red Vines? Tomorrow night.
I grin. "Of course. Red Vines, what the hell can’t they do? I can't help but remember the Very Potter Musical Sequel we watched last night after Back to the Future."
"Maybe you two can show me how to get back to the dorms from here?" Minos asks Horace.
Horace raises an eyebrow. After the comment, he made to them about kissing in private; I bet Horace wants to put him through one of these walls. "Sure. We could show you how to get to the dorms from here." He stands and smirks subtlety to the two of us and takes Amr's hand in his. Oh, I wish I could see what the two of them are going to do to him, but I need to heal Dante. I need to see if this will work.
I tighten my grip on Dante's hand. "Let's go," I say, while moving in front of him and guiding the way.
As we leave the dining hall, he moves behind me and puts his arms around me as we walk. His chin rest on top of my head. Something about it all makes a warmness fill my stomach. A part of me does feel bad about leading him on. He isn't going to get to have sex like he thinks he is, but I'm hoping he won't be to upset about that fact. I doubt he will want me after I fix him that will make things easier on some level. I don't have to keep leading him on, making him think that I love him. We'll still have to fake our relationship for The Watchers though, hopefully that won't be too hard. I look around him to see if the others are following. They were going to show him to the dorms after all. They are nowhere in sight. I wonder which labyrinth of halls they will lead him down before losing him somehow and making him wander the halls until he’s smart enough to realize that he has a P.A. that will help him. Did they give him a P.A. yet? I’m sure they did.
I open the door to my dorm. It only takes a second for Dante to turn me around and kiss me while his shuts door with his foot. It bangs closed. His lips are soft and warm against mine. With my eyes closed, I can almost lose myself in it. I try to picture Maverick, like I have every time Dante kisses me. But this time it’s harder. Dante's scent prevents me from imagining Maverick. The undertone of wood spices invades my senses. His hands hold my waist, guiding me backwards to one of the couches. The back of my legs hit the edge of a cushion, and I fall into it, he follows hardly breaking the kiss for even a full second. His arms brace him above me, stopping him from crushing me.
My arms go around his neck and one of his hands travels to my side again, bunching up the fabric of my shirt. Why am I not stopping this? Why does it feel so good? I hardly know him. I had history with Maverick. That's why I thought there was passion with him. He breaks the kiss. His lips travel to my jaw and hover over my ear. He places a kiss next to my ear and whispers, "I've missed this, Rosenip."
All I can do is give a mumble of sound. It takes everything in me to force my brain back its senses and to what I need to do. His hot hand touches the bare skin of my stomach and I shiver. A small laugh comes from the back of his throat.
"What?" I ask.
"You're just so small and cute sometimes. I feel like I could break you if I touched you wrong.” His amber orbs look down into mine and I smile. Dear Sun god it is going to be hard to stop this. In a blink of an eye, I flip us and he stares at me with wide eyes. His hands go to my sides again.
"You could never break me, D. It's just not possible.” I look over my shoulder at my closed bedroom door. I reach into my shirt pocket and pull out Kaliyah's card. She unfolds and looks at the two of us. I'm surprised she can keep herself looking so stoic.
"How may I help you, Avalon?" she asks.
"Could you do the normal and hotwire the alarm system on my room?"
She pauses for almost a second too long for a normal P.A. "Yes, of course, Avalon.” Another long pause and the door to my room opens. "Your friend is free to pass over the threshold now.”
Dante grins up at me before he holds me as he sits up. I squeal as he proceeds to throw me over his shoulder, like some kind of caveman. "Dante! Put me down!"
"I will . . . in just a second."
He walks over the threshold into my room and again closes the door with his foot. I laugh as he throws me onto my bed. I'm going to have to stop this really soon now. In one swift move, he pulls his shirt over his head. Heat travels into my cheeks and I force myself not to look away. The golden scale still meld with his tan skin. They didn't remove it. I sit up and crawl to the edge of the bed. I grab the belt loop of his slacks and pull him to me. I touch the scale with my fingertips. Its smooth to the touch. "How did you get this again?" I ask.
"I don't remember, it’s just always been there, you know that."
I sit up straighter to kiss him. It almost feels natural. "I have something I want to show you."
He lifts an eyebrow and smirks. "Oh yeah? And what could that be?"
His frisky mood is about to disappear. I get up from the bed and go over to the small door of the passage. I open it.
"Whoa, that's cool. I didn't know that was there." He walks over to me. "Where does it go?"
"I don't know.” I grab his hand and lead him into the dark tunnel.
I only go in a few feet before pushing him against a wall. A part of me wants to kiss him again before he no longer wants to do that anymore. I guess being intimate with someone like this is filling a void I have within me.
"Oh, you want to be kinky tonight. I can play that game," he says with a chuckle.
"I'm sorry," I say.
He frowns in the light shining into the tunnel from my room. "What are you sorry for?"
I shush him, before pressing my lips to his. This will be the last time, so I might as well make it long and enjoyable. I run my hands into his long, black, hair and pull his head down, so that I don't have to strain as much to reach his lips. His hands go to my butt. He lifts me up and my legs circle his waist. He presses me against the opposite wall. I pull on his lower lip and touch my tongue to his. He growls and pulls away to kiss my neck. One of his hands comes up to go underneath my shirt. His fingers grasp at my bra and I gasp. Kissing him one last time was a mistake. I didn't think this through; no kiss is a simple kiss with him.
I unwrap my legs from around his hips and drop to the floor. Dante doesn't miss a beat as he pulls at the hem of shirt. I place a hand on his, stopping him. He looks at me confused. "I'm sorry," I say again.
"Why do you keep saying sorry?" His voice gravelly.
I give him a chaste kiss on the cheek and cup the other cheek with my head. "Because of what I'm about to do to you. I don't know if will work, but in the end, I doubt you will want to do this again. “I focus on healing power I called on back in the barn. I white light shines from my hand and I place the other one on the other side of his head, adding more power.
A blackness encircles my vision as his memories come to play out before my eyes. Some are the fake memories. Us kissing, sneaking around . . . having sex. My cheeks and neck flood with heat. Other memories, real ones, play out. When he first really met me. How he met Triton, Horace and Amr on the first day of school and he knew them to be members of the Vox.
Him sitting front of a massive computer screen and looking over their files. Each of their backgrounds written out. He even knew about Bullock and Lusk before they revealed themselves as members of the Vox. There are more, but I don't recognize them.
Then, he stands in a lavish room of royal blues and purples. Crushed velvet makes up most the furniture with black woods to accent it. Massive bookshelves, bigger than any I have ever seen, adorn the sixty-foot walls. He holds in one hand a plate with a sandwich and at least a dozen pills on it. In the other, a glass of water.
A few feet in front of
him, surrounded by towering piles of books and strewn papers, sits a woman with her back hunched over a desk. A fisted hand rests in her ebony hair as she mutters and scribbles furiously at the paper in front of her. Dante sighs, before walking up to her and gently placing the food and drink on the barely cleared edge of the desk.
"Mother," he says.
She doesn't acknowledge him. Her writing and muttering become faster.
"Mother." He touches her back and she jumps. She glances up at him with light brown eyes, before going back to her writing. "Don't bother me, Spark. I'm busy. I'm on the edge of a breakthrough.”
He frowns at her, watching her scribble for a moment longer. He rest his hand on her back again. "I know, Mother, but I have to speak to you. It can't wait."
She sighs and lays down her pen before sitting up straighter. "What is it?"
"First, start eating this; you need to take you medications soon." He hands her a half of the sandwich and she stares at it before taking a small bite. "I'm leaving tomorrow, Mother. For Spearwood. We probably won't see each other for a while. "
"You've done your research? Are prepared to go to that horrible place?" she asks.
"It’s what I trained for my entire life. I have no choice but to go. Avalon will be there soon, one of her protectors entered the school last year to prepare, but he is a Royal. It would be better suited for me to be there when she enters the school with the rest of us who aren’t Royalty. That’s been the plan for a decade now.”
She takes another bite, appearing hungrier than she did before. “You should have been her protector since Nedgro looked for ones to grow up with her. I don’t know why he didn’t go with you, you were the best choice.”
“They call him Edgar now, Mother.”
“And I still regret that you couldn’t be a full Royal and experience the world you deserved.”
Dante places a hand on her shoulder and crouches down. “Mother, if you had not become who you truly felt you were inside, there would be no me. I would not change you for anything.”