by G. Bailey
“Will Ella give you the last one? We have all ours here, in my room,” Noah asks.
“Of course she will, and I will sneak into her room tonight to get it,” I say.
“Then the next thing is that we need a distraction. A big one, because waking goddesses up is going to gain attention,” Quin suggests.
“If we awake the good goddess, it means we wake the bad too,” Tavvy says quietly into the room. “Is that a price everyone is willing to pay for Sin? She was bad, evil, and there must be a reason she is locked away with her sister.”
“I will pay any price,” I quickly say before anyone else can. I know it’s crazy, I truly do, but crazier things have been done in the name of love. Possibly. Though awakening a crazy, evil old goddess to get Sin back might be near the top of that list.
“We all will pay the price, Sleepy,” Knox interjects, and I nod.
“I owe Sin, and all of you. I will help and do anything I can to make this work,” Quinton says. “I know it won’t make you forgive me or ever trust me again, but I have to start somewhere.”
“I’m in too,” Tavvy states. “You guys have quickly become like family to me, and I won’t let you do this alone.”
“Then what distraction did you have in mind, Quin?” I ask him and rest back in the seat as he starts explaining his idea. One way or another, we are getting Sin back. I won’t rest until it happens.
After a long discussion between us all about a distraction, I leave Knox, Noah, Tavvy and Quinton alone to finish off the details. It should work, or at least I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t. Now I want to tell Tobias, that is if I can find him first. I walk down the new stone paths between the houses made of stone, where I can hear people talking as soft light appears out of their windows.
I walk quickly to the end of the path, which curves out to the stream, where a guy is standing with his back to me, watching the water. His shirt is missing, so I can admire his toned back, the curve of every muscle and his tight waist. His dark, messy brown hair is lighter in some parts, looking like the very sun has kissed a boy destined for the moon. Moments like this, watching him when he doesn’t know anyone is looking, are special because I really see him. Not the Tobias who struggled all this time. Not the Tobias who was lost in grief and pain. I see him and how beautiful he is. How calm and alluring and safe. I take a step closer, which alerts him to the fact I’m here, and he turns his head back to see me, a big smile slowly appearing on his face.
“Madilynn Dormiens, how lovely it is to see you here,” he teases me, holding a hand out for me to take when I get close.
“Tobias Tale, it is lovely to see you as well,” I tease right back as I take his hand, and he tugs me against his chest. My one hand goes to right above his heart, where there is the same z tattoo that they all have.
“Why do you all have a z tattoo on your torsos?” I ask him, running my finger over the z, and he shivers under my hand.
“It’s for you. When we had to leave you, we wanted a reminder who owns our hearts and always will. The z is because it reminds us of our sleepy girl,” he gently tells me, his cheeks looking a little pink as I can sense he is a little embarrassed to tell me that. My heart beats fast as I smile widely at him. Instead of saying anything, I move my hand to the side and lean my head down, pressing a kiss to the tattoo. I feel his heart beating so fast under my lips for that second, and when I look up, I see nothing but a fire burning in his eyes.
“I love you, Tobias Tale,” I admit to him. Tobias slowly slides his hands into my hair, before placing his lips inches away from mine as we stare at each other. I nervously stand still, hoping he feels the same way as I do. I’m sure he does, but I need to hear it. I need Tobias close now more than ever before.
“I have always loved you. I knew it the moment you fell off your bike when we were eight and you cried in my arms. I knew even then that how I felt for you was different from anything else. It was real, it was special, and I lost track of that for a while until you found me again. Now I will never lose track of us again. I will fight for us, and I will love you forever if you will have me. I don’t mind that you love my brothers; I know we aren’t the normal kind of love, and that is okay with me. I just want you like I always have done,” I stop him before he can say anything else by kissing him and throwing my arms around his neck. Tobias growls into my mouth as he picks me up, grabbing my ass tightly as I press myself into him more. Tobias carries me to the side of a building, pressing me against it as he arches his body into mine.
“We could get caught here,” I say, even though part of me likes the danger.
“You’re right,” Tobias mumbles against my lips, moving one of his hands from my ass to slide up my chest. “Want to go inside?” I find myself only able to nod, and he carries me off the wall. I only look back as Tobias kicks a door open and lets me down in a small storage room. The walls are lined with food, bottles of water, and blankets. I grab a few of the blankets, laying them down on the floor as Tobias shuts the door, and he locks it. There isn’t much light in here now, just the dim sunlight coming through the small windows at the top of the room.
Neither of us says anything, because there is nothing to say as we stare at each other. Feeling brave, I unclip my cloak, letting it fall to the floor on the blanket. I gather the bottom of my shirt, pulling it up over my head and loving the way Tobias looks at me. How his eyes drift over all of my bare skin, like he is committing it to memory. I want to tell him he doesn’t need to do that; I’m his, and I will be for a long time. I want us to have forever.
I slowly push my leggings off before stepping out of them and feeling quite nervous as he walks over to me, kicking off his shoes as he does. The joggers he is wearing are low on his hips, only really held up by his hip bones.
“I love you, I really fucking do, Sleepy,” Tobias tells me as he lowers me to the floor, and then he kisses me. I moan as he presses his body on top of mine as he devours my mouth, and all sense of anything but Tobias is swiftly gone. Tobias kisses his way down my jaw to my neck and then to my breasts. He unclips my bra at the front before pushing it out of the way as he kneels between my legs. The way he looks at me in this moment is perfect. It does wonders for the ego because he looks at me like I’m the best present he has ever had.
I moan as he runs his fingers over my nipples, making them hard as steel, which he seems to like. Keeping one hand on my breast, teasing my nipple, he slides the other hand down between my legs. I chuckle as he rips my panties off like they are nothing and chucks them to the side.
He soon makes my laugh turn into moans as he uses his fingers to make everything feel amazing. Tobias sure knows what he is doing. My back arches as an orgasm slams into me, making everything blurry as I feel Tobias move his hand away and climb onto me, pressing his length into my core. I kiss him as he slides inside me in one smooth movement, which feels incredible. A pleasure-filled sigh escapes my lips because I feel like this was always meant to be. Tobias thrusts in and out of me, hard and fast, drawing out both our pleasure as he kisses me. He only slows down towards the end, lifting his head and making sure to keep his eyes locked onto mine as he comes.
“God, Sleepy,” he gasps against my lips. I hold him as close and as tightly as he holds me back. Tobias and I might have had a difficult time to get to this point, but I know there is no way I’m letting him go now. He pulls out of me and cuddles up close. There is no sound but our breathing as we lie together, and no words are needed. We just needed each other.
Chapter 21
“What do you think?” Tavvy asks, smoothing down the dark green dress she has on. It is breathtakingly stunning, especially against her pale skin and long curly blonde hair that flows around her shoulders. Quinton’s idea of a ball to celebrate our findings of the goddess went down well with Rueben, who happily agreed, because it meant his goons could spend more time exploring the rooms of the students while they weren’t in them. The last week has been nothing but dark tales bargin
g into rooms, emptying bags, and searching the entire academy for the daggers. Unfortunately for Rueben, all the daggers are in Knox’s dimension and safe from them until tonight.
“Gorgeous,” I tell her as I stand up in my sparkling blue dress. It’s all lacy at the top, the lace stretching down my arms and stopping at my wrists. My hair is all curled like Tavvy’s, and it’s so long now that it hits the middle of my back. We look like fairy tales or at least the dresses the princesses used to wear. “Tavvy, why do I feel like there is something you are hiding from me? You’ve been so weird with me recently. Have I upset you?”
“No, of course you haven’t. You’re my bestie and always will be...but I think you might hate me,” she nervously says.
“Why?” I ask, totally confused as she looks close to tears.
“I kissed Quinton, and he kissed me back. I don’t know when it happened exactly, but I think it was when he saved my life. I fell in love with him somewhere along the line, and he told me he feels the same,” she blurts out to me and just stares at me as I try to process what she just said. I guess a part of me kind of knew, because neither of them is good at hiding the little looks and just the way they are around each other all of the time.
“Oh,” I quietly whisper. I’m too shocked to say anything else or stop her rambling as she comes closer to me and takes my hands in hers. I don’t pull my hands away though. I don’t actually feel upset like I think I’m meant to.
“But best friends don’t date their bestie’s ex-boyfriend. Especially when it is super complicated between you two still. I told him this, and I’m sorry anything ever happened. It shouldn’t have,” she rambles on. “I love you like a sister and that means so much to me. You are the sister I never had, and I really mean that.”
“Hold up, you ended it?” I ask her.
“Yes, because you’re my bestie and—”
“Sit down,” I say, waving a hand at the chair, and she looks confused as she goes and sits. I sit on the other chair in the room, right next to her, and take her hand in mine.
“The moment I left for Lost Time Academy, anything Quin and I had was gone. It was well and truly slammed into the dirt many times after that, while we are on it. I care about him because we grew up as friends and had a relationship. Our relationship wasn’t true love though. I didn’t know it at the time, but I do now,” I say, trying to explain this to her. “The way I feel about the Tale brothers, that is real. I would rather die than be sent to some school to be away from them. I never felt that way with Quinton. If anything, somewhere deep down, I was okay to leave and end it. I felt like I was just saying goodbye to a best friend, not the love of my life. Anyways, we were kids back then, and things were easy. The moment it got difficult and hard choices had to be made, it wasn’t Quinton I wanted at my side. I will always love him in a way, and if you can accept my friendship with him, I have no right to stand in the way of your relationship.”
“Really?” she asks, wiping tears from her eyes, and I do the same as I shakily nod.
“Love is usually messy and unexpected, but we live in a dark, fucked up world. We should grab every chance of happiness and love that we can and hold on tight,” I say to her. “And I love you as a sister, Tavvy. I love my Tale brothers, and this world we are in has taught me love is so rare and can be taken so quickly.”
“I love you too, bestie,” she says, hugging me tightly before letting go and looking at the door. “I told Quin I wouldn’t be his date tonight to the ball, but he said he would just go alone without me.”
“Go and get him,” I say, pulling her up to stand at the same time I do.
“Are you sure?” she nervously asks. I pull her into another hug, making sure she understands.
“I love you, bestie. Now go and get your man,” I whisper to her, and I can feel her beaming smile and happiness before she turns around and opens the door. Tavvy is as shocked still as I am at the sight of Warren outside the door, his hand raised to knock the door. The cloak is gone, replaced with a tight-fitting black tux, and what is more shocking is that he isn’t hiding his face. His white hair has been cut, styled back out of his eyes but still holding some of that wavy quality. I can tell he is nervous as he lowers his hand, and I smile at him. The scar does nothing but make him more handsome, more different and special in my eyes. I love how brave he is in this moment. His spear is diagonally strapped to his back by a holder. My handsome guard.
“Unexpected, huh?” Tavvy teases me, and I shake my head, snapping out of the strange staring thing I was doing. You know, gawking like a total loser. Tavvy waves goodbye to me, mouthing “thank you” as she goes, and heads off to find Quinton. I should feel weird about my bestie and my ex-boyfriend hooking up, but it doesn’t feel that way. I know Tavvy, and it must be real to make her like she is. Tavvy is one of the strongest people I know, and she wouldn’t fall in love with just anyone. She is also loyal, and I know it must have been eating her up inside to break up with him before it even started and not tell me.
I also understand why she didn’t want to tell me; we have a lot of dangerous things going on and need to keep our eyes on the game. Talking of which, I haven’t told Warren any of the plan. I don’t know who he is going to side with when it truly comes down to it. How he looks at me right at this moment, makes me have hope he might choose my side. I don’t know though, or I do and that scares me.
“It seems you need a date to a ball,” Warren says, leaning against the door frame and crossing his arms. Somehow this just makes him look even sexier.
“Are you my dark prince then?” I tease.
“Yes,” he simply replies, but it means so much more, and we know it. I clear my throat and walk out the room, hooking my arm through his before we walk down the corridor. There is light music playing, though it isn’t like the last ball I went to. That was light and fun and everything good in the world. This ball is dark, seductive and cold. It only has one true purpose: to celebrate darkness. But what Rueben doesn’t know is that he is being played. As we dance around the ballroom, the Tale brothers and the fighters have been going around the academy with bags of my sleeping dust that I made for them, putting the dark tale guards to sleep, one by one, until they take control of the library and set off the signal.
I smile widely at Rueben who stands outside the room to the dining hall, where the ball is going on behind him. We are a little later than everyone else, but I planned it that way. Rueben’s eyes quickly drift over me, but they stayed fixed on Warren, clear shock in his eyes as he takes in the fact Warren isn’t hiding anymore. We walk past him, but he catches Warren’s other arm, stopping him.
“Remember your place, boy,” Rueben darkly warns Warren before letting go.
“He knows his place, Mr. Frostan,” I reply, and Warren just looks down at me with a small smile. Warren doesn’t reply or look at me again as we carry on into the ball. I see Ella straightaway—her dark red dress isn’t hard to miss with her long red hair flowing around her as Roger spins her around. What I’m sure was nothing more than a friendship based off Ella’s need for protection, seems to have turned into so much more than that. I look up at Warren as he looks down at me at that moment, just as a new song comes on. A slow, romantic song I really like.
“Will you dance with me, Madi?” he softly asks, and I take a deep breath before I nod once. I can’t let myself fall for him. Not in this moment. Not with this dance. We are at war, and Warren is lost somewhere in the middle of it. I can’t trust that his side is firmly with me, and not with his loyalty to or fear of Rueben. But for one moment, I let him take me to the dance floor and hold me close as we sway to the music. The lyrics speak of lost moments, of love being found in the most unusual places, and it speaks about us far more than I want to admit. This moment must be lost, because what else could there be?
“You seem deep in thought,” he whispers to me. “What is going on in your mind? I can’t read you tonight.”
“When I see you, the real you, it hurts.
It hurts because looking at you is like looking at fire. I can’t get close because, under the beauty, the seduction and longing...loving fire is just dangerous,” I honestly tell him what I’ve been thinking. I shouldn’t have said a word, and we both know it.
“Who said fire always has to burn?” he tells me. “When you are two of the same soul, it is impossible to burn the other without destroying yourself.”
“Warren,” I gently warn him.
“Tonight we will dance and smile and be everything your plan needs. Tomorrow, when the war is over, we can talk about the future,” he tells me, and my eyes widen as I look at him.
“How did you know?” I quietly ask.
“I had an unexpected visit from Quinton last night. He wanted to check whose side I am on,” he tells me. I’m surprised Quin did that.
“And whose side are you on, Warren?” I ask.
“Yours and whoever you decide to follow,” he tells me, and before I can answer, he spins me out and pulls me back to him. I rest my hands on the back of his neck and place my head on his shoulder.
“I have three—possibly four if this plan works—other boyfriends. It’s complicated, and you should run the other way before they find out,” I tell him, because once tonight is over, I’m sitting them all down and explaining it all anyway.
“I will tell them with you. You haven’t betrayed them, Madi, so they have no reason to be angry,” he reminds me.
“Oh, they will be angry,” I mutter, but I feel a little better that Warren hasn’t run away now he knows all the facts. I look across the ball, and that’s when I see them. Quin and Tavvy dance together, holding each other closely and looking at each other. I imagine it’s how Sin and I looked at the last ball as we danced together. I expected to feel mad or even jealous seeing them together, but at this moment, I feel nothing but joy for the love they have found for each other.