by Alexia Black
Maybe, I should have worn a turtleneck like Aiden, but my body had switched from being too cold to being hot again. How low was his body temperature now? Maybe this was another reason why he was my soul mate. Even our body temperatures were the exact opposite.
“Kiara,” Aiden’s deep voice broke me out of my thoughts.
“Can we hold hands?” I blurted out. Who needed dignity anyway?
Aiden’s face tightened. He nodded and sat beside me on the couch. I placed my palm on his extended one and gripped it tight. Like magic, the pain building up in my chest vanished. Touching his skin was like having cold lemonade on a summer evening. I reflexively gripped him tighter, willing more of that coolness to permeate my skin.
Aiden’s shoulders relaxed when our skin made contact. I hadn’t noticed how tense his shoulders were. He must have also been under a lot of pain.
I heard laughs from the opposite side and turned to face Aiden’s manager and the other two band members of Inferno. It was weird sitting here and holding hands while surrounded by half a dozen guards in the room.
“You, of all people have a fucking soul mate,” Callum grinned. He looked like he belonged on the beach, surfing the waves rather than singing and playing guitar in front of thousands. But his face, oh, that belonged on magazine cover. He looked ethereally handsome. Perfect, too perfect; an incubus, most probably. He definitely had the whole raw sex appeal thing going on.
Aiden glared at him. That just made Callum grin wider.
“My little boy is all grown up,” Daryl flicked away a fake tear from where he was sprawled over Travis, the manager’s lap, Travis’ hands gently holding him around his waist. Daryl’s dreadlocks were lavender at the edges. It contrasted beautifully against his dark skin. He had a sort of agelessness to him. I was pretty sure he was much older than his other two band members; the expression in his eyes gave it away.
“He looks all tough but he is just a soft marshmallow inside,” Daryl said, snuggling closer to Travis. “Fragile like the most brittle glass. Kind as a saint. Strong as a lion. Beautiful as a rose.” Each statement was punctuated by an elegant wave in the air, his huge diamond engagement ring blinding my eyes with every wave.
“Travis, please shut him up,” Aiden said.
I poked Aiden, “You are crushing my hand.”
He looked down at our joined hands, his gripping mine tight in embarrassment, though his face showed none of the misery he was feeling right now being teased by his friends.
He relaxed his hold, “Sorry.”
I turned back towards Daryl. “If you wave anymore, I’m going to be blinded by all that bling,” I said seriously, but apparently it was funnier than I thought because Daryl started laughing. Well, my social skills were definitely improving. In the last few months I had made Bart laugh a whopping total of five times and now these strangers were also laughing. Sam would be so proud of me.
“I like you,” Callum said. He looked at Aiden, “I approve.”
“I have something important to say,” my voice was grave and from the way Aiden had treated me from the first moment we had met, I had a feeling we both were going to be on the same page.
“I want to break the bond.”
Drop dead silence followed my words.
“Why?” Callum growled, his eyes taking on a dangerous red glow. Daryl and Travis had identical pained expressions on their faces “Do you think he is not good enough? Is that it? If you are fated mates then why do you want to ruin it?”
Did they really think being fated mates meant finding your one true love? Is that why they were pissed? Selene had already explained that it was just based on biology though. Guess they didn’t want to believe that. All of them were more romantic than I’d thought.
I peeked at Aiden. He looked even more relaxed than before. Did that mean he was happy? Well, at least someone felt the same way I did about this whole mess.
“I have a good reason for it,” I said.
Callum crossed his arms across his chest, “I’m waiting.”
“He won’t have many years left to live if I’m his soul mate,” I hadn’t let Selene explain everything. I preferred sharing it myself than through someone else.
“Why?” Aiden asked.
I met his gaze.
“I am not a dragon, I’m a human. My lifespan is just a fraction of yours.” Dragons, especially earth dragons and water dragons lived for hundreds of years. If our bond wasn’t broken, Aiden wouldn’t live to see his 21st birthday. “Also, my job isn’t exactly the safest in the world.” I turned towards his friends, “It’s better for him if I am not his soul mate.”
“You are a human?” Aiden brows wrinkled in confusion. That suspicious look was back on his face.
“What are you waiting for?” Callum asked. “Break the bond.”
Well. He switched ships fast.
I shook my head, “I don’t know how to.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Callum asked as if I was the one responsible for cursing us.
“If it was that easy, I would have broken it already,” I said, steel coating my voice.
“Callum, that’s enough,” Aiden warned.
“Sorry,” Daryl shot me an apologetic glance. “Cal isn’t usually like that. He is really upset.”
I nodded in reply. It wasn’t like my end of the deal was any less shittier than Aiden’s.
“I’ve started researching into it. My books should be arriving today.” That was if dad managed to sneak them out from under grandma’s nose.
Awkward silence hung in the air after that. No one knew how to continue to conversation forward.
“I want to talk to her alone,” Aiden finally spoke.
The others left the room, dragging their feet. Callum gave me the stink eye before leaving.
Then it was just me and Aiden on the couch, and about a half a dozen guards in the room to witness to whatever embarrassing thing this conversation was going to be about.
Will I even have a shred of dignity left after this day? Doubtful.
I waited for him to speak first.
“Till we find a way to break the bond, we should figure this out,” he pointed at our hands.
“Yeah, if the pain gets bad, one of us can hold the other’s hand for a while. Otherwise, no need to touch.”
“I agree.”
We lapsed back into silence. As I was going through the top pointers for small talk in my mind, dad arrived.
“I got the books. Go through it as fast as you can and return it,” dad said. Why was he so scared? It wasn’t as if anyone ever used that library. He handed me a huge box, I jumped up to take it from him and my knees almost buckled under the weight of it. Aiden immediately took it from me and placed it on the couch. Sometimes, dad forgot I didn’t have the same physical strength as him.
Dad glared at Aiden. I would be able to sense Aiden’s confusion from half a mile away. I just hoped he waved it all away as an employer being overprotective about his employees.
“Let’s talk,” dad growled and dragged Aiden to the kitchen by his elbow. Similar to how he had dragged Max away to give him the shovel talk, but much more violent.
Less than a second later, pain spread like lightning across my body. I couldn’t hold in my whimper and I blindly waved my hand in the air, looking for my soul mate’s hand.
Cool fingers interlaced mine and the pain immediately vanished, like it had never been there before.
“Um…Kiara, are you okay?” dad kneeled beside me on the couch.
I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, “I am fine.” My voice didn’t waver. The tattoos had completely covered my arms now and were spreading over to my palms. I watched, mesmerized by the way it twisted and turned on my skin, like it was the artist and I the canvas.
“What did you do to her?” dad pulled Aiden by his collar. Great! He was going to kill my soul mate before Aiden’s enemy did.
“I didn’t,” Aiden said. His voice calm. He didn’t
defend himself against dad nor did he let go of my hand.
“I think our pain sensitivities are different,” I tugged my hand out of Aiden’s grip and pulled on dad’s wrist. “It’s not his fault, Mr. Blazewood.”
My use of his name snapped dad out of his rage. Thank god he hadn’t shifted. Aiden would’ve been shredded into ribbons otherwise.
“Did you experience any pain?” I pulled Aiden by his shirt and made him sit back on the couch. His face was expressionless but his silver eyes had darkened to the grey of a thunderstorm.
“It was mild, like I had stubbed my toe,” he resolutely ignored my dad and turned to me. My heart stuttered under his intense gaze.
“I wouldn’t call a stubbed toe mild, but okay.”
“What did you feel?” dad asked before Aiden could.
“I thought my heart was going to give out,” I admitted.
Aiden looked troubled, “Why would we feel it differently?”
“Maybe because I’m a human, my pain sensitivity is higher. The books should have more explanations,” I said. “Hopefully.”
I turned towards dad. I need to make him go or he will definitely let the cat out of the bag. “Thank you for your help Mr. Blazewood. I will keep you updated,” I said, my tone polite and formal.
Dad got the memo. He got up, pissed that he couldn’t stay without starting rumors.
“Ms. Ravenlocke is a valued employee of the company,” he looked around at all the guards “All of us are a family. Protect her…both of them, well.”
Dad clenched his fist and gave Aiden the fakest smile possible, “I will take my leave now.”
I could feel the stare of the guards on me, stares that were in no way subtle about evaluating what my relationship with their boss was. It was pretty common knowledge that he had tried kicking me out when I joined. They were starting to wonder what had changed. Some of them smirked at me. I broke away from their gazes first. I knew what they were thinking, seeing their boss take special interest in the intern’s life. I wanted to puke at the thought.
“Let’s research,” I said, putting on a cheerful façade. Dad had brought the books I was reading last for my research about people like me, aka the Kshara. Those books were pretty useless. Just went on and on about what a curse people like me are; stupid, elitist dragons.
It wasn’t fair that I was shunned just because I was weak. Yeah, I knew our clan motto was strongest shall reign but c’mon, treating a Kshara like the plague was a bit too much. Because of that, my family had made sure no one knew Sam had a twin. There were rumors of my existence of course but the only person outside my family who knew for sure was Max. If the others knew, I would’ve been killed at sight. My entire life had been confined to my house, mostly to my room. The only times I had seen the outside was when Sam and I did our little switcheroo. But I had gotten caught last time, leaving Sam to suffer the consequences. I tamped down my guilt that inevitably flared up when I thought of her. It wasn’t of any use now.
I handed a soul mate book to Aiden and piled all the Kshara ones near me. Stacking it face down so that Aiden wouldn’t be able to read the title carved on the leather cover.
He opened the book and peered into it, “What language is this?”
I blinked, “Aren’t you a dragon?”
The books were written in Agneya, the dragon- tongue, and preserved with magic to prevent deterioration. Sam had hated learning it, but she had tried her best if only to teach me.
“I wasn’t taught,” Aiden said.
“Did you go to a mixed school?” I knew water dragons were nomadic by nature; never growing roots, always shifting from one city to another. It was possible he didn’t go to a dragon school. But then again, only fire dragons preferred going to elite schools, the rest of the dragons preferred intermingling.
Of the three dragon species left after the third Great War, the water dragons were the only ones who didn’t stay in a clan. But even if they weren’t as traditional as Earth or Fire dragons, they still would’ve taught their younglings the basics at home.
“Yes. Mixed school,” he answered with a slight hesitation in his voice, almost indiscernible. “Why do you know it?” he leaned back making himself comfortable on the couch. One foot on the sofa, the other sprawled out, foot resting on the rug, the book balanced on his knee.
“Best friend thought it was a fun way to pass notes,” I leaned on the arm of the couch, and drew my knees in, resting the open book on them.
“Can you teach me?”
“It’s not an easy language. And we don’t have a lot of time. Sorry.”
“Ah, okay. Let me know if there is any other way I can help.”
I nodded. “You can work on your music now if you want. I can take the couch there. It’s near enough to your chair so there shouldn’t be any risk for me.” It would be pretty stuffy though, with us both and the extra guards in that small space. But, he couldn’t help, so he might as well do his own work.
“It’s fine. I’ll go get my notebook,” he got up and strode towards the music room.
I gasped as pain shot throughout my body. In an instant, strong arms surrounded me. I curled into his embrace, my pain receding like a tidal way.
“Fuck, I forgot.”
“I am fine,” I jerked back from his embrace and immediately felt a yawning chasm within my soul. The stupid curse was making me addicted to his touch.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Sorry, about that.”
I waved his apology away. “Let’s go get your music book.”
We walked side by side, barely touching. Two guards followed us. He took his stuff and we were soon back on the couch in our usual position. It was funny that we already had our own sides of the couch.
I got to reading as he popped on his headphones and stared at the blank page of his notebook.
I had only gotten past the unnecessarily long introductory chapter when Daryl came back into the room.
“Time for lunch, my darling children.”
“We’ll be there soon,” Aiden said.
“You have five minutes or the pasta will end up in your face. You don’t want to waste my hard work now, do you?” Daryl grinned. It was terrifying to watch.
“Five minutes,” Aiden repeated and went back to staring at the blank page. Same look on his face Sam used to have when she had to write an assignment for school.
“We better go,” I poked Aiden’s calf with my toes. “That didn’t seem like an empty threat.”
“It wasn’t one,” he got up and stretched. His shirt rode up, exposing a sliver of tanned skin. It was at that unfortunate moment it hit me.
We would have to share a bed tonight.
Chapter 10
People will always strive for some semblance of normality even when the situation was anything but that.
Lunch.
Daryl launched into one story after another without a break, leaving no space for awkward silences to sweep in. Travis chimed in with his dad jokes while Aiden and I avoided eye contact with each other. 10/10 would not repeat lunch with them.
I really had to give some kind of award to Daryl though, because as his stories started getting wilder and wilder I was starting to feel less conscious about being around them. Aiden had an eyebrow raised in skepticism throughout the bullshit story while Travis hung onto his every word, his gaze soft. Daryl’s gaze always strayed back to Travis as if he couldn’t bear to not see him even for a few moments. Frankly, they were the most adorable couple I had ever seen.
However, none of them could help their gazes from straying towards where Callum’s seat lay empty. If the way Daryl had sighed on not finding Callum was any indication, this was not the first time it had happened.
“Are the two guards fine?” Aiden asked.
I had to strain towards him to hear what he asked over Daryl’s booming voice. This guy definitely didn’t need a microphone on the stage.
“Yep, they are recoverin
g well. They should be fine in a week. The demon wasn’t interested in them so they weren’t completely drained, just enough to knock them unconscious.”
He nodded, no more questions left.
I tuned in back to the conversation or rather the compelling argument from Daryl.
“Of course rabbits with horns exist,” Daryl said. “Babe, back me up.”
“They do,” Travis repeated dutifully.
“You are whipped. Your opinion doesn’t count,” Aiden piped up.
I held my laughter in at Daryl’s insulted expression.
“True,” Travis admitted calmly.
I laughed. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. They were truly ridiculous. I wiped away my tears. My cheeks hurt from the unfamiliarity of the action.
“Don’t you believe me? Rabbits with horns exist!” Daryl said.
“I believe you. If demons can exist, horned rabbits sure can,” I said, taking a sip of water.
Hush fell over the table. Shit, why did I mention demons? Usually, I was so careful while talking, even to my own family but something about the utter ridiculousness of the banter had stripped away my brain to mouth filter.
“Sorry,” I knew it wasn’t enough but words deserted me.
“It’s fine,” Aiden said, looking unbothered. “Any new info about them?”
“I’m not very high up in the ladder to know, but you are our first priority now. Teams have already been dispatched to look into the assailants. Our teams are the best in the country if not the world, so don’t worry you will be completely safe.”
“Wasn’t that what you people said last time?” Travis had gone from adoring boyfriend mode to tough manager mode in the blink of an eye. “Wasn’t the team you had given us also the ‘best’ in your company.”
“We had underestimated the threat level. Yes, they are the best, but we hadn’t expected demons also to be real beings like us. We were caught off guard last time. It won’t happen again.”
“It better not,” Daryl smiled, sharp edged.
“I’d prefer if these guards were also deployed into finding the rest of the demons instead of guarding me,” Aiden said.
