The Rýkr Duet

by M. E. Clayton

  Last night, Neve and I had huddled up in her room, and we had gone over everything we could think this could be. We had even entertained the idea of aliens coming to claim us. Yeah, that’s how stupid things had gotten. However, for two girls who had unexplainable powers, aliens really weren’t that far-fetched, were they?

  I closed my locker and dropped my forehead against the metal. Taking a deep breath, I decided to focus on what I could control. That’s always been my strength. Where Neve was the theatrical one, I’ve always been the logical one. Though these feelings were unsettling, I knew I was going to have to get it together or lose my mind with all the wondering I couldn’t answer.

  Just then, I felt heat envelop my entire body and my chest felt like fireworks were going off inside it. My book fell out of my hands and crashed to the ground as my body shifted to make room for the pressure inside my chest.

  I was certain I was having a heart attack until I felt soft warmth tickling my left ear. “I know what you are.”

  I whirled around at his voice, and when I looked up, I came face-to-face with the most beautiful boy I have ever seen. My lungs felt like they couldn’t function, and my heart felt like it was going to explode, but that was nothing compared to the blue eyes locked on mine.

  While I stood at only five-foot-three, the guy in front of me had to be around an entire foot taller than me. He was easily a couple of inches over six-foot. And if his height wasn’t intimidating enough, he wasn’t a lanky six-foot-whatever. Nope. He filled out his shirt beautifully and there was no denying that he worked out or played a sport.

  He had dark brown hair and a pair of startling blue eyes that reminded me of mine and Neve’s own color. He also had that Roman sculpture look to his face that made him seem older than what he was. He had to only be a teenage since he was at a high school, but he looked…mature. He looked wise almost.

  However, once I was able to pull myself from my blatant appreciation of him, his words finally registered. “Wh…what?”

  His arms came up, and he planted both palms on either side of my head against the lockers. I felt trapped, but I also felt like I wanted to be trapped by him. It made no sense, but it was the truth.

  “I know what you are,” he repeated, and I knew he was lying. There’s no way he could know.

  No way.

  “I…I d…don’t know…wh…what you me…mean,” I stammered in a panic.

  His eyes looked like they were glowing, but I knew that was impossible. People’s eyes didn’t glow. At least, not normal people and he looked normal.

  “Show me what you got, Pretty Girl,” he said, ignoring my claims of denial. “Show me what you can do.”

  “I don’t know what you’re…you’re talking about,” I replied a little more forcefully. Neve and I have never used our powers in public, so there was no way he could know about us. Besides, I’ve never seen him before, so that could only mean he was a new student. Being new here, there was no way he could have accidentally seen anything remotely odd about me or Neve.

  And then the worst thing that could ever possibly happen, happened.

  His right hand pushed off the lockers, and when he wrapped it around the side of my neck, my entire body exploded in a kaleidoscope of uncontrollable energy and I felt my eyes changing color. They turned white and there was a deafening sound of an explosion as the lockers all around us shook in a thunderous clamor of shaken movement.

  He smirked down at me and my entire body froze as I watched his eyes turn white right in front of me. “The shake is making them think it was an earthquake,” he said calmly. “They’re going to all be instructed to get under their desks.”

  Holy.

  Fucking.

  Shit.

  He was able to see the future.

  When his eyes returned to their original shade of blue, that’s when I knew the reason that they seemed so familiar. They were the exact same shade as mine and Neve’s because he was the same as us. Whatever Neve and I were, this boy was one of us.

  But how did he know?

  How could he possibly know what we were? I’ve never seen his guy before. How could he know such a private and secretive thing about me?

  And then it dawned on me.

  “The humming,” I muttered quietly, still in a bit of shock.

  He nodded. “I can feel you, Avalon,” he confirmed, further sending me down a spiral of confusion.

  “Who are you?” I asked, not recognizing my own voice. It sounded raspy and scared.

  His thumb began to move back and forth over my cheek, and I could feel myself wanting to curl into him. It felt soothing and comforting. It felt right and it was terrifying. When I’ve spent my entire life not feeling comfortable around other guys, this one was weaving me under a spell I had no idea how to fight. Even if he wasn’t gorgeous and built, I knew I was out of my league with what he was making me feel right now. I wasn’t prepared for this.

  Instead of answering my question, he said, “I’ve waited my entire life for you.”

  I started shaking my head in a panic. “No.” I wasn’t sure what I was saying no to, but I knew I needed to put the brakes on whatever this was until I knew what the hell was going on.

  His other hand pushed off the lockers and it joined his other one until he was cradling my face in both his hands out. It was the first time a boy’s ever touched me like this and the first time my chest didn’t ache in revulsion. My body was shivering in pleasure, not distaste like the few times before.

  “Yes,” he countered.

  I pushed my hands against his chest, but there was no budging him. He just stepped closer, trapping my hands between us.

  “Who are you?” I asked again. “What are you doing here?”

  Ignoring my questions, I stood frozen in absolute horror as his right hand slid down my neck, over my left breast, and down my side to finally latch onto my hip.

  My eyes flared white, and the lockers shook again.

  His eyes flared white, and he just smirked down at me again.

  In the biggest panic of my life, I went to push him off me, but I failed spectacularly, and his lips came down on mine, changing my life forever.

  My hands fisted in his shirt and I held on because the kiss fused me to him in a way I would never have expected. It was crazy. It was insane. It was unexplainable. It was confusing. It was a whole host of things, but…but my chest didn’t hurt anymore.

  Nothing hurt anymore.

  I felt high.

  I felt euphoric.

  I felt out of my goddamn mind.

  It wasn’t until we heard someone calling out my name that we pulled apart. “Ms. Lively!” I turned and Mrs. Song, the vice principal, was coming our way. “We’re in the middle of an earthquake,” she snapped. “Get yourselves to safety.” My white hair was a dead giveaway of who I was, even if she didn’t know who the boy that I was kissing was.

  “I-”

  “And where are you supposed to be, young man?”

  I could feel everything in me panic when he answered, “American History.” I closed my eyes when he confirmed that was had first period together.

  I looked over at Mrs. Song and tried to take the coward’s way out. “I need…I need to stop by the restroom first, Mrs. Song.”

  “What on earth for?”

  I knew there was only one thing that could get me out of this, no matter how embarrassing it was. “Uhm, it’s…personal.”

  “Oh,” she let out quietly, embarrassed for me.

  And the bastard standing next to me just laughed.

  Chapter 11

  Griffin~

  No way was I going to be without Avalon ever again.

  No.

  Fucking.

  Way.

  And while I hadn’t planned on touching her or kissing her, I had and there was no way I was going to go back to a life where she wasn’t a part of it.

  I had likened her to a drug yesterday when I had tried to explain to Easton and Severus
how she made me feel, but after touching and kissing her, I knew she was. For me, she was the most powerful drug out there and the most dangerous.

  After Mrs. Song had let Avalon escape to the girls’ restroom, she had escorted me to my classroom, letting Avalon believe she was safe. However, Mrs. Song had mistakenly left me at the door and hadn’t seen me inside. Believing that we were really dealing with an earthquake, she had scampered off to corral any other wayward kids who were where they weren’t supposed to be.

  So, what did I do?

  I went looking for Avalon.

  Pulling the door open, I didn’t care who was in there with her. Avalon was not getting a reprieve on this. That kiss had me seeking her out like a heroin addict, and I was going to get my fix, no matter how hard she protested.

  Fuck, I was losing my mind.

  Walking into the girls’ restroom, I found Avalon hunched over one of the basins, and she was splashing water on that perfect face of hers. She must have immediately sensed me because she jackknifed and whirled around to look at me.

  She started shaking her head, droplets of water flying everywhere. “What are you doing in here?”

  “We’re not finished,” I replied, drinking her in.

  Her eyes turned white and the doors on the stalls started to swing back and forth. Watching her unable to control her powers had my dick harder than it’s ever been. She was rattled enough that she couldn’t control her abilities, and I was the one who was rattling her.

  Avalon’s back hit the wall as I stalked towards her, ready to ravish the poor girl. Her face was pale, but she still looked beautiful.

  I grabbed her by her hips, lifted her petite frame, then deposited her ass on the counter between two basins. She automatically opened her legs for me, but I wasn’t sure if it was because she wanted to or because our bond was pulling us together. Either way, I didn’t care. I stepped in between her legs and let her feel exactly what she was doing to me.

  As soon as I nestled my hard cock against her center, her eyes sparked in color and the stall doors started swinging again. In her panic, she cried out, “Stop it.”

  I had her face in my hands again. “No.”

  “Who are you?!” she yelled, her fists pushing at my chest again. “Who in the fuck are you?!”

  “My name’s Griffin,” I finally conceded. “Griffin Keenstone.”

  “I don’t give a fuck what your name is,” she cried a bit hysterically. “Who are you?”

  I told her the truth. “I’m yours.”

  Her shoulders sagged with despair and confusion. “I…what does that mean?”

  I kissed her again instead of answering her question. Severus had advised me not to seduce her, but I didn’t feel like I had a choice here. Not only have I gone eighteen years without the pleasure of feeling my hands on a female’s body, but Avalon was also calling to me. My soul was recognizing hers, and it wasn’t going to settle for less than everything she had to give me.

  Avalon’s hands latched onto my wrists, and she squeezed around them tightly as she kissed me back. Again, I wasn’t sure if she was doing it because she wanted to or if because she couldn’t help herself, but I selfishly took what she was offering.

  It wasn’t until the sound of the stall doors rattling around us that I knew we had to stop. Avalon was out of control, and I was the only one who could protect her right now. She had no idea who I was or what she was feeling, and there was a real threat of her revealing what she was if I didn’t help get this shit under control.

  But, God, how I wanted to take her in the worst way.

  I broke off the kiss and rested my forehead against hers. “Baby-”

  Avalon pushed against me and jumped off the counter in a futile effort to protect herself against me. “Don’t call me that,” she spat, her chest heaving, her body trembling. “I don’t know who or what you are but stay away from me.”

  I grabbed her American History book she’d left on the counter and held it out to her. “I can’t,” I said, breaking the news to her. “I won’t.”

  She ignored my outstretched hand with her book in it. “What are you? Who are you?” she asked again. “How…where did you come from?”

  “I’m not telling you anything until you give in,” I told her.

  “Give in to what?” she screeched. “What in the hell is going on?”

  “Give in to me,” I clarified.

  A vicious snarl marred her beautiful face. “I might not know what is going on, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid,” she spat. “And you’re out of your mind if you think I’m just going to blindly follow you into the unknown.”

  My chin jutted out. “No matter how wet you are right now?”

  Avalon’s back snapped to attention and her eyes flared with absolute hate. “Don’t read too much into those kisses, Griffin,” she replied coolly. “You’re in real danger of overestimating your charms.”

  I smirked because I just couldn’t help myself. My name sounded so good falling from her lips that I knew nothing was going to stop me from making it fall from her lips in a flurry of passion. She had until her birthday before I unleashed eighteen years of pent-up emotional frustration on her. Not to mention the past five years of pent-up sexual frustration. I was going to tear this girl apart when I finally got her underneath me.

  Setting the book back down on the counter, I crossed my arms over my chest. “And you’re underestimating what you don’t know,” I fired back. “You can be mad at me, or hate me even, but that humming in the back of your mind? That wholeness you feel in your chest? The fire in your blood? That’s all me, baby.”

  Avalon stepped forward and grabbed her book off the counter. Hugging it to her chest, she said, “It doesn’t matter if it is. Stay away from me.”

  “Not even if someone put a gun to my head,” I replied honestly.

  She turned around and fled from the restroom, and I let her. There was no sense in pulling her back since now wasn’t the time or place. Especially, since Avalon couldn’t control her powers while her emotions were heightened. That was something we were going to have to work on. I couldn’t have objects moving all around us every time I kissed the girl. If we were at Rýkr, I wouldn’t be worried about it, but we weren’t.

  I heard the bell ring overhead, and I got the hell out of the girls’ restroom since I knew it’d be flooded soon with quick trips before next class.

  I had Computer Science for my second period with Easton, then break. After class, I planned on telling him everything that happened with Avalon and discuss my plans where she was concerned. There was no way I was leaving without her with me. If kissing her had sent me damn near out of my mind, I couldn’t imagine what bedding her was going to do to me, but whatever happened, I knew I couldn’t let her go. I knew I couldn’t be without her again.

  Plus, I also wanted to hear what happened between Easton and Neve. He had her in his first period class, and I was curious to see if their first meeting felt as impactful as mine and Avalon’s had been.

  Making my way to my locker, I saw Easton leaning up against the neighboring locker. When we had enrolled, our lockers had been assigned with what had been available, and so Easton’s locker was on the other side of the building, almost the exact opposite of mine.

  As soon as I approached, he said, “I spent first period protecting myself from an earthquake.”

  I smirked as I opened my locker. “Yeah, I heard.”

  “Do I want to know?”

  I looked over at my brother. “Do I want to know?” I tossed back. While I might not look it, I was still shaken up by my encounter with Avalon. Though, that could be from the having actually touched and kissed her, but Easton didn’t look ruffled in the least.

  “I’ll tell you all about it during first break,” he replied dryly.

  Yeah, that didn’t sound good at all.

  Chapter 12

  Avalon~

  I didn’t care if I got in trouble.

  Not.

&nbs
p; At.

  All.

  I raced into Neve’s second period class, and the second she got a look at my face, she was up and out of her seat.

  “Young lady, what do you think you are doing?” Mr. Braxton asked, surprise on his face at my rudeness.

  “We have a family emergency,” I lied. Hell, was I lying? Because this felt like a goddamn emergency to me. It felt like my entire world has shifted on its head, and I was close to passing out from sheer, unadulterated panic.

  “The office-”

  “We’re heading there now,” Neve lied, then raced out the door with me.

  Finding myself in another empty restroom, I let out a deep breath before I passed out. “Give me a second,” I begged.

  “The hell I will,” she shrieked. “You yanked me out of class, Avalon. What in the hell is going on?”

  I ran my hands through my hair, then shook them out. “That feeling? That buzzing?” She nodded. “It’s because of a guy.”

  Her blue eyes just blinked at me.

  And blinked.

  And blinked some more.

  Finally, she asked for some clarification. “What?”

  “After you went to first period, I was still at my locker and…I don’t know, Neve. I was just feeling…at odds,” I started to explain. “But when I was getting ready to finally go to class, this guy came up behind me and whispered that he knew what I was.”

  “What?”

  “He said he knew what I was,” I repeated.

  Her entire body collapsed against the sink counter. “That’s impossible, Avalon,” she replied. “There’s no way he can-”

  “It is possible, Neve,” I corrected her. “Want to know how I know?”

  “How?” she asked skeptically.

  “You know that earthquake you guys had to save yourselves from?” Neve just nodded. “That was me losing my shit.”