When the Ravens Sing

Chapter 2

 "Geez, chill out. I didn't mean to scare you so bad!" Haider said, clutching his hand.

"You certainly didn't have to grab me like that!" Nova crossed her arms over her chest, glaring daggers at her idiotic boyfriend.

"Okay, sure, that was definitely a dumb move on my part, but did you really have to bite me?"

"Well, I'm sorry, but what exactly are you supposed to do when a psycho grabs you in the woods? If you ask me, I'd say my actions were rather justified."

Haider looked down at Nova, giving her a wide, goofy grin. Stepping closer, he wrapped his sturdy arms around her. Nova kept hers crossed in between them, half tempted to bite him all over again.

"Truthfully I should be lucky you didn't set me on fire or shoot me halfway across the forest to my death," He said with a good-humored laugh," I forget sometimes that you're actually a badass little witch and not just a pretty face."

Nova huffed," Flattery will only get you so far."

Nova was trying very hard to keep a serious face, but the more she looked at his annoyingly cute smile, the more she felt her body relax into his. She wrapped her arms around his middle in a lazy motion, burrowing her face into his welcoming chest.

"You're so annoying," she grumbled, causing a soothing chuckle to rumble from his chest.

"Yeah, I love you too babe," He said laughing again, "you know I really am sorry for scaring you like that. I wasn't sure how to get you away from your cousins and at the time it felt like a good idea, ya know?"

Nova lifted her head from his chest and met his soothing green eyes. He looked a little remorseful; she had to admit to herself. Haider's brow furrowed as he watched her. She reached up and placed her hand against his cheek, smoothing her thumb over the light stubble that graced it. His short golden brown hair ruffled in the breeze, reminding her of autumn.

"I know," she said in a whisper. "I'm sorry for reacting so badly. It's just that we had a little scare on the way here and I was still feeling pretty jumpy when you grabbed me."

"Wait. What do you mean by a 'little' scare?" He pulled away to get a better look at her face.

"It's nothing, really. There was just this deer that came out of nowhere, and Rose said she had a terrible feeling about it. I guess we were just a little freaked out is all. "

Haider tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. Trailing his hand down to her neck, he let it linger. "You checked the area, right? We've been getting some reports of rogues-"

"-Relax. Of course, I checked. It was the first thing I did after the deer finally ran off. Now that I'm thinking about it I'm surprised I didn't sense you earlier."

"Ah you know me, baby, I'm practically a ninja." He said, winking. Nova couldn't help but smile as she rolled her eyes. "Okay, but seriously I've just been hanging out down here waiting till I heard you guys walk up. I was probably just out of range."

She knew he was right, but she couldn't help feeling self-conscious. Her gifts had never fallen short like that before. 'Stay focused,' she reminded herself. Nova couldn't afford to get sloppy, so close to her ascension. If she was being honest with herself, it probably wasn't such a great idea to be spending so much time with Haider right now either. She couldn't help it, though. He had a way about him that always helped calm her down. With his constant flirting and antics, it was easy for her to forget the world and all the problems she faced within it. It was one of the many reasons she had been so drawn to him in the beginning.