Grey Thorns

Chapter 26- Sleep

Max's POV ♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪

"Max, wake up." I open my eyes to Liam's voice. It felt way too early. "Its time." He says roughly. His voice thick from sleep. His eyes were tired and his face looked slightly sunken in, yet so beautiful. I sit up and rub my face. "What time is it?" I ask and he stands up and moves to his closet. "630. Everyone up in training are up at dawn." He says quietly. I felt his distance from me and stared at him quietly. He yanks his shirt off him and I gain enough consciousness to get up and walk over to him. I caught him before he grabbed the clean shirt and wrapped my arms around him from behind. He was so warm it made me shiver. "Nervous?" He asks.

"No, I just wanted to thank you." I say partially muffled into his back. "You should be nervous. You'll be in front of a lot of people." He blows off my thanks.

I let go of him and walk into the bathroom. I need to figure myself out, that's why I need to take this test. Maybe he just doesn't see it like I do. His father agrees with me that I am different and I should be able to know why. That's mostly what we spoke about last night. Maybe that's why he's ignoring me. Before I get in my bag for clean clothes, I didn't know what would be appropriate, but I didn't want to ask Liam. I felt... lost. And its not exactly reassuring. Wear white. He tells me, so I do. Once I put it on, I stare in the mirror and decide against eye liner. Kacey had given it to me but I never wore it. I leave my hair down and pull on my shoes before walking out. Why do I feel so depressed? Why am I not excited anymore?

Liam was dressed in all black but I didn't question him. "You ready?" He sighs and I nod. "Okay," he pauses and stops in front of me. "I have to remind you that I cannot help you at all once were up there." He says slowly so I catch every word. I nod and he hesitantly grabs my arm. "Kay, let's get this over with." He says under his breath.

He hesitated for a long moment and then for countless time I didn't know where I was, all I saw was blue, and then when I opened my eyes, I was in a huge all white facility. I swallowed hard. Now I'm a little nervous but I didn't want to admit it to Liam. He probably already knew. He kept his distance from me as we walked out a large door and into another large white room, but with a few people in it. They were in human form, mostly blond, and all stared at us as we walked across the room. I felt my cheeks grow hot and look down as I walked. It was mainly men in here. We stepped into a third room and saw his father. There was a grey chair in the middle of it and an open window behind it. I wondered how there could be a tree outside and wondered where this place is actually located. "Ah! She can see all this! Lovely." The man next to Phillip proclaims with a smile and I fold my hands behind my back and politely smile before quickly staring at the floor. "Yes. This is the girl I've been telling you about." Phillip says and the man approaches me with curious green eyes. He was tall, and blond, very youthful but his age was unknown. "Yes... very beautiful. Bold, and vibrant." He plots as he circles around me. I swallowed and kept still as his eyes lingered on me. "I see why she has captured your son, Phillip." He says and I make eye contact with his father, Phillip. "He does his job rather well of protecting her." He says with a weariness to his smile.

"I've never seen in my 500 years of living that a Fallen, a prince be at that, marking on a mortal. Its stunning." He says. I swallow again and feel my cheeks go hot.Phillip looses his smile. "I'm sorry but I think you have mistaken." He says and a smirk grows wide on the mans face. "Its written like a bulls eye on her forehead." He says and no one says anything for a long time.

He stops in front of me and holds out his hand. "Well, let us proceed. I'm Daniel. I will be watching your simulation. And you are?" He says and presses his lips to the back of my hand. He was attractive, I'll admit that, but all I wanted was for Liam to tell him hands off. There was some tension though, I don't know where from, but I think it was between Phillip and Liam. "Maximus." I say and he smiles. "You are very intriguing to read, Maximus." He smiles and drops my hand. "Why don't you have a seat, my dear?" He motions towards the seat and walks over to a computer. Once I sit, I make small eye contact with Liam but he would look away.