Bound By Chains (MxM)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Despite going to sleep so late in the night...I was the one who ended up waking up before Cayden. His eyes were still closed when I opened mine, and despite the fact that my heart was racing a mile a minute in my chest from his proximity, I took a moment to myself and let my eyes trail over that handsome, relaxed face of his.

He looked so peaceful and calm, while he slept, and occasionally he would twitch, or furrow his brows...and I silently wondered what he could possibly be dreaming about. I didn't think it was a nightmare because of how soothed his expression was, but I did wonder if he was dreaming about a life beyond the castle walls...or if he was dreaming about the individual he was in love with. Or perhaps it was neither of those things and he was dreaming about some strange world, or something crazy and weird.

When he started to yawn and stretch his limbs, I immediately closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep, not wanting the embarrassment of being caught staring at him.

After a moment, he stopped stretching and went still, although...I could feel the heat of his gaze on me. I then heard the softest rustle of fabric, and I nearly jolted when I felt him softly tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, before his fingers slid down to my cheek, seemingly caressing the skin there. We stayed like that for a few moments, my heart beating wildly in my chest as my cheek burned hotly at his touch.

My mind was racing wildly, my thoughts an indescribable mess. He believed me to be asleep...yet here he was, caressing my cheek in a way...a-a lover would, and such a thought had my mind racing even more frantically, trying to piece together what this all could mean.

But before I could come up with a solid guess, his hand was gone and he was sitting up, before he reached down and gently shook me.

"Davian. Davian, wake up. Something is going on out there."

Acting like I was just waking up, I opened my eyes slowly and frowned at Cayden's worried look, a ball of dread settling in my gut when I heard a multitude of voices outside of our tent. "W-What's going on?" I wondered as Cayden stood up and peeked out of the tent, before popping his head back in to look at me.

"It looks like the entire camp is gathering for something, although, I've no idea what it is."

Feeling a bit worried and anxious, I got off of my cot and followed Cayden outside, shielding my eyes from the sun as I watched everyone gather in front of Terry's tent; most of them looking just as confused as I felt. Was something wrong? Had Alton's armies found us? Or could they finally have gotten word from the other rebellion groups? What on earth could it be?

Hopefully nothing that risks me going back to the castle, I thought to myself, subconsciously grabbing Cayden's arm for support, causing him to briefly glance down at me.

His attention was then stolen when Terry emerged from his tent, his violet eyes searching the crowd before stopping at me, causing a strange chill to slither down my spine. I relaxed when he looked away from me in order to address the crowd as a whole.

"You may be wondering why I called for a gathering this fine morning, and I merely want to address some worries and concerns some of you were having about our prolonged stay here. I want to personally assure each and every one of you that we do in fact have a perfectly good explanation at our hesitation to move. We have a plan in the works, one that will solidify our win in this endeavor to free all of the helpless individuals who are forced to be playthings to the so called "higher" part of society. This plan requires us to stay here just a little bit longer, but in the end, it will be worth the wait, I assure you."

"What's this so-called-plan entail?" Someone from the crowd asked, causing Terry's violet eyes to snap towards her.

"I will inform you in time, after I work out some of the kinks. But in the meantime, I want you all to act as if this is a normal day."

"I don't feel comfortable just siting around while an entire army searches for us," another individual spoke from the back.

Terry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, as if he was starting to get irritated at all of the questions. "We have that handled. As we speak, we have a master tracker keeping tabs on their location; one who is adept at leading them away whenever they stray too close. Now, I'll be open to any inquiries you may have later in the day, but for now, will Ilikas, Vira, Simson and Lain accompany me in my tent? There are a few things I wish to discuss."

Cayden and I watched the for named individuals enter, while everyone else dispersed with unsatisfied grumbles or scoffs, leaving me to look back at Cayden. "It...appears we have our answer," I mutered as the other man frowned, his attention still on Terry's tent.

"It seems so...although, the fact that he wouldn't elaborate on what said plan is...it's a little worrying." The brunet glanced down towards me. "Honestly, I want to listen in on what they're saying...but it's broad daylight and there's nowhere to hide by his tent without being seen..." He sighed and dragged his hand through his hair, before he pursed his lips; his brows pinched together. "Screw it, if I get caught, I get caught. I promised you I would get answers, and if that means risking angering Terry, then so be it."

I immediately frowned and placed a hand on his arm when he began moving towards the large tent, my heart clenched with worry. "What happens if he locks you back up? W-What will we do then?"

Cayden's expression softened as he placed a hand over mine, causing my heart to go wild. "Then I'll find a way to break free and whisk you away into the night. If he locks me up for something that we should have been informed of, already...then there's definitely something he doesn't want us to know. And if that's the case...well, we'll leave and never look back." He then moved his hand to my cheek, his thumb brushing the space just under my eye. "Look, I'll be fine, ok? I'm not going to let them take me away from you."

My heart flipped in all different kinds of ways as a warmth blossomed in my chest; my cheeks growing pink. "Just...be careful, alright? Try not to let anyone see you."

Cayden grinned and, to my disappointment, pulled his hand back to himself. "I'll be fine. Besides, I have a feeling the rest of the camp has no idea what the hell Terry is planning. They might not even care if I listen in." He then stood there, looking as if he were about to say, or do something, but at the last minute he seemed to change his mind and snuck over to the tent, leaving me alone to worry about him.

I nibbled at my bottom lip and sighed, wringing my hands together as I silently tried to reassure myself that he would be fine. Otherwise, I was going to have a very heated conversation with the fae leader. I might not be able to do much physically...but, I mean, I could yell and be mean. I wrapped my arms around myself and walked back to my tent. Or...if things got really bad...as much as I would rather not...I-I could....I could seduce Terry to free Cayden, if, gods forbid, it ever came to that point. After all...it seemed like he was interested in me by the way he acted, yesterday. I honestly didn't want to, but if he locked Cayden back up and he was unable to escape...

Well, that would be my absolute last resort, if the yelling didn't work, or if I couldn't convince him. I just really hope and pray that it wouldn't come to such measures.

A/N: Enjoy some art! Featuring: Davian, Cayden, Terry and Joana! XP