“Travis I can’t do it! We have been standing out here for hours and I haven’t got any closer to controlling my visions!” I am so frustrated with myself. I don’t understand how I cannot get control of this. Travis told me that if I fully accepted my gift and welcomed it that I would get control of it. We having been standing outside the lake house for so long that I am starting to lose faith in myself. The breeze whips around us swirling dirt and leaves around our feet. Travis can tell that I am losing my faith in this task and walks over to me, “Niki you have to believe in yourself. I think that you are trying too hard. Don’t force it you have to let it flow.” I know that he is trying to help but I cannot help but get angry and yell, “I have been letting it flow, for the last 2 hours. It’s not working!” I throw my hands in the air and stomp back to the lake house. After I get up the steps my heart sinks. I hate when I hurt his feelings just because I am angry. This really is not his fault that I cannot control my gift. I turn around and see him standing alone looking to the ground with one hand in his pocket. I let take a deep breath and say, “Travis I’m sorry. Why don’t we take a break for a little bit?” He nods his head yes and starts to walk towards me. Then I happens, a vision comes to me. A small brown dog runs from the shore towards Travis. It looks lost and harmless. It gets about 5 feet from his before Travis notices that it’s even there. It lunges into the air and shifts into a woman. She has long white hair, black shoes, shirt and pants. The vision begins to slow and I see that she is holding a dagger in her hand. He plunges it into Travis neck, dragging it to the back of his head separating his head from his body. His headless body collapses to the ground.
I snap back into reality and rush down the stairs to Travis. Before I can tell him anything the small brown dog from my vision begins rushing towards us from the shore. Travis thinks nothing of it until I scream the only things that could come to mind, “It’s not a real dog! It’s a woman!” Travis grabs my arm and pushes me behind him. I fall to my back and land on a rake that breaks in half. The dog lunges to the air and Travis crouches down preparing for a fight. I look to my side and pick up the broken half of the rake. As soon as the woman shifts I jump forward and stab the broken rake into her stomach. She lets out a paralyzing scream of pain and hits the ground hard. Crimson blood begins to flow from her stomach and stain the ground around her. I expect for her body to turn to ash and float into the sky like all the other shifters have, but it doesn’t happen. Travis has been staring at me ever since I struck her with the broken rake. I look to him and say, “What? I had a vision. What was I supposed to do let her kill?” He gives me a half smile and shakes his head from side to side. Coughing breaks the silence between us. We both look down to the woman and she is coughing up blood. She opens her eyes and looks around. Travis rips the broken rake from her stomach and she lets out another scream grabbing her wound in pain. Travis jumps on top of her with his hand around her throat. He leans forward and screams into her face, “How many more are here!?” She turns her head to the side spitting out blood onto the dirt. She looks back to Travis with tears of pain streaming from her eyes, “I will tell you nothing.” Travis face becomes filled with anger and leans back punching her wound. Her scream rips through the quiet trees. He hits her again and again and again. My stomach begins to turn seeing all the blood flowing from her body. I look to my feet and its all around me. I don’t know how she is still alive. Travis grabs her blood soaked shirt and pulls her to his face, “You can either tell me now and I will save you or you can choose to have a painful death.” She looks to me and then back to Travis. There is a silence and she looks up to the sky and extends her hand as if she is reaching for something. Travis looks to where she is pointing and there is a large owl sitting on a branch staring down at bloody scene. Travis drops the shifter and stands never breaking eye contact with the owl. “You are going to hide like a coward behind that disguise.” The owl turns its head to the side as if he is intrigued by the question. It extends its large gray wings and floats down to the forest floor. Before his claws touch the dirt it turns into a man. I don’t know how Travis can tell which animal is a shifter. This man looks different than the others. He is tall, handsome and has slicked back black hair. His black suit makes him look almost approachable. He walks to Travis and there are no words spoken. He looks to me and says, “You must be the young Queen.” I don’t know if I should answer that or not. I look to Travis and he is holding his gaze on this strange man. I look back to him and he raises his eyebrows waiting for an answer. Finally I respond, “Who are you?” He gives me a half smile and responds, “Oh little Queen, I am your demise.” There is something that is familiar about his voice. I have heard it before but I can remember where. Travis takes a step forward anger pulsing through his veins, “I wouldn’t be too sure about that Ares.” Ares? The Greek God of War. How can that be true? I step forward and ask, “Ares? You are not the Greek God of War.” He lets out an evil chuckles and it clicks in my mind. He is the red eyes that have been haunting me. Fear surges through me and I take a few small steps back. This man has been tormenting me and I don’t want to be anywhere near him. Ares responds, “No I am not a Greek God you stupid little girl. I was gifted the name by King Khan for my exceptional skills.”
“What kind of exceptional skills?” Ares looks to Travis and starts laughing in his face. Travis clenches his fists but stands still. He looks back to me and takes a few steps forward, “Well I guess you could say I specialize in…death, war and the art of pain. I am Khans General and right hand. I lead the Army of wolves and shifts that should be here any day now to watch you fall.” My palms begin to sweat and I want feel the urge to get away. I feel the breeze that was once swirling around me playfully, die down and lie still. The dirt and leaves that were twirling on the ground have now frozen in midair. Ares and Travis stand motionless with their eyes locked on one another. I feel a tingle up my spine and then a vision comes to me.
I am looking down on myself sleeping peacefully in my bed with Travis at my side. His arm wrapped around me and he has one leg draped over mine. Ares is standing outside my bedroom staring at me while I sleep. He walks around the side of the house and into the front door. The house is so dark that it’s hard to see anything that is happening. He walks down the hall like a ghost making no sound as he steps along the hardwood floor. He looks to my father’s office and Denise is sitting in his office chair awake and waiting. She points down the hall and I can only assume that she is pointing him in the direction of my room. He nods his head and gives her a devilish grin. He continues to walk down the hall and he turns to my door. He turns the knob and pushes it open. Travis and I are both still sleeping. Fear is gripping me and I cant believe that I am going to watch my own death or worse…Travis’. He walks into my room and stands over us as we sleep. He pulls a long dagger out of his belt and holds it above my throat. He raises his arms and before he hand thrust the cold steel into my neck a red burst of color engulfs his body. Screams ripe out through the house and I realize that it’s not color…its fire. My vision ends and I am sucked back into reality. Time resumes its normal pace.
I look to Ares and Travis who have not moved. Although my visions can last for about 5 minutes in reality I lose no time. To everyone around me it’s a mere second. I walk over to Travis and grab his clenched fist. My confidence is growing with the knowledge that Ares will die before he can accomplish his task. I look to the young woman who is lying on the ground and notice that she is starting to fade. Her body is beginning to turn to ash and the breeze begins to whirl her remains into the air. I look to Ares and he looks down to where she was lying and lets out an annoyed scoff. He cares for no one, not even his own soldiers. Travis can no longer contain his anger and he lunges for Ares. They both fall back and hit the ground. Dirt flies into the air as they roll around fighting. Ares gets both of his feet under Travis and launches him into the air. Travis flies back landing on his feet and sliding back further on the dirt. Lifting his head up, he looks to Ares and lets out a terrifying roar. It sends chills through my body and stands the hair on neck. He launches back towards and Ares begins to run towards him. He connects with a blur of punching and kicking. They are moving so quickly that I cannot tell what is going on. Growls and roars are ripping through that quiet forest. Denise and Mom run out from the house when they realize what is going on. Denise stands at the stop of the porch just watching the scene with her arms crossed. My mother runs to my side holding me tight. I can feel heat growing between us and I can tell that her emotions are activating her Pyros ability. I push her off and yell, “Mom…Your fire…throw it now!” She looks to Travis and Ares battling in the dirt driveway and she lifts her hand. The red glow begins to swirl in her hand and she motions her hand side to side trying to aim at Ares. She stands for a moment with sweat beading on her forehead. “Mom please! What are you waiting for!? THROW IT!” She screams back at me, “I can’t, they are moving too quickly! I don’t want to hit Travis!” Ares looks to Mom and see’s that she is summoning her Pyros and is at the ready to strike. He jumps into the air and shifts back into an owl and flies high into the tree tops. I watch him until I lose sight and look back down to Travis. He is kneeling on one knee trying to catch his breath. Blood is flowing from his nose and mouth. He has cuts all over his body and they are bleeding profusely. I rush to his side, kneel to the ground and touch his arm. He lets out a roar and pushes me with his arm throwing me across the yard. I feel my back crunch onto the steps of the porch and I cannot move. It feels like a thousand knifes are running up and down my spine cutting all my skin and muscles. Travis looks to me and hasn’t realized what he has just done. He snaps out of his rage and runs to my side. I let my head fall back and I open my eyes. Denise is standing over me grinning. She leans forward and whispers in my ear, “I guess we won’t have to kill you after all. It looks like Travis has done that for us.” All I hear is a roar from Travis and then I fade into blackness.
***
There is a warm breeze caressing my body. I can smell the scent of fresh cut grass filling the air. I feel the warm sun on my face and grass under my body. I run my hands back and forth through the soft blades and open my eyes. I see my willow tree from home hanging above me with his halo of limbs draped around me. The soft leaves are twirling in the wind. I realize that I am in a dream. I miss my spot under that willow so much that I don’t want to wake up right now. I extend my arms and grab the limp limbs that hang to the ground. I twirl them around in my fingers enjoying the feeling of the soft leaves as they run through my hands. This is the first time that I have been alone in so long. I feel safe and at ease. I roll to my side and run my hands through the grass and watch the leaves dance in the wind. “Niki…” I hear a whisper on the wind. “Niki…” Again the soft voice rings through the leaves. I almost wish that there was no one here. I want to be alone right now. I have been surrounded by people ever since I left this spot to come to the lake house. I have not had a moment of peace. I roll onto my back and try to ignore the voice calling for me. I roll to my opposite side and there is a woman lying next to me. I gasp and scoot back, “Who are you!” She had golden hair that is sparkling in the sun, fair skin, bright red lips and emerald eyes. She smiles at me and reaches out for me, “You’re hurt.” He voice sounds young and excited for life. I look up and down my body and I don’t see any blood or cuts. She begins to giggle pushes my shoulder “You can’t feel pain in your dreams silly.” I let out a small chuckle but I can’t help but wonder who she is. “Umm I’m sorry I don’t mean to be rude, but who are you?” She looks to me and brushes a loss piece of hair from my eyes, “Well I am Asclepius.” This girl is so strange. She seems so carefree. Her answers sound so ‘matter of fact’. I respond, “That is a strange name.” She gives me a large smile, “Thank you, Queen Renee gave me the name. It’s after the Greek God of healing.” There seems to be a trend with the names. I am so tired of being in the dark when it comes to the knowledge of this world so I decide to just ask her, “Why do the Queen and King name people after Gods?” She takes a breath and lets it out, “Well I guess it’s because they like us the best and you cannot get any better than a God. We are important to them and stay with them at all times. Ares is Khan’s war dog and I am Renee’s Healer. I will heal anyone that she requests me to. She told me before she left the kingdom that she would not be returning and you would take her place. She said that I was to heal you whenever you were hurt and serve you as I served her.” She runs her fingers through her hair waiting for me to respond.
Asclepius’ explanation of her duties is the first time that I have felt like I have understood anything about this world. Maybe it’s because she explained it like a child would explain their day at school, It was short and to the point. “Asclepius, how are you in my dream?”
“You have a lot of questions don’t you Queen.” She giggles and rolls closer to me, “Well I can heal mind, body and soul. So When I need to heal someone’s soul or mind I have to find out what is broken and fix it. So I jump in their dreams.” I am confused on why she is in my dream. There is nothing wrong with my mind or soul. I ask, “Ok well the last thing I remember is hitting my back against the stairs, I don’t think that there is anything wrong with my mind or soul.” She responds, “Well Queen, you have been knocked out for a while and I wanted to talk to you, so I came in your dream. It’s a good thing that I did because I found something broken.” Confusion fills me. I don’t understand why she would find something broken. “What did you find?” She holds out a closed fist and says, “I found this. It’s a part of your soul. There are lots of parts to a soul and when one part breaks the whole soul doesn’t work right. Most humans have to find out what it is on their own to fix it. But you are lucky because I can fix it for you.” A large heartwarming smile spreads across her face. She points down with her other hand to her closed fist. Light begins to illuminate from her fist and it shakes uncontrollably. Asclepius never takes her eyes off her hands. The light begins to die down and the shaking stops. I look into her eyes and she points back down her closed fist. She opens her hand and there is a small silver band with a little diamond sparkling at the top. I can’t believe it. It’s the promise ring that Derek gave me. I threw it in our fireplace after the incident. I look back at her “I don’t understand.” She presses both palms together pressing on the ring. She opens her hands and it has disappeared. She looks back and me and responds, “You let Derek take a piece of your soul when you threw the ring into the fire. Because you don’t forgive him he holds power over you. You may think that he doesn’t deserve forgiveness but it’s not for him, it’s for you. Letting go of the anger will help you become who you were ment to be.” She lies down onto her back and folds her arms behind your head. “So what did fixing the ring do?” She closes her eyes and lets out a sigh, “I healed the anger inside it so it doesn’t make your soul sick anymore.” I feel a rush of comfort and relief flood over me and it takes the breath out of me. I lay back and try to catch my breath. Asclepius sit ups and scoots towards me grabbing both my hands with an excited grin on her face, “Did you feel it?” I open my eyes and look up to her, “I think so.” She smiles down at me and says, “It’s time to go back now. If you ever need me call my name and I will come to you. If you are hurt and cannot call to me, don’t worry, I will know.” She places her hand on my forehead and I feel by body being pulled back into reality. I snap awake and Travis is leaning over me with tears running down his face.
“Where is Asclepius?” Travis scoops me into his arms and squeezes me so tight that it pushes that air out of my lungs. “Oh god Niki I thought I lost you! I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to hit you. Can you ever forgive me?” I sit up and realize I don’t have any of the pain that I once felt. I actually feel better than before like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I can breathe easier. I didn’t realize how much Derek was truly affecting me. But I no longer have to deal with the anger or the pain he caused me. I look around for Asclepius but I don’t see her anywhere. My mother is still standing next to Travis wiping tears away from her eyes. She kneels down and cups both sides of my face with her hands kissing every part of my face. She pulls my face away and says, “oh honey thank goodness you are ok. We thought that we lost you.” I give her a hug and turn to look at Denise. The look on her face is priceless. Not only has she just given her secret away, but watching me come back to life was just to much to handle. “What Denise? Are you disappointed?” She turns on her heels and stomps back into the house. I can’t help but laugh, although my mother doesn’t find it very funny. I turn Travis and he has his hands over his face still crying. I move back to him and wrap my arms around him feel his warmth envelope my body. He lets out a sigh and says, “Please forgive me Niki. It was an accident.” I remember what Asclepius told me about forgiveness. I know that he did not mean to hurt me even if he did break my back and almost kill me. “Of course I forgive you Travis I know that you didn’t mean it.” He looks up at me his and his eyes are red from crying. “I love you Niki.” I kiss him on the cheek “I love you.”
I release Travis, stand up and look around for Asclepius. I haven’t seen her since I woke up. Travis can tell that I am searching for something and asks, “Niki, are you looking for something?” I place my hands in my hips and turn from side to side, scanning the forest trying to find her. “I’m looking for Asclepius.” Travis lets out a chuckle still wiping the wetness of tears from his face. “You will not find her.” I turn my head to the side, struck by confusion. “What is that supposed to mean? I thought she stayed with Queen Renee at all times. Now that she is gone, isn’t she supposed to stay with me?” He stands up brushing the dirt that covers his shirt and pants from rolling around with Ares, “Well technically you’re not the Queen yet. She did come and help you but she doesn’t have to stay with you at all times until you are Queen. Trust me she is still around and she will be watching over you.” I can help but feel disappointed. I loved how care free she was. It gave me a sense of relief with all the stress that I have been dealing with. I can’t help but think about Renee’s child… why was she not saved by Asclepius?
***
Although Asclepius healed me, she did not heal Travis, most likely because I didn’t ask her too. He can heal on his own anyways. He has been lying on my bed for the last hour motionless. Although most of the small cuts and bruises have faded, the larger lacerations are still bleeding a little. I use a wet wash cloth to soak up the extra blood that is trickling from his wounds. The smell of his cologne is strong in my room. I don’t know how he can smell so nice and look like shit. He is covered is dirt and his clothes are torn apart. Travis finally opens his eyes and looks up at me, “You know that you don’t have to clean the wounds. They are going to heal on their own.” I giggle and slap his leg, “I don’t want blood on my bed.” He grabs my hand and tires to pull me down to him but I resist. “Travis you are filthy. Before I lay with you, you need to take a shower.” He lets go of my hand and tries to sit up, “You want to jump in with me.” I give him a wink and say, “Nice try.” He laughs at me as he sits up so he can swing his legs over the edge of the bed. I look where he was lying on and there is a dirt outline of his body, “Oh Damit, now I have to wash my sheets.” He gets to his feet and hobbles to the door. “Do you need help Travis?” He lets out a grown and ignores my question. I hate seeing him in pain. I thought that I was going to save him from the female shifter that planned on stabbing him in the neck and removing his head, but instead he was beaten by Ares. I am grateful he is alive. I hear the bathroom door open, close and the shower turn on. I ripe my now dirt covered sheets off my bed and lay down on the bare mattress.
I can’t help but think about Asclepius. She healed my anger and hate towards Derek and I have never felt more free. I didn’t realize how much energy I was giving up, feeding into the hate. Maybe I can use my Mystic ability now without such a fight. I need to learn to summon it when I need to before my awakening. I close my eyes and relax by whole body. I try to relax all the muscles in my toes, feet, claves, and thighs all the way up to my head. I can feel a tingling all over my body and a sense of total relaxation. I try to visualize what I want to see. All I can think of is Travis. Images start to flash in my mind and they are moving so fast that I can’t tell what is happening. I try to focus on one thing but the images are moving too quickly. I can’t take it anymore and I shout “STOP” in my mind. The images stop. There is only one left and all I can see is smoke. I look around trying to see Travis but there is nothing but smoke. All of a sudden the smoke begins to dissipate and I see the shower in the lake house, it’s not smoke, its steam but there is no one in it. I turn around and Travis is standing looking in the mirror at his injuries. I can’t believe it; I am watching Travis before he gets into the shower…this feel wrong. I need to get out of here, but my curiosity is killing me and I stay. He is as handsome as ever. He runs both hands through his golden hair and small pieces of dirt fall from his locks and land in the sink. He starts to talk to himself, “How am I going to do this. I was beat by Ares, Khan’s fucking war dog. How the hell am I supposed to beat Khan?” I can see the worry that is covering his face and all I want to do is reach out to him. He turns around and rips his shirt off. I guess there is no point in trying to save it since it has so many tears in it. My breath is taken away when I see his body. I have never seen someone so defined in my life. His pecks and 6-pack are to die for. He looks like he was plucked out of a magazine of Men’s Fitness. Although there isn’t very much, he has chest hair from his pecks and down his abs. For some reason I love it and I just want to rub my hands all over him. I saw him without his shirt when he went swimming but I guess I just wasn’t paying attention. Now that I have really seen him I can take my eyes off him. He opens the shower door and more steam flows out. He unbuckles his pants and begins to pull them down. I become so embarrassed that I pull myself out of my vision. I couldn’t stand there and watch him shower like a pervert.
I open my eyes and I am back in my room. The house is silent and I hear the click of the shower door closing down the hall. I instantly feel the heat of embarrassment rush to my cheeks. I can’t believe that I stayed and watched him. I have been ignoring the desire that I have been feeling for him since he arrived. I don’t want to get intimate with him just yet. I know that we are bonded for life but that doesn’t mean that I have to give up…everything right away. Passion is pulsing through my veins to the point where it’s almost painful. I hold my breath and close my eyes trying to stop the sensation and slowly it lessens. I let out my breath and open my eyes. I look over to my door and my mom is standing there staring at me.
“Niki, are you alright?” The desire and passion that was pulsing through me has now ceased…thank god. I sit up and swing my legs over the bed feeling the cold floor on my feet. “Ya I am fine, Why?” She comes into my room and sits across from me in my love seat. She has a large smile on her face and says, “OK…I have been playing with…my power… I guess that is what it’s called but anyways look what I can do.” She leans forward and lifts one hand with her palm facing up and fingers lying flat. The red glow begins to illuminate and twirl. I look back at her face and I have never seen her so excited about something before. I look back to her hand and see a small flam start to rise from her palm. It begins to twist and twirl and then it turns into a small dancing woman about the size of an orange. She dances and spins around like a ballerina; I have never seen something so beautiful. The colors of orange, red and yellow seem to form a Tutu. I look up at my mom and say, “Mom that is amazing! How are you doing that?” She smiles at me and raises her other hand the same way, palm flat and facing up. Another red glow begins to twirl in her hand and a Man illuminates from the flames. She places her hands side by side and the figures begin to dance together. I can’t believe what I am seeing. I don’t know what to say, I am so memorized by it. She closes her hands and the figures disappear into a puff of smoke. She looks back to me and puts her hands over her mouth and taps her feet on the ground with excitement. She removes her hands from her mouth and says, “Isn’t that amazing! I have been playing around with it all day.” I put my hand over my chest and say, “Mom that is incredible! How did you do that?” She takes a breath and says, “Well I just started to think about what I wanted to do. I can now summon the fire whenever I want but I thought What if I could make things out of it. I mean if I can control it why couldn’t I make objects? Ballet dancers popped into my head so I tried to make them come to life. I was surprised how easy it was.” I am so amazed with my mother right now. She went from being terrified of her gift to embracing it totally and finding new ways to use it. I wish that I had as much control of my gift as she does. Even though the whole shower incident showed me that I am getting better at summoning it. The images of the vision popped into my head and make my face turns beat red. I look back to my mother and say, “Can you make them any bigger?” She giggles and says, “I don’t know yet I haven’t tried. I am a little afraid to; I don’t want to catch anything on fire.” I look down at my palms, “I wonder if I have any Proys in me?” She comes and sits next to me on the bed. “Well I don’t know. You want to try?” I turn to face her and say, “Ya I do! Ok…How do you summon yours?” She gets both my hands and turns them face up, “Ok now just close your eyes and see the flame growing bigger and bigger.” I close my eyes and try to concentrate on building fire in my palms. I can hear my mother breathing in and out slowly so I do the same. I am not able to summon any fire. I can’t help but feel a little disappointed but I guess you can have every gift. I sit with her for what feels like hours trying to get this fire to conjure. I hear someone clear their throat and my mom and I both open our eyes. Travis is standing in the doorway with wet hair and fresh clothes. His cologne fills my room and I take a deep breath through my nose. My mom looks back to me and places her hand on my leg, “Well I guess that is my cue.” She stands up and walks out of the room yelling down the hall, “Just keep practicing honey!” Travis looks at me and asks, “What are you practicing?” I start to fire back at him, “Oh my god Travis you should have seen it. My mom came in my room and she make little fire people in her hands and they were dancing together. It was amazing. We tried to see if I had any Pyros but I don’t think that I do.” He lets out a laugh and for some reason I the shower incident flashes through my mind. My face again turns tomato red and Travis turns his head to the side in confusion. “Why are you blushing?” I shake my head no but he knows that I am lying. “Niki, you know I can just read your thoughts and find out on my own so just tell me.” I lay back on my bed letting out a sigh of frustration, “Nothing Travis, really, please drop it.” There is nothing more irritating than being around someone that can read your thoughts. There is no way that I could ever keep anything from him. I hear the dull creek of the hardwood floor as he walks over to my bed. There is a moment of silence and then he jumps into the air landing on my hips straddling me. He gets one my wrists in each one of his hands and pins me to the bed. I struggle against him but he is much too strong for me to resist. Laughing he says, “Niki you can either tell me or I will just look on my own”. I try to buck him off with my hips but there is no use. “There is nothing to tell you Travis.” He pulls both of my hands over my head and places both of my wrists in one of his hands and the other on my cheek. I try to wriggle away but it just makes his grip tighter. I start to uncontrollably laugh and he starts to giggle with me. He looks down at me devilishly and says, “Last chance baby.” I know that he is going to find out anyways but I am far too embarrassed to say it out loud. I shake my head no while still laughing and he closes his eyes. My stomach sinks and I know exactly what he is about to see. I want to disappear right now. He is never going to let me live this down. He keeps them closed for a brief moment with a small grin growing from his mouth. Then he whips his eyes open staring straight into my soul. I look away as my face heats with embarrassment. I cannot make eye contact with him right now. He releases my hands and lets the back of his hand glide down the side of my face. “So you’re spying on me in the shower?” I try to sit up and he places his hand on my chest preventing me from moving anywhere. I look up at him and say, “It was an accident I swear I was trying to practice summoning a vision on my own but you were the only person that I could think about. I had no choice in the matter.” He nods his head, “Well that sounds like a good excuse but that doesn’t explain why you stayed in the vision.” He gives me a wink and leans into my face, inches from my lips whispering, “Niki, you want me don’t you?” I get my hands under his chest and push him off me. “No!” He giggles as he falls back onto the end of the bed, “Whatever you say you’re Highness!” I sit up and slap the side of his leg and it just makes him laugh harder.