We all stare in shock.
We stare at the massive pile in charred flesh, bones and ash.
Rhys keeps flaming it with such ferosity everyone needed to back up even more from the heat. He goes closer, charring it some more before he climbs the pile roaring that it echos, a window even breaks..
" You alright?" He questions his head tilting as he comes up to me again.
" Yea.. I think you got them.." I answer back.
He was quick to be at my side again separating me from the group as he roars towards the crowd..another warning.. One telling everyone he wants me.. And he'll sure as hell protect me. Segyl comes down from her perch standing closely by him, Andarna comes at my other side..
" They get the point Rhys.." I hear Segyl say.
" Not only did his rider try killing her HE DID!" Rhy's voice bellows.
" And he knew better.. They all know what you can do." She answers back more sterness in her tone.
Andarna paces where everyone was standing possibly.. protecting them from the rage Rhys was feeling, if he'd shoot at anyone else, he'd hit Andarna since her pacing was so fast.
" Classes are cancelled for the rest of the day." Kamori says magnifying his voice for all to hear. Translation: Get the hell out before this thing scorches us...
Everyone scampered to leave, leaving Xaden, Liam and I.
" Thank you for protecting me again." I say to rhys running my hand along his wing. He eyes me, " I'll protect you with my life halfblood."
Halfblood.
" What do you guys think of her words? Why she said that."
" Pay no mind to what that traitor said." Rhys snaps at me. Snaps. " He had no damned clue."
Xaden's jaw clenches as he stares at Rhys then looking back to me, " She should lay low for the rest of the day and after all that."
Rhys only snorts at him looking back to the pile, " If one single hair on her head is gone Wingleader when i return you'll be matching that pile."
Xaden nods stiffly as Rhys was the first to take off, then Segyl, last Andarna who nuzzled me quickly following them.
" Let's move." Xaden says, sounding annoyed as he turns...seeing Dain stroming to us.. Was he here the whole time?
" Freya!" His voice cracks, I can see his eyes were watering. His eyes were watering.
For her.
" Aetos-" Xaden begins. " Don't Aetos me! What the actual hell Freya!" He got right up in my face, I thought for a moment.. he was going to push me..even hit me..
" What do you mean ' What the hell' Dain?! Your.. whatever the hell she was to you tried to kill me!"
" And you just killed her! And her dragon!" He yells.
" That's-" Xaden begins but I stop him, " No... let him talk." I urge not daring to look away from Dain. I shake my head in disbelief, " So your really going to take her side? Over mine! Your best friend Dain? I should be asking what the hell?! Everyone saw her! YOU SAW HER DAIN and your blaming me?!" I yell.
" And how is it my fault that your... what? GIRLFRIEND tried killing me?! I didn't even know her!"
" Probably because you make them so afraid Freya!" HE screams back. " They see you as a threat! They see those dragons as a threat! They're unnatural! Your-" He stops himself snapping his mouth shut.
A small smirk curls my lips, " I'm unnatural."
His jaw clenches as he stares back at me, " You always knew you were different Freya. And that's fine...but you know what was never fine.."
" Yea? What?" I spit.
" That you always felt sorry for yourself for being so different but you never seemed to help yourself. You always seems to get your ass in more trouble, draw more damn attention to yourself and drag everyone else into it! No wonder your mother never gave to approval you always whined and bitched about! Because your reckless, your a liability and your to damned stubborn to realize that!"
My mouth closes. Those words hurt like hell...
Xaden was right. Maybe I never knew Dain or maybe the Dain that left me died on the Parapet. In one swift motion I see the blackness of Xaden's shadows wrap around Dain's neck lifting him off the ground.
" I'd walk away Aetos when I still have a little restraint left, unless you want to join your bitch in the ash pile over there." Xaden seethes tossing him a couple feet.
He rolls coughing as he looks at us.
Now I see Dain Aetos in a different light. I take a couple steps towards him kicking him in the gut, " Maybe I'm a liability or a risk Aetos.... but at least I won't be a puppet, betraying your squad mates just so my mother will accept you or any other person here... You know what the different always was between us?"
He doesn't say anything.
" You will always take the cowardly approach to get power you crave so damn much.. kissing asses that will never see you as an equal and will betray you when it benefits them..and that.. is an unstable type of power. While me on the other hand.. I take my power, it's the kind that's raw..and won't be taken from me like yours will... If they try I'll be the one killing..not the one that will be killed."
" You sound just like him.." Dain sneers. " You sound like all of them. Maybe that dragon of yours should put a relic on you-"
I kick him square in the face, enough, but not enough to knock him out. kneeling down I grab his collar, " I'd be careful... Maybe if you piss me off just a little more, I'll have Rhys burn a hole through the dragon of yours..and you'd be drug along as well. Don't tempt me."
I push him away getting back up once more, " And you know what? I'd gladly take one of their marks, because the ones that are supposed to hate me and try to kill me have been more loyal and more helpful then you've ever been Aetos."
" I'm..I'm sure your...-m-other will love hearing..that." He rasps.
I chuckle, " And I'm sure you'll tell her. But I know her, and I know she'll hear what happened here, and you and I both know she's not stupid... She won't touch me and he sure as hell won't touch Rhys... so go run tail tucked to her Dain.."
I give him one final glance before I spin around going past Xaden and Liam who just..watched. But I hear footsteps behind me soon after though they were a little distanced.
I hold back the tears, I bite my cheek so hard I feel the warm taste of metal on my tongue as I walk, I take deep breaths, not to deep that I know people will hear it, I try slowing them down, I hope my heart slows as well but it only speeds up.
I blink, I tried blinking away the tears but a couple fell... I can't show weakness... I can't let anyone see I'm crying.. So I wipe my face, keeping my face down as I walk briskly back to my room. I slam the door shut, go to the bathroom turning on the shower just in case for some reason Xaden or even my new guard decides to come in here..
With one look in the mirror I break down.
I wasn't crying for what happened or how I defended or handled myself, and sure as hell not crying for Dain...
It was because what we were...friends.. lifetime, childhood, best friends, was severed. I'm upset at the fact that this last year without my one true friend was hell and I was so happy to finally have him back.
But.. I see Dain died once he crossed that Parapet. All that's left is now my Squad Leader Aetos.
The one person I thought I would always have is lost. I think that feeling is wrose then death taking him from me, but still seeing a different version of himself everyday I feel is going to be a hell of alot worse. Especially when he says shit like that.
I smell the tinge of burnt from Rhy's fire on me, making me feel sick. I shrug off my clothes undoing my braid switching into more Riders black. I go out back to my room seeing Xaden playing with a long ass dagger.
" Stop crying over such a pitiful, cowardly, selfish man." He says almost boredly not bothering to even look up from his knife.
" I wasn't-"
He finally looks up pointing the dagger at me, " Yes. You were. First of all... Your cry as loud as a pig squeals, Second... your face looks horrible, and Third...we're bonded which you seem to forget quite often Fury... I can feel you."
My expression dulls, " Then why the hell can't I feel you?"
" Probably because you don't have your signet yet. Do you want to feel me?" He asks setting a tone to his last words lifting a brow.
" No. I don't." I spit.
" Good. Because every day you'll feel the distain I have towards you." He answers playing with his knife again.
" What are you doing in my room, if you can't tell you tall glass of absolute dumbass I'm not in the mood for anymore shit today!" I yell, the anger flaring in me once more.
" A tall glass of..dumbass.. That's quite the dig there Fury." Xaden chuckles, " I've been called alot of things.. but never that..."
I was so riled up I took the first thing I could reach, which was one of my textbooks hurling it at him..which his dagger caught, stopping it right infront of his face. " Not only do you have horrible comebacks, your throwing is shit as well. Now you need a new textbook."
" Your lucky I don't have any daggers close to me."
Xaden stands, " Want mine? You can retry."
" If your here just to torment me please.. wait until tomorrow Xaden.. I'm not in the mood."
He sighs, " No, I'm here actually to do a check."
" A check."
" Yes. A check." He says sarcastically.
" On what?"
Was he checking in on me?
" On the room..but I didn't want to check while you were in there.. so I waited. Seeing the whole Basgiath just discovered Rhys can flame dragons I'm guessing there's a couple more on the never ended list of assassins you got."
" They'd be dumb to try to kill me because-"
" - That means they'll try killing me too? Obviously..but people are stupid.. so here I am."
I sit on my bed, " Well get on with it.."
I sends me a look before his shadows spread, I'm unsure what they're even looking for but I don't say anything as I simply watch..getting used to them a little more. Xaden comes back leaning on the wall messing around with his knife again as the shadows do the work.
I could swear he was glancing at me a few times though I didn't want to keep looking to make sure, instead I ran through my hair with my fingers pulling all the little knots out. And the whole time he didn't say another word until his shadows dissipate.
" All safe?" I ask finally, looking at him. He was already looking at me, he seems to snap out og it glancing at the disappearing shadows, " Yea. All clear."
" What was that look for?"
" What look?"
" You were just looking at me dumbass!"
He simply shrugs, " I've never seen you with your hair down. You look like an actual girl."
" Get the hell out Riorson."
" Gladly."
He walks to the door, before turning around abruptly " Expect a check like this at least twice a day. And Liam will pick you up and drop you off here daily, I expect you to behave and don't do any stupid shit. Understand?"
" I'm-"
" It's a ' I understand' question." Xaden interrupts.
" Whatever.." I mumble.
" I mean it Fury. Behave."
" I always behave."
He only laughs, one I think is genuine before he closes the door. Such a cocky, arrogent, white smiled ass.....