"What do you think River is going to do?" Felix couldn't help but ask as he and Xander waited in the living room after River disappeared with Roselyn. He knew just how hot-headed his brother was and how stupid he could be sometimes.
"Your Highness, why don't you return since you are no longer needed here?" Xander didn't even bother to sugarcoat his words before he spoke while ignoring Felix's original question.
Felix turned to look at the handsome dark elf standing next to the kitchen counter with his full attention on some sort of book that he was reading. He stood up and headed toward the man as he questioned, "Why? Am I not welcomed here?"
He only stopped when he was standing right in front of the man who finally looked up from his book before putting it aside on the counter and responding, "You won't like the truth, Your Highness." Xander's deep green eyes stared back into Felix's ice-blue eyes with an intensity that could cut any hard rock.
Felix took another step closer to the man which closed almost all the remaining space between their bodies and since they both were almost of the same height, their faces were aligned which only made the situation more intense. He inched his face closer which made the tips of their noses brush against each other but before he could have done anything more, Xander pushed him away.
"Since you want to stay here so badly, be my guest. But I'll be taking my leave." The newly appointed guardian didn't wait for even a second before he disappeared from the room.
Felix would probably have left too after that but he got stopped when River suddenly barged out of his bedroom and went straight into his arms... something that he hadn't done in ages.
"What's wrong, River?" Felix asked worriedly as he felt his brother's desperation and the pain he was suffering from, or more like his soul was suffering from.
"I'm a horrible mate, Felix."
*****
Roselyn stared at the door through which River had just disappeared. She wanted to chase that man and punch him until his handsome face turned into the worst sight possible. However, she didn't move at all, her body was frozen just like her soul and heart were.
He was nothing to her, even though he claimed the title of her destined soulmate. And while she had disliked him from the very beginning, she never thought he would be this heartless but all this was her fault, to begin with. If she hadn't given up fighting because of her traitorous body, she wouldn't have been humiliated to such a level.
And now his words and actions had hurt her in one of the worst ways possible. It was her soul that was in despair because of his harsh words and a clear rejection of the bond. And while her heart didn't pinch in sadness, her soul was shivering inside her because of the loss.
Her eyes landed on her bra and blouse that were sitting on the floor next to the bed and she was suddenly reminded of his touches. A shiver ran through her body that once again became alive at his mere thought.
It was at that moment when she landed a harsh slap on her own cheek, punishing herself for even thinking about him in such a way after all that he had done to her. The slap was so sharp that her cheek burned in pain and brought tears to her eyes.
She hurriedly dressed up and was about to leave the room when she suddenly recalled his words - he wanted to get rid of any other evidence of her presence from his room.
Her blood started boiling all over again as she recalled each insult that the man threw at her. The bank notes that were still sitting on the bedside table also caught her attention as they only added fuel to the fire burning inside her.
She felt it at that moment, something crawling up inside her toward the pendant locked around her neck. Her powers were trying to break through their confinement and punish whatever had caused her the pain.
For a moment, she felt hopeful as her powers pushed through the dark magic of the pendant and it made her push her powers even more strongly. She tugged at them, trying to make them break through only to realize a moment later just how wrong her decision was as pain shot through her neck and spread to the entire body when the pendant finally decided to fight back.
A loud painful scream left her mouth as she landed on her knees on the hard cold floor when immense pain took over her entire body. Her powers recoiled away from the dark magic of the pendant and went deep inside her to lock themselves away, leaving her cold and hopeless as she cried on the floor while screams were leaving her mouth constantly.
One moment, her entire body was boiling as the pendant punished her for attempting to break it and the next second, she found her body surrounded by something cold before that same cold thing landed against her throat over the pendant and it instantly stopped hurting her.
"River, she's in too much pain. Try to..." The voice sounded familiar but before her fuzzy mind could have succeeded in recognizing it, the person trailed off while she felt a pair of warm hands cupping her face. The touch felt so familiar and while her body shivered in panic at that touch, her soul immediately welcomed it... welcomed both the touches from both persons.
Since she was in no condition to fight whoever was holding her face, she just let it be. The pain slowly started fading away and her body started calming down along with her mind and soul.
She finally felt enough energy in her body to push her eyes open. It took a couple of seconds before her sight finally adjusted and she found herself looking at two pairs of identical ice-blue eyes.