No bruises this time so the lessons are paying off. I made sure the gown I wore covered up the new mark on my lower neck and went to lessons.
Faleon talked about how he used to work for the first king of this court and how i have to focus on harnessing my power. I heard the creak of the door and Raiden was standing there. "See you tomorrow Faleaon." and i walked to Raiden's side. We left the library and went into a more private area when he pulled part of my dress on my right shoulder down. The mark stood and Raiden cringed.
"Oh Mer i'm so sorry." "Its ok." "No its not ok. I marked you because.... I had no control."
"Why did you do it?" I asked. "Why I...bit you?" "Yes." "I just thought about you not being safe there and lost control. Thought about losing you. And i..." He stopped.
"It's not your fault. I did lead you on." "But i bet you didn't expect for me to bite you. D-Did it hurt?" "No....umm it...kinda...felt good." I blushed. "I'm sorry Mer. Biting is.... An intimate thing that Darxin do to..... Its just that this isn't just nothing and i should have done it."
"What does it do?" "Its a...." I could see how uncomfortable he was.
"Its ok Raiden." "Its a claiming mark." "Claiming." I thought out loud. "Oh." I put my hand on the mark and Raiden winced.
"It will fade in a few days." he said. I put my hand on top of his. "You weren't yourself. You didn't mean to." "But I did Mer. Because..... I can't lose you." He whispered. I knew exactly what that meant.
"You won't." I said and my arms wrapped around him. "Will you ever forgive me?" He whispered in my ear. I just nodded. He pulled away and traced the mark. The two small circles. His eyes met mine i gave a weak smirk to the side of my mouth.
"Well now that i'm.... Claimed by the prince for the day. What shall we do?" He smiled and took my arm. My sleeve rose up by itself and Raiden took a deep breath. He was clearly ashamed but i was even more ashamed for not pulling away. And he was the one....influenced. He brought me to a waterfall after breakfast and he held my hand.
"My brother and I came here as children." "Your brother... is he-" "Dead? Yes. Died a very long time ago but i will never forget it." "W-What happened?" "He was killed by the old King of the night court." "I'm so sorry."
Thats why he hates the night court. I remembered the man's eyes last night, Nixon's eyes and the similar light that was in Raiden's eyes was in his. Was he influenced too? He was gripping his fists and clenching his teeth.
"Does everyone have heightened emotions during the ceremony?" "Yes it affects all of the five candidates. But some have better control than others. But can we stop talking about that?"
"Ya of course." We walked back to the castle and i went to my room. Then i closed my eyes to go to sleep but i was not running. No it was dark. All black. But the emotion flooded me. It was fear. The fear crept into every inch of my body. And then i realized it was Cal's fear. I heard him crying and calling my name. I tried to grab for his hand but just darkness was there.
"Cal!" I yelled. But the dream was over and it was the first time i wanted to go back into it.
Liliean said to me "Mer dear, the prince will be away today so you are free do do as you wish." "I need to go back into that dream. Lilean do you mind if i take this time?" She nodded and i shut my eyes. I thought of Cal but nothing appeared. Pictures his small brown curls and chocolate brown eyes. I started to get frustrated and thought this is enough.
I'm going after him.
I packed a bag and wrote a note to Raiden telling him i was going after my brother because i couldn't wait anymore. I took the dagger and pocket knife into my sachel along with some food. I had no clue how far this place was so i went to Faleon.
"Of course you are going." He said first glance at me. "Where is Auguan?" He fished out a map and slid it to me. "7 miles east. Go straight and you will get there at the border. You will see the reflection of the invisible wall."
"What way is east?" He pointed behind him. "So just go straight?" He nodded. "You know Mer just a week here and you brought light into this castle. I haven't seen that boy so happy in centuries. So please stay safe. And take this." He held out a hunting knife. Sharper than my puny little dagger. The hilt had designs carved into it and had red streaks.
"Thank you Faleon." i said taking it and strapping it to my belt. "But i will see you again."
"The castle has an entrance in the west wind where the workers come in and out of. Take that and head as low as you can go. The dungeons are deep." He said. I pulled him into a hug and he looked surprised. "What nobody's ever hugged you?" He grinned "Not in a long time." I waved him goodby and it was like all of my courage left the moment i found the stables. The horse stared at me and i frowned.
"Don't kick me off you hear me?" He was already saddled so i grabbed a step stool and lunged myself on top of him. The white hair brushed on my leg and surprisingly, the horse stayed clam. I took the reins and the horse started to move.
This can't be that bad. Oh but it was. The horse started to pick up speed and i clenched my teeth to keep from screaming. But after a few minutes i got used to it and just kept going straight. It was kind of peaceful riding a horse in some strange alternate world and the time passed fairly quick. And i knew what Faleon meant when he said the barrier was invisible but you could see the gleam.
The barrier was more rainbow against the sun and the grass looked 10 times greener on the other side. I rode right though it praying i wouldn't be exposed and kept going closer to the light blue tiled castle in the distance. We were now in the town area and people stared as i passed. I got off and bought some food with the coins i had and the people's eyes widened at the money.
Must be alot but i didn't know. I just grabbed what i saw. A person even blessed me for giving them a coin so i just smiled and told them to watch my horse for another one when i came back. The castle was close but a wall surrounded it with armed guards. I walked along it until i found one guard standing alone where i put my acting face on.
I did drama club all though middle school so at least it was going to pay off. I let my limbs go loose to make it look like i fainted and then right when he was on top of me, i swung my arm out as hard as i could and not going to lie i had the biggest anxiety rush i had in a long time. His body went limp and I pushed out from under him and took his keys. The door unlocked with a click but I barely made it 10 feet when someone stopped me.
"What are you doing here?" The guard asked. I started to sprint toward the castle and luckily got mixed with servants. I ran through the door that Faleon was talking about and then started to hyperventilate. Not right now. I was not going to have one of my chasing episodes now.
I went down the first stairwell and grabbed a tray so it looked like i was working. Then the temperature dropped and i felt sick at the thought of Cal being down here but every cell was empty. Where they keeping him somewhere else?
"Well hello Mer." A voice said behind me and i was face to face with Cason or Dazian. Whatever his name is.
"I'm going to kill you." I said. I pulled out the hunting knife and gripped it tight. Faleon luckily showed me the right way to hold it during one lesson and how to use it. "Very funny Mer. very funny. But also very naive. You came right into our trap. Guards." he yelled and Dave and Jax from the beach came into view. I should have known. I started jabbing with the knife but Jax disabled me with one hit. I pulled out the dagger but Dave kicked my hand which sent it flying.
"You know I actually liked you." Dave said taking my arm and dragging me into him. I started to kick and scream but it was nothing. Especially after the jam to the head which knocked me out. I woke up on the cold floor shivering and surprisingly had no dreams. First time in three years. But there was also the feeling like i had a hundred pounds on me. Something was pulling me down.
"Its called moonstone. Makes powers weak. Makes you weak." Cason said from the other side of the bars. I felt like i was being pushed into the ground. "Where is Caleb?"
"He isn't here. Taken actually a few days ago. But luckily word didn't spread about that. Clearly." Someone else took him? I was filled with even more fear than before. What if this evil person, this Weaverax had him?
"What do want Cason?" "Its actually Dazian. And we want you to break the curse and then you can go flying back to your little keeper. You two are clearly getting very intimate." He gestured to the mark that was exposed. I pulled my shirt higher and clenched my fists.
"I don't know how to break it." "Well you are from the cursebreaker bloodline so you will figure it out." He said beginning to leave. "Wait. Water. You control water right?" "Ya so?" "What if i have to get to the water to break the curse. That is the source of your power." He grinned.
"Nice try. We will leave tomorrow when i rally my guards." And this time he actually left. And i was left in the cold but felt something under me in my jacket. I slid my fingers in my pocket and almost cried with relief.
The red swiss army knife was in my hand with its little silver cross. I switched it to every setting trying to pick the lock and cursed when it didn't work. But there was one i didn't try. I flipped the bottle opener up and shoved it into the large keyhole.
And I think i did sob when it clicked and i pushed the gate open. I flipped it to the knife setting and started to run. I could breathe again out of the cell and gripped onto the wall for support to keep me up. I was running down the hall when i slammed into someone and i was about to knife them when i saw Radian's face. He gripped me in his arms and i put the knife in my pocket. His face was filled with worry and his eyes grew wide.
"H-How are you here?" "Are you kidding? I wasn't going to let him just take you." "where is Cal?" "He's not here. Someone else took him." He gripped my hand tighter and stared to run. Raiden pulled out a sword and fought a few guys but then we were out of the castle and he threw me onto his horse.
"Wait my horse is still-" But then he pulled the horse out. "When the entire town heard of the three gold coins you gave the villager to watch a horse, word spread fast." "Is that a lot?" "Its like paying someone 600 dollars to watch a dog for an hour." He mounted the other horse. And then we started to ride and he glimpsed at me every few minutes to make sure i was still there. We reached the castle after a few hours and he grabbed my elbow to take me to my room.
"Mer i... you don't even know what I would do if i lost you." He came close to me and put a hand on the mark. His mark. His eyes met mine and all the blood ran to my face. It was dark outside and i didn't even realize how fast the time passed after i was knocked out. He pressed his body against mine and his lips met mine.
"I think Cal is safe. I can't explain it but i have this feeling in my gut." The yelling stopped. I could feel his yelling stop. Radian put a hand on the bruise on my head where i was knocked out. "Im going to kill him." "Not if i beat you to it." He kissed the bruise which made it feel better and his lips trailed to my neck.
"Raidan he's safe." I said under my breath. I hadn't stopped worrying this entire week and now it was like he was telling me it was ok. Radian's fang scratch against the skin of my neck. "You can do it." I whispered. "Are you sure?" He said softly. "Yes." I leaned into him and then his teeth pressed into my skin which filled me with strange butterflies. I leaned in even further and Radian pressed me against the bed.
"I wont let them lay another finger on you." He whispered. He kissed me on my forehead and trailed to my nose. Then my eyes and finally my lips.
"I think i am falling in love with you." He whispered into my skin. He pressed more kisses into my face and then went back to my neck. I took his hand above my head. "I can't believe that you're actually mine." He whispered and stroked my face. "And I am yours." he said.
"Radian... I...want to wait." "Ok." He said and curled up next to me. And we fell asleep like that. His arm wrapped around me protectively. My hand through his midnight black hair. And woke up after that horrible dream in his warm arms.