Mass release: 8/9
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Nikko Cornelius Hetherington's pov
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"I assure you I won't be a burden at all," then I also told them Soleil's unique power, since she's my twin, and also in the package with me.
"That will be really useful in a war," her father grinned amused. I've never thought I would live to see Pietro Bianchini amused by anything related to me. At all. "You know my abilities and my mate's."
I nodded, "And your mate's too," I told Riccardo.
He scowled at me, closing his arms above his chest, "Well, to be fair for once, mine is dream and nightmares manipulation, induction, a sort of mind manipulation in a way, I can also force people to sleep just so I could use it, but not exorbitantly, as it goes with all unique abilities."
Damn, that's cool, "Can you walk into dreams?"
He arched his eyebrows in surprise, "I can yes."
"Then it's useful both for information and mental attack," awesome.
"That's enough. You came here for me, not Hetherington. You've seen me, I'm fine, I'm alright, I'm alive, I'm hard to kill, so, you can go now. Come on, we saw each other when you left me here, in the morning," she barked hostilely. "You have a Duchy to take care, and a warfare to attend, do you not?"
"Don't kill anyone," her mother told her.
"Mamma," she gasped feigning being offended.
"I mean, kill him after we win the war," she added and pointed to me, "but you can't kill him now, okay?" She actually cannot though, at all, even if not for a war. "His power is unfortunately extremely useful to us, we'll need you to cooperate, to do your best training to learn how to fight with him, not against him."
Her father nodded, caressing his mate's waist, "We'll do the same with his parents, we've come to terms for now, until the war is over. We have to cooperate for the greater good. But please, principessa mia, don't force yourself with the time magic, don't force, you are important to us, don't risk your life like that."
She moved uncomfortable, "I know what I'm doing, papa."
"I don't doubt that, principessa mia, but you have to keep in mind not to go overboard, or to use it for stupid things, only use it when it's extremely important, okay? Using unique abilities is only a bit safer when you are anchored and can shared and receive magic from your mate, and you don't have a mate yet, so, do not risk your life like this. We need you strong and well for when it breaks. I don't want to lose you, okay?"
Except she has a mate. Me!
And when her eyes met mine for a fraction of a second that felt like an eternity, before she moved her gaze to her father, I knew she was thinking the same as me, especially by how uncomfortable she looked.
"Okay, papa, okay. I'll be careful."
Mhm... sounds like a lie. Seems like she's a liar.
"And please, do not provoke headmaster Lemoine again, even if she's wrong," her mamma pled, "don't say it on her face, she's a different kind of volatile when she's angered. She's a force to be reckoned with."
"And so am I," she snapped annoyed.
"Yes, bambina, but she's the headmaster, and she can fuck you up here if you do that," she growled. "Remember that you still have three years to go in here. I don't want you to be the target of that fire bird's anger, even if you want to pulverize her, don't, vent it on something else."
"Alright," she said through clenched teeth.
Maya narrowed her eyes, "Promise," then she raised her pinky.
My unwilling mate swallowed and after a second she rose her left pinky, intertwining it with her mom's, "Thanks for trusting me, mamma, your trust is baffling," she mocked sarcastically.
Her mom pouted, "You lie as easy as you breath."
"Mamma," she cried, blushing hard.
"You are a good liar, Ari," Riccardo said. "Its bad and good."
"Go away. Go, go. I'm tired of your faces, I'll see you on winter break or in any emergency or event, yeah?" She jumped from the bed and pushed them all away, closer to me, and off the door, making Riccardo's mate laugh at her. "Go, I'll be fine. You're embarrassing me."
"To who? Hetherington?" Riccardo mocked.
She turned cherry red, making me grin, "To the phoenix twins!"
What? I glared at Seth and the boy flinched. I don't like him.
"Out, out," she shooed them and as they laughed and left, she closed the door and let out a breath of relief, that is until her eyes took in my looks, lingering on my hips for a long second and on my sculpted chest for an even longer chest, and when she met my eyes and caught me already looking at her, she gasped, skin burning strawberry red. "Why are you still here?"
I'd leave if the phoenixes weren't here, but I can't leave when this Seth dude is here, absolutely not. "We need to talk, Arianna," I said softly.
"No. Don't do this," she groaned. "I don't want to talk."
"It's not just about you, Arianna, it's about us."
"There's no us," she gasped exasperated.
"Yes, there is," I took a long step forward, and feeling the twins' eyes on us, I couldn't help pausing my hand down her waist and bringing her closer to me, "we both know that. It's not something you can run from, even if you try, you will end up with me."
"No, I won't," she hissed, glaring up at me.
"Are you that strong willed?" I brought my left hand to cup her face, unable not to brush my thumb on her bottom lip. "Can you hold on for the two of us, because I don't think I can. And now I don't think I have a reason to either." I don't want to hold on.
With my sharp hearing, I heard her heart speeding up in her chest, meaning she is affected. "This is wrong," she breath, struggling.
"It ain't, we both know it ain't," I whispered.
"We could be wrong and,"
"Don't do that, Arianna," I asked, focusing on her only. "Don't lie."
"Stop messing with me," she pushed me, her hands in my chest.
"If you wanted to touch me, you could just have said so," I purred.
"Hetherington," she said my name like a curse.
"Bianchini," I said hers like a blessing, "I'm not running from this."
"Why are you doing this to me?" She hissed.
"Do you want me to say it out loud or something?" I pointed to the twins and she gasped, jumping three steps away from me, as if she had forgotten they were even here to begin with.
"Get out," she snapped at me.
"I don't feel like it," I tilted my head and turned to the twins. "You should go, kids, your mother sent me here and told me to tell you to leave and go rest," I lied and they blinked, then stood up from the bed.
"What? No. Stay," Arianna gasped, scared of being alone with me.
"Come on," I opened the door for them, "leave."
"Sooooo, you don't hate each other?" Sophia asked coming closer. "Were you two just pretending and all? I mean, we'll keep it a secret, but are you two a thing?"
"Yes," I chanted.
"No!" She gasped at the same time, glaring at me.
"Yes, we are," I insisted.
"No. We, are, not!" She hissed.
"Don't listen to her, she's in denial!"
"Stop messing with this," she cursed. "We are nothing."
"Quite bold if you to call that nothing," I chuckled.
She gasped, "It's nothing to me."
"I'm starting to think you're a compulsive liar, Arianna," I purred.
"Compulsive liar my ass, you bastard, stop this bullshit," she hissed stressed, glaring at me exasperatedly.
"So... you're a complicated," Seth stated.
"We are nothing at all," she cried exasperated.
"You could say so, yeah, though she's the complication in our relationship," I said it.
"There is no relationship, you're delusional," she groaned.
"Okaaaay," Sophia chuckled softly.