Awaken - 12. Feel

I had managed to create the small disk of light that Talon had showed me earlier, this time letting it melt into my hand like gold rain before I shook said hand and let it go. The king and queen both stared transfixed and the king had exclaimed I would started classes as soon as possible.

“Today! Get the boy some books, whatever materials he'll need. The fact that a power like this has gone untaught! You should've been sent to the capital as soon as it was discovered! I must have a word with Elenion.” I winced at my father's name and could only imagine his anger if the king truly did berate him for this.

“Your grace it was my choice to remain at home for so long. My father would've liked nothing more than to bring me here himself. I am not used to leaving home however and could not be swayed right away. As soon as he convinced me, my father set me on my way.”

The king looked thoughtful for a moment then smiled down at me, “what a charming boy! I can see why Captain Nainde is so taken with you. What an excellent match! Now! Your studies! Tyren! TYREN!” the king nearly screamed the name and I looked around, waiting for whoever this Tyren was to come forth. Finally, a man about my height stepped from the crowd. He wore dark brown pants and a dull cream shirt, a yellow scarf draped over his shoulders. He calmly walked past us, trudging up the steps to the throne.

“Your majesty?” Tyren's hair was black and cropped short, his eyes were a flat yellow color and his skin was rich and dark. He was slim and various small, gold hoops adorned his ears.

“I want this boy enrolled as soon as possible. I want you to teach him!”

Tyren's eyes met mine and I gave a clumsy bow, he smiled and kept his eyes on me as he spoke to the king, “Your majesty, classes are over for today. I am able to get the lord his materials, but unfortunately lessons will have to start tomorrow.”

“What time is it? This won't do! I want him to start immediately!”

Tyren finally looked at the king, his eyes filled with disdain, “I do apologize my king, but am I correct in the knowledge that your guest only just arrived today? Perhaps he will also need time to rest?”

The king went to say something and then stopped himself, “Of course you're right Tyren!” He laughed loudly and Tyren gritted his teeth, “You're always right of course! Lord Alauis your lessons will start tomorrow! As soon as Tyren pulls his miserable ass from his bed.”

*

We were dismissed after that. I had been unable to draw my eyes away from Tyren. He was entirely pleasant to the king but everything he had said had had a darker annoyed undertone. That being said I was almost beside myself with excitement. I was going to be taught at the palace by someone appointed by the king himself! I would finally learn about my gift and hopefully learn about all the things that my family hadn't bothered to teach me before. Even Lex's stupid grin and his eyes glued to me in the carriage couldn't dampen my mood. I played with my fingers in my hands and fidgeted the entire ride back to the house. I couldn't wait to tell Eon and even Talon. Who knew what their reactions would be? Who cared? I had finally been given something just for me. I'd been thrown a life raft after drowning for 20 years.

“Tyren is one of the best teachers the king has. He's incredibly powerful. I've heard he has a sour attitude with students however. He'll be hard on you.”

“He can't possibly be harder than Talon was.”

“That could be true but Tyren also doesn't want to sleep with you.” I was hung up on the accusation in his words for a moment.

Then I rolled my eyes, practically bouncing on my seat, “I wonder what Eon will say?”

“You're brother can barely stay conscious. I doubt he'll have much to say at all.” I glared at Lex and refused to speak to him for the rest of the ride. Once the carriage doors opened at home I dashed out, quickly finding Talon in the courtyard, a book held in his hands. He wore loose charcoal pants and a black vest that hung open, his skin seeming impossibly pale in the afternoon's light.

“The king accepted me! I'm going to be a student in the school!”

Talon set the book aside and I scrambled to find more words as his grey eyes caught the light and he smiled at me, “I figured. I felt your excitement.” I blushed. It hadn't occurred to me that if I could feel snippets of what Talon was feeling then he probably could as well.

“My teacher is named Tyren. I wonder what his power is!”

“He manipulates metals.” Talon said, rising, awe on his face, “He's amazing. I've seen some of his work and it's stunning.”

I watched him mumbling quietly to himself about a machine that Tyren had apparently fabricated, his face open and joyful, “So you're willing to pass the teaching torch off to him?”

Talon laughed, his smile brightening his entire face, “The man is a genius. I'm jealous.”

“Yes, it's all very exciting. Kal I'd like a word without your much taller shadow for once.”

“What now Lex?” I sighed.

“I told you. I'd rather have this discussion in private.” I looked at Talon who was watching Lex, the tiniest smirk on his lips.

“Fine! Lead the way.” We walked through the door on the far end of the corridor and up the stairs to the area that housed most of the bedrooms. Lex walked me to mine and I ignored the shiver of fear that traveled up my back when he closed my bedroom door behind him.

“You did well today in court. The king seems taken with you. In a fortnight he's invited us for a banquet in our honor. Call it an engagement party if you will. I expect you to be on your best behavior. I also expect Verloren to be gone by then.”

“What do you want me to do about it? Talon is his own person. He doesn't follow my orders.”

“Rumors have already spread that he's here. There are even rumors that you two are lovers and he's bedding you right under my nose. We have to do away with this kind of talk as soon as possible. The banquet is the perfect time. The court will see us together, united and in love.”

“How are you going to manage the love part?”

Lex lowered himself onto one of the couches, folding his arms behind his head. “You can fight it all you want but either way we're to be married. You might as well try to make it more pleasant for yourself. I keep telling you this but it doesn't seem to be sinking in. You are mine Kalian. Not Verloren's. Not your family’s.”

“I don't belong to anyone.” I sat on my bed, looking out the ornate doors that led onto the balcony, refusing to meet his eyes.

He crossed the room and his fingers roughly pushed my chin up, forcing me to meet his gaze, “Just wait.” He kissed me then, his lips pressing roughly to mine. I stilled and wrenched myself away as his tongue slid over my lower lip.

“Stop touching me.” I pushed him away and he wrapped an arm around my waist, dragging me back to him. His lips were on mine again and a chill ran down my spine as he pushed us over and onto the bed. He held my hands above my head and I struggled to pull away. I gasped and his tongue slid into my mouth. Wrong choice. I bit down and he swore as he shoved himself away from me. I was on my feet well before he'd regained his composure and I hit him hard. I tried not to revel in the satisfying feeling of my fist connecting with his jaw, but I lost the battle.

“I told you not to touch me. It wasn't a suggestion. Leave. Me. Alone.” Blood spilled from Lex's mouth and his cheek was already red. I tasted his blood on my own lips and wiped my mouth. I felt a shiver of fear go down my back as his predatory eyes locked on me, pushing himself back to standing. He stepped closer and my bedroom door slammed open.

“I really wish you would do a bit more Mallex. Go on. Try to force yourself on him again. Please. It would make my day.” Talon's claws were dripping black onto the floor, solid shadow writhed around him as he slowly made his way into the room. His eyes were black and the inky color seemed to be spreading to his sclera. He was frightening but I felt my heart skip all the same.

“You don't know what you're talking about. I don't have to force myself on anyone.”

“That's not what it seemed like. Explain your bleeding tongue.” Lex looked at him confused, he was retreating though. He walked backwards, away from Talon and then slowly made his way to the door. He glared one last time as he slipped out. Talon shuddered and I saw his hands fall by his sides, the shadows around him subsiding slowly. I hadn't realized I was panting and tried to calm myself down as I made my way across the room to him. His eyes were almost totally black, the whites gone.

He frowned and shook his hands out, his claws shortening until they were just regular nails again, “I grow tired of feeling your fear and watching him attack you.”

“H-how long have you known about the connection?”

“Since you were attacked. It felt like someone hit me in the head with a rock. My whole head filled with this shrill noise. I was already on my way to you and I could see the man's back as he stood over you. It was worse though. I could see him standing over you as if he was above me too. Truly unpleasant.”

I had crossed the distance and the whites of his eyes were still struggling against the black. I paused for a moment and then took his hand in mine, running my fingers over the black that seeped up his.

“I wish you would stop letting Lex hurt you.”

We were both looking down at my hands holding his, “I didn't realize I had an audience.”

“Why does it matter? He hurts you. You let him.”

“I don't let him.”

“What about the other night? You all but sat on his lap.” I hadn't thought Talon had even known I existed the rest of that night.

“I...needed comfort and I don't have many places to get it.”

“Eon?”

“Eon is my brother but emotion is not his strong suit. He wouldn't have known what to do with me had I come to him.”

Talon was quiet for a moment and I looked up to see his normal grey eyes, the black now fanned out delicately from his pupil, “You could've come to me.”

I laughed and I saw the hurt on his face as I felt it in my mind, “Talon you repeatedly told me I had no right to know you or try to get closer. Also, I needed comfort from a falling out I'd had with you. You wouldn't have helped.”

“Let's talk about that falling out,” His fingers played lightly over mine and my eyes were locked on his, “You were upset because you thought I was going after Dima. You were also upset that I had slept with Amaris. Correct?”

I looked away, but he caught my chin. I marveled at how the same exact motion had been done to me earlier but this one held no aggression or threat. I didn't feel Talon's fingers digging into my jaw. Quite the opposite, his long fingers cradled it and I felt heat spread over my cheeks.

“Kalian. Why were you so upset?”

I jumped at his use of my name as I tried to remember how to string coherent sentences together, “I was jealous.”

He blinked and his thumb ghosted over my lower lip, “Why?”

I was breathless, “You know why.”

“Tell me anyway. Humor me Kalian.” My own name shouldn't have that affect on me. The way he said it, though, sent shivers down my spine. I couldn't think of a time where he had called me my name while addressing me. If there was one it was lost in the soup that was now my brain.

“I-I wanted it to be me. I wanted your attention.”

“You have it now, and I want to kiss you.” His thumb lightly pushed on my lower lip and I felt my feet step closer. He was leaning down and I let my eyes slipped closed.

Without fail, though, that's when my brother barged into the room, his hair was wild and his eyes were filled with fury. It died quickly as he took in the scene he'd just walked in on. The tips of his ears turned bright red and he looked away quickly. I hurriedly retreated from Talon, wrapping my arms around myself as I tried to ignore his heated gaze still on me.

“I'm sorry! Some of the servants said they heard a commotion up here and said they saw you and Lex go into your room. I didn't mean to interrupt whatever is going on.” Eon's ears grew more red and I noticed the color spreading across his cheeks. I guess it was nice to know that the damned blush was hereditary.

Talon cleared his throat and walked past him without another word and I frowned softly at his back. Eon moved to stand next to me, looking me up and down, “Did he hurt you?”

“Who? Talon? No of course not.”

“No. Did Lex?” I turned to look at Eon and noticed his eyes were stormy. It must be hard for him now that we were becoming closer. Having to protect his brother from his best friend must be the worst situation to find himself in.

“He wanted to. He wanted to do a lot of things.” I answered quietly.

“You don't mean...?”

I met Eon's questioning gaze and his face fell rapidly into unbridled rage, “I'll kill him.”

“I don't know if that would be wise Eon. Lex holds power in court. Even more than we have.”

“Surely if we tell the king he forced himself on you-”

“No. I don't want anyone to know about that. I won't let people know. We have to go about this in a different way. We need a plan, a strategy.”

Eon ran his fingers through his overgrown bronze hair and chewed his lip, considering. I had never seen his hair this long and noticed it was doing it's best to hide the wound on his head that would no doubt be an angry looking scar. I ran my fingers down my arms, my heart still racing. I could still feel Talon's fingers on my chin, his breath on my lips. I loved Eon but for a moment there I had plotted his murder. I had been so close. We had talked about things and Talon had let me get closer. I was so used to being at arms reach that I don't think I had fully processed how close together we had been until this second. Mere inches apart. My crush had returned, enjoying it's validation and I pressed my fingers lightly to my lips. It had almost happened.

“And you're not hearing anything I say to you.” Eon chuckled softly, “Talon that good of a kisser?”

Heat flew into my face and I gawked at my brother, “Don't say things like that. Nothing happened.”

“Brother, I may not be a romantic, but I know what was going on when I came into this room.”

“We hadn't gotten that far yet,” I admitted, letting out a heavy sigh.

Eon had the decency to look like he felt bad, “Of course, you both finally develop social skills and I mess it up. Go find him. Finish what you started.”

I was already shaking my head no, “The moment is gone Eon. I don't know how I would even approach him. 'Hey you saved me once again can we finish sucking face?' No.”

Eon shrugged and left the room. I sank onto the bed and laid back, pushing my hair away from my face. I laid down, lifting my legs up onto the soft mattress and blankets. I wondered what backlash I would face for resisting Lex? I had hit him and I knew there would be a price to pay for that. Especially if he thought there was something going on between Talon and I.

Talon.

Was there something going on there? Had our encounter earlier ignited a fuse that until then we had both mostly ignored? I had felt him in my head as we had almost kissed. There was a joy there and the unmistakable flavoring of lust. Was that all it was for him? Was I just another naive person for him to bed? I could not handle that. Like with most things now, I was reluctant to settle. Our powers seemed like they were tied together as we now were. Was the connection born from the balance our gifts created? Or was it the connection that gave us our gifts?

I hadn't left home much, but I had never seen a power like Talon's or mine. That raised more problems as well. Talon had scolded me for my power being stronger than I was, but his appeared to almost be taking him over earlier. Was there some truth to the myths around his family's use of dark Magik? Was his gift even Magik or was it something gained from his family's rumored tampering with the laws of nature?

For some reason my thoughts wandered to Talon's mother, her thin body stretched across the dark table, throat cut open. Talon had truly had a horrific childhood. I thought about the rest of his family and wanted to know what had happened to them as well. Did they meet fates as horrific as hers? Where were they when the men had pulled Talon from that dark house?

I pulled the top blanket over me and borrowed my head into the warm soft material. I sent out the tiniest spark of power and felt it be answered. I frowned and let my fingers splay over my stomach. What did I think I was doing? Curiosity filtered through the connection and I looked up at my ceiling as I considered. I ran my fingers over my stomach, my eyes slipping closed. My fingers slid under my tunic, skimming over my bare skin before I let them trail lower. I sent a very different emotion over our connection and bit my lip when I felt Talon answer it. My fingers moved lower, running over my base as I lifted my hips fractionally. I could feel his own lust answer mine and I shuddered. I sucked on my lower lip as I wrapped my hand around myself. My head was spinning. The events of the day had whipped me back and forth between emotions and now here I was, hand around myself as I lay on my bed, legs spread. I wanted him to feel all the things I felt. I hoped he could sense every touch, taste every moan as if it came from his own lips. My hips rocked into my hand as I moved, my thumb running over the head, forcing a gasp from my lips. I imagined him here, those long dangerous fingers replacing my own as I finally got that kiss. It would be more than that though. I could almost feel his hands on my hips, holding them as he entered me. I blushed and moaned at the thought, barely believing my boldness. I had only almost kissed him and now I was fantasizing about him taking me. That didn't seem like a normal progression.

My hand moved faster and I ran my fingers through my hair, pulling on it as I arched my back. I'd thought about him before of course. Even in this way, but nothing had ever been so graphic in my mind. It made me wonder if my mind was getting help conjuring these images and sensations. I didn't normally imagine his lips on my skin, his fingers in my mouth. I was breathing raggedly now, my head falling back against the bed as I felt myself getting closer. Tension burned at my spine and I turned my face into the pillows as I came, panting and gripping the blankets. Thank god this hadn't been the moment Eon decided to pop in, or worse, Lex decided to invite himself to my room. I lay there, trying to calm my breathing, my lower half a mess as I looked around my room. I was too nervous to turn my attention to the connection so instead I busied myself cleaning up. The top blanket was ruined for the night and I gathered it up and then dropped it off the bed. I moved to the bath room and found a towel that'd been left, trying to clean myself. I gave in and pushed the button to heat the bath before sinking into it. That now familiar Magik pressed against my senses and I blushed.

What was I thinking? How would I face Talon now that I had taken this step? I sank into the water and tried to convince myself there would be trouble as I willed the smile to leave my face.

I appreciate you all