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“I washed it before sparring, knowing it could dry while your guard dog keeps watch, as opposed to sleeping without it because we both know what happens behind locked doors around here.”
I mean...fair point...but...MAYBE a better time would have been before some academic classes, instead of sparring....
He leans in so we’re almost nose to nose. “I am annoyingly aware of everything you do.” Thanks to Liam.
second read: nope not Liam 🫣
“You choose the oddest times to defend her, Aetos.” Xaden all but rolls his eyes as he looks at Dain. “And the most convenient times not to.” Dain’s jaw clenches and his hands curl into fists at his sides.
AINT THAT THE FUCKING TRUTH?!!!
His back. My quiet gasp is uncontrollable, and Xaden tenses for a second before taking his shirt from Garrick’s outstretched hand and tugging it over his head, covering the navy-blue relic of a dragon that sweeps from his waist to over both shoulders—textured intricately with raised silver lines I couldn’t see from across the gym. Silver lines I instantly recognize as scars.
*gasp* who did this to you?!
“You held your own and controlled your temper,” Tairn says, an immense swell of pride flooding my chest. “She’s ready,” Andarna adds with a giddy jolt of joy that makes me instantly light-headed. “She’s ready,” he agrees.
YAY! SHES GONNA START CHANNELING!
The energy doesn’t dissipate this time; it sticks around, humming under my skin, ringing in my ears, overwhelming every sense.
And Liam? He can stop pretending that he can’t channel just so he isn’t forced to leave me for an hour a day.
lol aww he's been pretending to stay by her?!
My vision blurs and need slams into me, robbing me of every logical thought besides satiating the overwhelming—
need? wait...
Oh shit. This is…lust.
oooooooh!!!!
I look at him then. Really, honestly look at him. He’s more than handsome, with strong features and sky-blue eyes that are startlingly beautiful.
Wait...are we gonna bang one out?!
“Why are you looking at me like that?” He sets his knife and semi-carved dragon down. “Like what?” My teeth sink into my bottom lip and I debate rubbing against him like a cat in heat while demanding he appease this unimaginable ache. But he’s not who you really want. He’s not Xaden. “Like…” He cocks his head to the side. “Like something’s going on. You don’t look like you feel—you know—like yourself.”
LMAO is the ever flirtatious Liam getting a little scared of her lust filled gaze? I'm picture a deer in headlights hahahahahaha!
Oh shit. It’s because I’m not myself. All of this, the need, the lust, the craving for the one person who I’m meant to be with…it’s Tairn. Tairn’s emotions aren’t just overwhelming me; they’re controlling me.
AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
I have to get out of here before I make an epic mistake and take Tairn’s feelings out on Liam. Grabbing my fur-lined cloak in one hand and pulling my hair up with the other, I swirl the fabric over my shoulders and fasten the clip beneath my throat. A second later, I peek out the door, and when I’m sure the coast is clear, I fucking flee.
oh good, cause you know running into any random person and taking it our on them is better right? 😂😂😂 but it won't be random...we all know she's gonna find Xaddy
He blows out a puff of smoke. “Want some? Unless you’re here to continue our earlier argument, in which case, none for you.” My jaw practically unhinges. “No! We’re not allowed to smoke that!” “Yeah, well, the people who made that rule obviously weren’t bonded to Sgaeyl and Tairn, now were they?” A smirk lifts a corner of his mouth.
HA! he's feeling it too. 😂 guess the smoking helps?
His eyes meet mine in the moonlight. “Oh, Violence, you’re going to have to learn to shield against Tairn or his escapades with Sgaeyl will drive you mad—or into someone’s bed.” I squeeze my eyes shut just so I can escape his gorgeous face as a jolt of heat flashes through me, making every inch of my skin tingle and burn. I reach a hand out to steady myself against the wall again. “Oh, I know. I am horrified to see Liam again.” “Liam? Why?” He pivots to face me, leaning against his shoulder. “Where the hell is your bodyguard?” “I’m my own bodyguard,” I counter, resting my cheek on the icy
...more
ahahahahaha!! is that murderous jealousy I detect?!!
“It doesn’t matter to me as long as you’re both consenting, and trust me, you’re in no condition to consent.”
lol on the defensive now
“All right. Crash course. Only because I’ve been where you are and woken up with more than a few regrets.” “You’re actually going to help me?” “I’ve been helping you for months.” His hand flexes at my waist, and I swear I can feel the warmth of his touch through my cloak and leathers.
he's not wrong...
He has the nerve to look offended. “I’m the one who burst through your door and killed everyone who attacked you, and then I removed the other threat to your life with a very public, very polarizing display of vengeance. Liam didn’t do that. I did.”
again he's not wrong. give him his due credit Vi!
He stares at me with disbelief. “You know what? We’re not fighting tonight. Not if you want to learn how to shield.” “Fine. We’re not fighting. Teach me.” I tilt my chin. Gods, I barely reach his collarbone. “Ask me nicely.” He leans closer.
ahahahahaha!!!! the TENSION!!!!
“Have you always been this tall?” I blurt the first thing that comes to mind. “No. I was a child at some point.” I roll my eyes. “Ask me nicely, Violence,” he whispers. “Or I’m gone.”
*does excited wiggle dances in her chair*
“Right then. All right. Will you teach me to shield?” A smile curves his mouth, and my gaze drops to his lips. “Say please.” “Are you always this difficult?” “Only when I know I have something you need. What can I say, I like making you squirm. It’s like a sweet little slice of payback for what you’ve put me through these last couple of months.” He brushes the snow off my hair. “What I’ve put you through?” Unbelievable. “You’ve scared me nearly to death once or twice, so I think saying please is a fair request.”
oh the cockiness! 😍 and did he say she scared him have to death? he worries about her....
“As you prefer. Xaden?” I smile sweetly up at him and inch a little closer. “Would you pretty, pretty please teach me how to shield before I accidentally climb you like a tree and we both wake up with regrets?”
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! GIIIIIIIIIIIRLLLL!!! YES!!!!
“Oh, I’m firmly in control of my faculties.” He smiles again, and I feel it like a caress. Dangerous. This is so damned dangerous.
oooooooooo, come on Violet! that's a challenge if I've ever heard one! 😂
“And since you asked so nicely.” He adjusts his stance and brings both his hands up to my cheeks, cradling my face before sliding them back to hold my head. “Close your eyes.” “It requires touching me?” My eyes flutter shut at the sensation of his skin against mine. “Not at all. Just one of the perks of not thinking too clearly. You have incredibly touchable skin.” The compliment makes me suck in a breath. So much for controlling his faculties.
woooooo! forget the shielding. let's take these lessons in a different direction!! come ooooooon!!!
Xaden studies me with an intensity that makes me sway toward him. “You are astonishing.” He shakes his head. “I couldn’t do that for weeks.” “Guess I have a superior teacher.” The emotion swelling through me is more than joy.
awww the compliments! they're having a bonding moment
His thumbs stroke over the soft skin under my ears, and his gaze drops to my mouth and heats. Hands flexing, he draws me forward a few inches before he suddenly lets go and retreats a full step. “Damn it. Touching you was a bad idea.” “The worst,” I agree, but my tongue skims my lower lip. He groans and my core melts at the sound.
eeeeee!!!
“Kissing you would be a cataclysmic mistake.” “Calamitous.” What would it take to hear that groan again?
how would you know unless you try? 😏
“We’ll both regret it.” He shakes his head, but there’s more than hunger in his eyes as he stares at my lips. “Naturally,” I whisper. But knowing I’ll regret it doesn’t stop me from wanting it—wanting him. Regretting is a problem for future Violet. “Fuck it.” One second he’s out of reach and the next his mouth is on mine, hot and insistent. Gods, yes. This is exactly what I need.
WOOOOOOOO! YEEEEEEEAAAAAAH!!!! LETS GOOOOOO!
A flash of light burns behind my closed eyes, followed by the boom of thunder. Thunder-snow isn’t uncommon around here, but damn does it summarize how this feels, wild and out of control.
second read: I completely missed this the first time around lol that's her signet manifesting! that was so quick!!!
“You have to go.” His words are clipped and at odds with the heat in his eyes, his ragged breaths. “Why?” The cold is a shock to my system without his body heat. “Because I can’t.” He rakes both hands through his hair and leaves them on the top of his head. “And I refuse to act on desire that isn’t yours. So you have to walk back up those steps. Now.”
how admirable...stop it! 😂
“This isn’t your want.” He tilts his head up at the sky. “That’s the fucking problem. And I can’t leave you out here on your own, so have just a little mercy on me and go.”
oh Xaddy...you never said YOU didn't want it...
My door is wide open, and I don’t feel anything coming from Tairn’s direction.
so it IS your want then...
“There you are! I went to the bathroom, and you disappeared!”
ahahaha she ran!
Awwww that so sweet!!!
Xaden looks behind me, and his mouth tenses. “Vi, can we talk?” Dain asks, a little out of breath, like he’s run to catch up to me.
Xaddys all jealous!
“You let Tairn share your memory with everyone instead of just showing me yourself,” he blurts, his hands falling to his sides. “I’m sorry?” What the hell is he talking about? “When all that shit went down with Amber, I asked you to show me what happened, and you refused.”
showing only Dain would have done nothing to convince everyone else, espcially since his signet is classified. and it was pretty damn offensive for him to feel entitled to it while basically accusing her of lying.
“I didn’t believe you, and that part is on me.”
damn straight it is
“You didn’t ask,” I say softly. “You reached for my head like you were entitled to my memory after blatantly telling me you didn’t believe me, and you demanded I show you.” It’s everything I can do to keep my voice even. Two lines appear between his eyebrows. “I didn’t ask?” “You didn’t ask.” I shake my head.
exactly!
“And after being told countless times that I’m not tough enough for this place, not strong enough…well, what happened on the flight field was a long time coming between you and me. The worst part is that I knew you wouldn’t believe me. It’s why I almost didn’t tell Xaden who it was, because I was sure he wouldn’t believe me, either.” “But he did.” Dain’s voice drops, and his jaw ticks.
Dainty Dick is jealous of Xaddy...good.
“His father put an arrow in Brennan’s chest, according to battlefield reports. I live with that knowledge every day. But don’t you think he sees me and remembers that my mother put his father to death? It’s…” The right words are hard to find. “It’s complicated between us.”
that's an understatement
“You trust him more than you trust me.” It’s not an accusation, but it stings all the same. “That’s not it.” My stomach twists. Wait. Is it true?
yep. 100%
“When you told me that this place strips everything away from you to reveal what’s underneath, I was afraid. What if underneath the brittle bones and frail ligaments, there was just more weakness? Only this time, I wouldn’t be able to blame my body.” “You’ve never been weak to me, Vi—” Dain starts, but I shake my head. “Don’t you get it?” I interrupt. “It doesn’t matter what you think—it only matters what I think. And you were right. But the Riders Quadrant stripped away the fear and even the anger about being thrown into this quadrant, and it revealed who I really am. At my core, Dain, I’m a
...more
PERIOD!
“And what? Riorson gets a free pass for his control issues? Because last time I checked, Liam was moved into our squad specifically to shadow you.” It’s an excellent point. “Liam is around because even the strongest rider can’t watch their back from more than thirty unbonded cadets gunning for them. And if I die, Xaden dies. What’s your excuse?”
BOOM! Logic!
“You only want to keep me safe. I appreciate that. But it stops now, Dain. Xaden is tied to me because of Sgaeyl. Nothing more. I do not need protection, and if I do—I’ve got two badass dragons who have my back. Can you respect that?”
good. firm. lay down the law!
He reaches up to cup my cheek,
you bastard! Don't you dare!
“All right, Vi.” His eyes crinkle at the sides as his mouth turns up into a half smile. “How can I argue with someone who has two badass dragons?”
good.
“I’m sorry for not asking for the memory.” He drops his hand to my shoulder. “You’d better get to class.” And then he squeezes my shoulder gently before walking away.
second read: lying piece of shit.
“Well, it seems the Sorrengail line is blessed, even in a rider as…well, delicate as you are. With Tairn having chosen you, we’ll expect nothing but an earth-shattering signet from you. Take a seat. You can at least start with the lesser magics through your relic.” He waves me off.
Carr seems like a callous dick.
