I awoke to a sharp sunlight piercing into my eyes when they snapped open. The memories of the rogue’s touch and sound of his voice felt so real as if he was no longer just in my dreams. My breathing was rapid and my heart was hammering in my chest. I could have sworn he was right there, the dreams had been so real, as if he had stood above me only moments ago, ready to rape me.
To the east, the sun had almost finished poking its head up over the horizon. I rolled over wearily and saw that Blake was lying on his bed, his slow, and steady breathing a good sign that he was still sleeping.
In that moment, looking at him and at the ruin behind him, all I could feel was my body screaming at me, my mind beating away inside my head telling me to run. I had to get away.
The feeling was so strong I was up and out of bed before I had realised what I was doing.
My stomach curled with disgust and fear, grabbing at my body and leaving my heart to beat so lo
I awoke to the sun beaming directly in my face from the middle of the sky, and a still sullen Blake packing up noisily.“Wake up, time to go,” he growled menacingly. “We have slept for far too long.”He didn’t even look at me, but I noticed the dark bags that hung beneath his eyes. It sent a ping of guilt through me. He was still recovering from almost dying. Was I being completely ridiculous and selfish?He shot me a glare, his eyebrow raised at me and it quickly banished the guilty feeling within me. Nope, he was being ridiculous.With a sigh and a roll of my eyes, I forced my aching body up and packed what was left – my bed and bag. I had resigned myself to the fact that he was cold and heartless. I now felt a burning rage towards him that simmered just under the surface.He packed up the horses and we set off towards Callad.“How much longer?” I asked, gritting my teeth.With a wry s
“We welcome our new students and guests here tonight and I hope that you will treat them with the respect they deserve,” a woman said loudly with a voice that echoed pleasantly around the large dining room. She stood three seats down from me, a long flowing robe hanging off of her slim frame.The moment Blake had pulled me into the large hall I had felt completely overwhelmed. The room itself was huge. Several tall windows covered the entire wall opposite me, covered by dark, red curtains. Hundreds of students lined tables that ran parallel to the walls. There were three in total, all filled with glorious food that someone must have slaved at it all day to cook for all the students. A feast by the likes I had never seen before. My mouth was watering simply looking at all of the food and my stomach grumbled when the smell drifted to me. I had forgotten we missed lunch and now I was starving.We sat up at a high table that watched over the other three tables
I woke up the next day, my head pounding out a steady rhythm that bit with a nasty throb. Stretching out my aching muscles, the memories of last night came flooding back and my face flushed red hot when Blake came in with breakfast. I had been rather forward, once influenced by the wine, letting other uncensored parts of my mind take control. I would never let that happen again, and now I felt utterly embarrassed and ashamed. “Morning,” I mumbled softly as he closed the door with a quiet thud. Unfortunately to me, the soft thud sounded more like an explosion. I winced, my eyes squeezing shut tightly. When the pain had subsided somewhat, I rubbed my temples softly and slowly, making the ache seem more like a dull pain. Long sleeves blocked my view of Blake and my mind reeled for a moment. I looked down at his crinkled shirt that hung off my body like a bed sheet. I ran a hand through my hair frustrated until other patches of memory returned and my face flushed again.
The large double doors opened loudly as the guards pushed them with all their might. In comparison, Callie and I looked tiny standing against the huge oak doors. I suddenly felt so small. Worry entered my thoughts but I forced them away. Now was not the time to stress, especially not the headache that still hung around in my head.The room in front of me was like a giant open spread hall. A barrier encircled the entire outside wall, creating an inner arena. Behind the barrier sat several people in seats made of hard wood.In the centre, a large fighting area was encircled by another barrier, and inside that arena a lithe young girl pranced around, brandishing a sword that she wielded with ease. Her opponent, a tall burly man, defended himself against the continuous onslaught of the girl’s sword. They both twirled and danced around each other as though they were part of an extreme dance. They both had sneers on their faces, but the man oozed confidence and arrogan
Crap,I thought. I was lost. I turned around several times, my stomach feeling uncomfortable. It clenched with fear.“Over here,” a voice called out and I turned to see Tori waltzing towards me, a spring in her step. She had changed into a long flowing dress in midnight blue. I eyed it suspiciously, not expecting her to be wearing a dress.She looked down at herself and gave me a pained look. “Mandatory. It represents the colours of the second year apprentices, those in their last year of magic study.”I nodded, not understanding half of her words but I got the gist of what she meant.“Heading to find your horse?”“How did you…?”“Heard you,” she said with a smile tapping her head.I frowned for a moment as she grabbed my arm and pulled me down another flight of stairs and along a brightly lit corridor.“I used to get lost here too,” sh
“And this,” Jax said proudly, his arm sweeping to encompass the large, brick building before us, “is the forge.”I allowed myself to breathe out a long, slow breath. I could feel the sweltering heat of the forge before I even stepped close to it. The smell of sweat, steel and coal hung in the air, making my nose sting and it hard to breathe.“You work here every day?” I asked astounded. I didn’t know how anyone could stand working in such conditions. Working with the Mason for what little time I had before he had tried to have his way with me I had experienced something of the like, but this was on another level. The heat was incredible. The air was filled with it, pressing against my chest and seeming to drown me in it.The sharp clang of metal on metal pinged in the background and was harsh and resounding with each hit of his hammer. My still recovering head did not enjoy the loud sound.Jax gave me
My head swam as I blinked away the fuzzy, blurred edges in my head. It felt like my head was full of clouds. Everything had a soft, feel edge to it.“Hello sleepy head,” a voice cooed, drawing my attention.Wells stood above me, his lips parted into what he probably thought was a reassuring smile. Too bad it was terrifying.I pulled away, bringing my legs close to my chest in an attempt to protect myself. A scream tried to escape but my throat clench, choking out the sound.“Calm down girl,” he growled, handing me a glass of water.I hadn’t realised how parched my throat was until I saw the clear liquid in the cup. I instantly needed it, my throat burning. I gulped it down, hoping it would satisfy the aching need.“Where am I?”“Nowhere you need to know about.”Wells moved away, leaving my view. My eyes scanned the room. The walls were high and dark, almost black, which prob
I woke with a thumping headache. I had hoped that meeting Isla had just been a dream, but when my eyes fluttered open to see her perfect face reading a series of papers, I cringed inwardly. Of course it wasn’t a dream.Groaning, I rolled over to sit up and face her.“Eat some food, it will make you feel better.”She gestured at the small table next to me, which was laden with a variety of foods, some of which I had never seen before. I stuffed a few things in my mouth, not really thinking about the taste, but enjoying the feeling of filling my stomach. The ache eased behind my eyes, making it easier to sit up.The afternoon sun streamed in the wide windows, casting shadows upon the desk in which Isla sat shuffling papers around. Her perfect hair had been pulled back into a smooth bun, a few tendrils left to circle her oval face. Her large eyes met my gaze.“Better?”“Yeah. I guess.”“Goo