Aria saved my life. She defied her father and she saved my life. If ever there was a sign that maybe there could be something between us, as irresponsible as it was for her to risk her life for me…that was it.
I hate that we were ripped away from each other. We were both ten at the time, but even then I knew she was the one I wanted. No one has been able to compare to her ever since. The way she wielded her blades with such ferocity, such…elegance. She took my breath away and I’ve been a breathless fool ever since.
We nearly kissed in the Garden before that asshat came and ruined it. He probably did it on purpose. From what I can tell, he’s just as into Aria as she is into him. When this mission is over, I plan on sticking my blade right through his chiseled chest and watch him bleed out. One deeply penetrating wound for every time he stared at her with longing in his eyes and every time he embraced her. ARIA IS MINE.
I’ll play the civil servant for now, but once this is done, so is he. “Noah?” A familiar voice calls out to me. I turn around and come face to face with my childhood best friend. It’s Aria’s brother Lucas. I can tell he wants to come closer, but he’s hesitant. He can sense the darkness in me. “What are you doing here?”
“Didn’t your parents tell you?”
“Tell me what?” Confusion spread across his face.
“Muerte and Elite are about to become one.” I inform him. “At least for this mission anyway. They even retrieved Aria from the hellhole they put her in.”
“Wait, what? Aria’s here?”
“She’s around here somewh-”
Before I can finish my sentence, Lucas is scouring the halls in search of Aria. I decided to follow. It’s not long before he finds her, but she’s not alone. She’s with Thien and Syria, her little sister.
“Ar-Star!” Lucas shouts, picking her up from behind and twirling her around in a circle.
“Luke Skywalker!” She hugs him back. “Wow…have you and Thien been eating from the same Garden?”
Thien and Lucas exchange confused glances. “I’m sure there was a compliment in there somewhere.” Lucas chuckles.
“It was a compliment.” Aria playfully punches him. “When I left you were both scrawny little punks and now you’re both ripped.”
They have a good laugh and then Aria sets eyes on me. Her smile doesn’t fade, but her cheeks heat up and she walks over to me. “Feels like old times, doesn’t it.” I peer into her eyes.
“It does.” She looks back at Lucas and smiles.
“Follow me.”
I back out of the room while Thien and Lucas are talking and Aria follows. This time I have no intention of letting her get away from me. I take her far away from her castle to the wall made of stone that separates her castle from the vast hillside full of green grass and colorful arrangements of flowers. There I muster up the courage to do what I’ve been dying to do since we were ten. Since I realized how much she meant to me. I quickly back her up against the wall of stone and crush my lips to hers.
Fireworks went off in my head. Her lips taste like the sweetest honey and the moan that escapes her lips as I part them with my tongue damn near does me in. The amount of raw passion coursing through me right now activates my powers and I can feel my palms heating up. I can no longer hold onto her without killing her, so I quickly pull away.
We’re both panting heavily. My head is resting against hers and our chests heave up and down in unison as we try to catch our breath. We hear movement behind us and when we turn to see who it is, he couldn’t have had more perfect timing.
“Thien.” Aria gasps.
He storms off and she tries to go after him, but I grab her by the arm and stop her. “Let him go.” I force her to look me in the eyes.
“I can’t.”
“Yes you can.” I assure her. “LET. HIM. GO.”
She’s surprised by the tone I’ve taken with her. It’s enough to render her still. “Why did you do that? Why would you do that to me?” She demands to know. “You and I…we can’t be together Noah.”
“Why?” I shout angrily. “Because your parents say so?”
“YES!” She shouts back. “You’re a DEMON Noah! You’re not the sweet kid I used to play with around this castle! You’ve KILLED people…GOOD people!”
“And you haven’t! The last time I checked, I wasn’t the one who spent four years as a prisoner inside the FORTRESS!”
Damnit! I didn’t mean to say that!
Aria tries to leave for a second time and I stop her. “I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry.” I apologize to her.
“Screw you Noah.” She spits. “The next time you kiss me like that without my permission, so help me Alpha I’LL NEUTER YOU.”
She yanks away from me and I try to stop her for a third time. In a fraction of a second her blade is at my throat. Aria leans in slightly, breaking through the skin just beneath my chin and watches with a bloodthirsty look in her eyes as my black blood slowly trickles down her blade.
She narrows her eyes, leans in a little more, and in a low, calculating tone she warns me. “Don’t make me hurt you. Don’t try to stop me again.” I throw my hands up in surrender and she lowers her blade. “You had no right Noah.”
Aria turns on her heel and goes after Thien. For a few moments in time it felt like I had her. And for a second time, Havoc ruined our perfect moment. I’d never been rejected before. Not by Aria…not by ANYONE. Having her turn away from me tonight pierced my soul in ways I never thought I could be pierced. A small part of my heart, however dark, found a way to darken itself even more.
There were Readers all over Petrem. If my darkness reached its full capacity, the Readers were sure to dime me out to the Republic. Focus Noah…focus. Shit! It’s not working.
I didn’t have much time. I went back to the castle to find Qi and took her back to my room. “Distract me.” I whisper to her as I race to get her out of her clothes. I press my mouth to hers and moments later I hear bells ringing in my ears. It takes me a moment to realize Qi slapped me.
“You kissed her didn’t you?” Her voice breaks.
“Qi, I don’t have time for this.” I warn, leaning in to kiss her again.
She shoves me backwards. “I CAN SMELL HER ON YOU! What is it about Aria that has you so enamored?”
“Do you want to talk, or do you want to fuck?” I ask. “I don’t want to talk about Aria, or my feelings, so if it’s talking that you want to do, tell me now so I can leave.”
Tears fill Qi’s eyes. She’s seriously killing my vibe right now. “All you do is treat me like shit. I am ALWAYS here for you and you still treat me like shit.”
“Qi…”
“No! You listen!” She shoves me away.
I don’t have time for this. I grab her by her blouse and pull her lips to mine. It takes a moment of my body being pressed up against hers, but eventually she submits. She ALWAYS submits. When we’ve finished and we’re both lying on the floor with our clothes in disarray around us, I pull her into my arms.
“I fucking hate you Noah.” Qi entwines her fingers with mine and kisses the back of my hand.
“I know. I hate you too.”
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