Never Let You Fall (The Prophecy of Tyalbrook) (28 page)

Selene nodded and threw down a blanket from her bag. “Here, use this to cover yourselves up and keep her warm. The orb will probably stay lit for a few hours. I’ll hurry as fast as I can, Xander.”

“Be careful!” I hollered out as she left my line of sight.

I sunk down into the corner of the pit and carefully pulled Skye onto my lap. Using a water bottle from my satchel, I cleaned her head wound the best I could. Then I pulled her to my chest and covered her with one blanket while covering both our heads with another.

She moaned and groaned for the next hour or so. The floor of our mud pit was starting to puddle up from all of the rain, and I was starting to get worried that we would soon be in a pool if Selene didn’t hurry.

Thankfully, the rain began to taper off a short time later. Our thick wool blanket, which fortunately hadn’t been soaked, wasn’t the best protection but it was all we had until Selene returned with help.

“Uuuuggh,” cried Skye, raising her hand to her head. “Xander?” she called out.

“I’m here baby,” I whispered, pulling the hood of her cape back so that I could see her face better. Her eyes were still closed, but her face was a mask of pain. She was shaking her head gently, her hands fisted in her lap. She looked like someone having a nightmare.

“Nooooo, Xander. I can’t, Griffin! Please don’t…” she drawled out.

Who was Griffin? What was she dreaming about? I shook her gently and spoke into her ear, trying to wake her. “Skye, wake up. It’s okay, I’m here.”

Her brown eyes opened suddenly, and she looked like she didn’t know where she was for a moment. Skye stared at me like someone with amnesia before the recognition hit her and she groaned, “You’re alive! Oh my God, it was a dream?? Thank you!”

Tears flooded her eyes and she began to sob as she kept chanting ‘It was only a dream’.

I held her tightly against me and let her cry as she ran her hands over my chest and shoulders. She sat back and traced her fingers over my face and into my hair. Pulling my face to hers, she pressed a light kiss on my lips. Then she pulled back and angrily hissed at me, “Don’t you
dare
die on me! Do you get that? “

I started to smile and then took in her serious look and agreed. “I promise you, I don’t plan on dying anytime soon.”

I leaned in and kissed her again, because above all else I would always crave the taste of her mouth.

“You’re okay? Does anything hurt?” I implored in between kisses.

I lifted her up and straddled her over my hips so that I could see her better. Moving her knocked the blanket off of our heads, and I noted that the hard downpour had finally trickled to a light drizzle. I moved Selene’s glowing orb closer to my hip for better light, and I readjusted the blankets back over our heads.

The once-blinding light that the orb had given off earlier was now closer to a small night light, letting me know that she’d been gone for a few hours by then. Soon, we would be in the pitch dark.

“I think I’m fine, Xander, but my side hurts like hell and I’m freezing,” chattered Skye, as she leaned into me and rested her head on my chest. I tucked her face under my chin and pulled up my legs, cradling her body between my stomach and thighs.

I couldn’t blame her - I was damn cold myself, and we were both soaked to the bone. Several ways to warm ourselves came to mind, but I quickly pushed those thoughts away. Skye deserved more than that. However, if it got much colder, we would have to find a way to produce some body heat.

“Where’s Selene?”

“Oh, I sent her to get help. You were out of it, and I didn’t know what else to do. I jumped in here when you wouldn’t answer me.” My voice sounded heavy with the fear that I had felt. “You scared the crap out of me, Skye.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened, I just fell.” Snuggling closer against me, she lifted her head and placed a soft kiss on my throat.

“I love you, Xander,” she breathed. “No matter what happens from here on out, I love you and I need you to know that.”

My heart stopped. Literally - I think it skipped a few beats. In my head, I saw me grabbing her hand and running back to the portal. I saw us running back to her dimension and hiding somewhere no one would ever find us. I saw me laying her down and loving her.

Then I saw my parents. Her parents. Rioden and Selene, and those small bits of Tyalbrook that I had loved as a small child. Those small pieces that still showed up in my dreams. I heard my duty to Tyalbrook - to the throne -being drilled into my head over and over.

“Always, Skye,” I whispered, shifting her further back on my legs so that I could see her face. “I love you.”

I stared at her face in the shimmering glow of the orb. Her full lips were smiling. Her eyes glowed. Even covered in mud, she was still the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and leaned in, inches from my mouth; our warm breath mingling together as we stayed there. Her fingers were icy cold as they ran into my hair, but still she made no move to pull our lips together.

“I’m scared,” she finally spoke. “I don’t know what I’m doing here, Xander. I came for you and Selene, but I don’t really know what my purpose is.”

When I opened my mouth to speak, she stopped me and continued. “What if I’m not enough? What if I can’t be what these people need me to be?”

The desperation was there again. I could tell she was like me - constantly fighting with herself. One moment I wanted to be what I was supposed to be; the hero, the Guardian. The next moment I just wanted to be the man in love with the woman who sat in my lap. I had a feeling that she felt the same way; always fighting her wants with her destiny.

Pushing her hair up and out of her face, I held her head and leveled with her.

“It’s in your blood, Skye. You
will
succeed at saving this Kingdom, and I’m going to help you.” I took a deep breath, and then forged ahead with what I didn’t want to say, but needed to. “Look, we need to step back from each other.”

“No, I don’t care…”

“Shhhh, listen to me.” I stopped her and swallowed hard. “Nothing will ever change how I feel about you, but we agreed. Our relationship needed to look like it was just business, or it could cause trouble.

“I don’t care about me, but I care about you, and I want you to focus on being the Princess.”

“But I know nothing of being a Princess! What am I supposed to do?” Her eyes were now panicked. She dropped her hands from my neck and fiddled with the front of my shirt.

“Just think of some of the movies you’ve seen. What you say goes, and we’re all going to help you. You need to be ready to order me, and others, around. Skye, as crazy as it seems,
this
is your Kingdom. You are the rightful ruler of Tyalbrook. I think that blood will come out when you need it.”

“What about us?”

“There can’t be an ‘us’! I’m sorry - it’s my fault. I should never have voiced my feelings for you. I know it makes it even harder on you now.”

Her eyes hardened and she slid away from me, knocking the blankets away as she stood. She swayed unsteadily on her feet and I hopped to my own to help her…but she pushed me back.

“What the hell, Xander?! One minute you’re professing your love for me, and the next you’re pushing me away!”

“I have to, Skye!”

“Like hell you do! I’ll
change
the rules! Nobody is going to tell me who I can or can’t be with, and I want to be with you, Xander.”

She was leaning against the muddy wall. Her dress was torn and she was tired, wet and injured. And here I was pushing her away. It broke my heart to look at her and see the pain in her eyes and on her face

“Why? Why do you say you want me, Skye?” I roared at her, not having a clue what she would say.

“Why?” she asked dumbfounded. I could see her struggle with an answer before she finally replied. “Because I love you! You keep me safe. My heart sings when I’m with you Xander, and I’ve never felt that before.”

Keeping my face straight and my voice smooth, I added a jab. “That’s my job, Skye. You’re
supposed
to feel safe with me. That’s not love, not really.”

The gasp was clear as she heard each word. I needed her to dial back her feelings now, before she betrayed them to everyone we met. I knew that this would seem like a complete 180 from where I’d been just moments ago, but it was time. I had hoped that we would at least have one more night to discuss things, but Selene would be coming with help at any moment.

Hurting her seemed like the best thing to do.

“Skye, I love you - I do! - and I know that you care about me. We’re always going to have that, but it’s time for you to grow up and be the person your parents expected you to be. When Selene…”

“Shut up!” she thundered, stepping back a few steps. “Don’t you dare say another word, Xander! You’re right! I’m here to take back my parents’ Kingdom, and I have no time for these silly games.”

She leaned down and picked up her blanket, taking it to the farthest corner away from me. I watched her sink onto the ground and cover herself. I could see her shoulders shaking. I could hear the small sobs coming from her, but I didn’t move to console her.

I had gone for the knock-out punch by bringing up her parents. And she’d gone down for the count.

TWENTY TWO - BRAVE

Skye

Xander knew how to play dirty, I’d give him that. As I sat in the wet corner under the blanket and choked back my sobs, it dawned on me that he was full of crap. He must have been! There was no other explanation I could come up with, other than him intentionally trying to push me away.

Just when I had resigned myself to pushing back and calling him out on his bluff, I heard the pounding sound of horse hooves coming near.

Flinging off my blanket, I popped up and looked over at Xander. The orb that Selene had left us was basically dead, and the moon was still hidden by clouds. We were in virtual darkness. I pressed myself into his side and wondered aloud, “Do you think it’s Selene bringing help?”

“Let’s hope so. Get back in the corner, just in case,” he ordered, pushing me back and then standing in front of me as cover. My heart stopped when I heard the deep voices of men approaching.

“There!” shouted Selene as the sounds came closer.

Oh thank the lord! I exhaled the breath I’d been holding and wrapped my arms around Xander’s waist; squeezing him tight. He patted my hand for a moment and then pulled out of my arms and told me to stay quiet.

After a tense moment, glowing torchlight filled the area and illuminated the hole. Selene, with another light orb, showed up with a man at her side.

“Are you two alright?” she called down, holding the orb over the pit and then dropping it down to give us light.

“Yeah, we’re good - Skye is good. Do you have a rope?”

They nodded their heads and the male with Selene stood up and called out orders to the other men. His voice was deep and sure, and I instantly thought he must be the leader of the group. I assumed that he was the one named Cillian, who Rioden had met and been friends with years ago.

A thick rope fell into the pit and the same man stood at the edge, calling down to us. “Xander, I’m Cillian. Your uncle and I go way back.” He offered a small wave. “Tie this around her waist and we’ll pull her up first.”

I started to step out of the corner, but Xander put his arm out to stop me.

“No. Send down some more rope, and I’ll tie it around us both. You have enough people to pull us both up together, don’t you? ”

In the dim lighting it looked like something crossed Cillian’s face, but he did as Xander asked and soon disappeared from the ledge again. Selene leaned down and told us that they were going to anchor the other end of the rope around a tree, and asked for us to let them know when we were ready.

“Selene,” Xander called out as she began to back away. She stopped and peered at us again. “Here…we can’t hold it and I don’t want it to go to waste.” He threw the orb up and cast us back into the dark again.

“Why did you do that? I can’t see a thing!” I argued, as he tugged on my hand and turned me to face him. I felt the rope wrap around my back, and he pulled me tightly up against his chest. When we touched he stiffened slightly, but he wrapped the rope around me again and I felt him messing with it; making a knot, I presumed.