Chapter Eleven: No More Running

            Azure as the ocean, her eyes slowly opened, looking around the darkened room in confusion. It was familiar, though she could hardly tell in the darkness. She sat up, only to find her body had been covered by a thick blanket. She wasn’t in her bed, she was sure of that; she didn’t own any blankets this soft. Her eyes beginning to get used to the darkness, she looked around, realizing with a mixture of happiness and confusion that she was in Kye’s room. In his bed.

            But where was he? Before she could get to wondering much further, the door creaked open, and a thin shadow slipped in. She looked over at the doorway, clutching the blanket in her small hands.

            “Torin?” Kye’s soft voice called out.

            “Yeah?” she asked, just as quiet.

            “Torin!” he shouted, practically running across the room to pull her into a hug. He quickly realized what he was doing, and let go, dropping his hands to his sides and staring at her rather awkwardly. “So… You’re awake,” he stated, looking down at his shoes.

            “How long was I sleeping for?” she asked, not even remembering what had happened to get her there in the first place.

            “Two days,” he said, moving his gaze to rest on her.

            “What happened?” she questioned, rubbing the back of her head and finding it wrapped once around with a thin cloth.

            “You fell off Moren and hit your head on a rock,” he explained. “Pretty hard too. I carried you back here and you’ve been asleep since.”

            “You followed me?” she retorted, not sure if she should be angry with him or not.

            “Yeah,” he replied, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “But I saved you, didn’t I?”

            “Thanks,” she said, looking down at her lap and trying to remember exactly what had happened. Hadn’t he said he loved her? Or was that just her brain making things up? She didn’t want to ask him now, and decided to wait until the time was right. “Kye?”

            “Yes?”

            “Can you open the window?” she asked, looking back up at him.

            He smiled. “Sure.” Leaning over her, he pulled the thin curtains apart and unlocked the catch on the window, pushing it open a little. “Better?” he asked, glancing down at her.

            “Much,” she said, moving over in the bed and patting the empty space next to her. “Sit.”

            He smiled again, so wide that Torin was able to see all four of his pointed teeth. He landed on the bed softly by her side, looking at her as they both relaxed.

            “Why did you do it?” he asked suddenly, breaking the silence as always.

            “Do what?” she responded, turning to look at him, not realizing how close they were until then.

            “Run,” he said softly, feeling his heart pick up speed at the sudden closeness.

            “I didn’t want to hurt you,” she explained.

            “Torin, you’re insane,” Kye said, taking a deep breath. “You leaving hurt more than the possibility of me being taken.”

            “Really?”

            “Yes really,” he whispered, his green eyes meeting her blue ones. “Promise me you won’t do it again?”

            “Well, if you care that much…” she teased, still looking into his emerald orbs.

            He grinned and leaned his forehead against hers. “Good. Because I don’t want to risk losing you again.”

            “You won’t have to,” she whispered, feeling his breath on her lips.

            “I told you she’d be okay,” rang Kyrill’s deep voice from the open doorway.

            Kye groaned and fell backwards on the bed. The moment was ruined.

            Kyrill smirked. “Sorry to ruin your fun.” He turned his stare on Torin. “He’s been waiting for you to wake up since the minute you hit your head. I barely got him to eat. And you know how much he loves that.”

            “You were waiting?” she asked, looking down at where he lay, hands over his face.

            “Of course I was waiting,” he mumbled. “I haven’t been outside in two days.”

            She smiled, trying not to blush. Maybe he did love her, and she wasn’t just imagining it. After all, Cori had seemed to think so. Then it all came back to her. Cori, the incident after the ball, Cori…  

            “What are we going to do about the Bloods?” she asked, looking back at Kyrill.

            He only sighed in response before rubbing his temples. “Do you want me to call another meeting?” he asked, eyes closed.

            “Yes please,” she smiled sweetly, watching as he left the room to go make the arrangements. She lay back down on the bed, turning to look at Kye, who still had his hands over his face. “What are you hiding from?” she asked, a hint of a smile in her voice.

            “I’m not hiding,” he replied, removing his hands and jumping a little as he saw how close she was.

            She giggled in response. “Did I scare you?”

            “No,” he lied, trying to slow down the speed of his heart.

            “Whatever you say,” she smiled, taking his hand and pulling him up with her. “Want to go see what there is to eat? I’m starved.”

            He lit up at the mention of food. “Last one to the kitchen has to make breakfast?” he suggested.

            “You’re on!” Torin called, leaping out of the bed.

 

            Two hours later, all five of them were back in the living room, waiting for the second meeting to start. Torin was relaxing in one of the chairs by the window when Cori walked up to her, trying to look angry.

            “Are you crazy? Trying to sneak off in the middle of the night to somewhere you’ve never been before? I should… I should…” she trailed off, settling for collapsing in the chair next to her. “Don’t ever do that again.”

            Torin laughed. “Thanks for worrying about me.”

            “Just don’t scare me like that,” she said, taking in a deep breath. “Anyways, I heard Kye found you?” she asked, raising one eyebrow.

            “So?” she retorted, trying not to look Cori in the eye.

            “I told you he loves you. But both of you are too stubborn to make the first move,” she said. “You can’t just wait for it; sometimes you have to make things happen.”

            Torin wasn’t given time to respond, as Kyrill had entered the room, taking a seat and waiting for everybody to settle into their spots from the previous meeting.

            “Are we ready?” he asked, his deep voice demanding attention.

            The four others nodded, knowing a decision had to be made, and the faster it was decided upon, the better.

            “Due to recent incidents,” he began, taking a glance at Torin. “It has been brought into question what we’re going to do about the Bloods, and those who were taken. The way I see it, there are two options.”

            There was another long pause, and Cori rolled her eyes. “What are these options?” she asked, not being able to deal with his ‘dramatic pauses’.

            “We can either stay here and wait until this all blows over…”

            “If it all blows over,” Kye interrupted from where he sat.

            Kyrill sent him a half-heated glare. “Or we can go up north and try to take them down from the inside. It’s a long ways from here, but I think we could do it.”

            Nobody said anything. The mere idea of traveling all that way and risking their lives was something that hadn’t crossed their minds. But what if it was the only way to end this?

            “I think we should give it a try,” Nia spoke up from her spot next to Kyrill. “They took my brother. I’m not just going to let that go.”

            “They took your brother?” Kyrill asked, turning to her. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

            She shrugged, disturbing her silver hair. “It wasn’t anybody else’s business.”

            “I vote for going,” he replied, scanning the room.

            “Same here,” Cori responded, nodding in agreement. “Tor?”

            “Definitely.”

            “I’m in if she’s in,” Kye responded, looking at Torin.

            “Then it’s settled,” Kyrill stated, rising from his spot. “We’ll leave within the week.”

Author's Note

Two things:
1: This is the last chapter before school starts for me, so chapters might be less frequent.
2: I usually try to have the picture relate to the chapter, but I didn't know what to use.
ENJOY!