Chapter 9

Gideon watched Rayne train in the yard, the sun barely above the horizon. The chilly air crisp, stinging his lungs with each inhale. The early morning fog continued to linger in the field beyond the yard where some of the dire wolves roamed. Her fists punched the air, a small burst of force breaking the space from each thrust. Sweat dripped from her chin, her brows furrowed together in concentration. Her hair tied in a braid, but with how long she had been going at her training, strands had pulled free from the tie. Her tan shirt clung to her frame, appearing skinnier than she was the first time they met. He knew she did her best to hide her fatigue in the shadows of her strength, but he had been with her for long enough to see through her walls.

Rayne's right foot lifted from the dirt, twisting on her ball of her left foot as she kicked the air, twisting her body with the motion. Once her right leg was half way down, her left foot came up, her body twisting again as she kicked the open space. She spun in the air for a second before landing on her feet once more, the dirt around her feet kicked up with dust. Her shoulders rose and fell like gentle waves as she paused to catch her breath. Her hair had come loose from the tie, cascading down her back in soft, golden waves. Gideon swallowed hard at the sight of her. Her eyes swept around before landing on him, lowering her fists to her side.

"It's early. What are you doing up?" she asked as she bent down and picked up a thin string off the ground. He stepped closer, finally removing his gaze from her and glanced around. Birds were singing in the distance as the sun rose above the horizon fully now, warming his rose colored cheeks.

"We're heading out to Barboulder in a few hours. Now why are you up?" he asked in turn as he circled her, his hands behind his back. She eyed him with suspicion as she began braiding her hair once more.

"I couldn't sleep." she told him as her eyes lowered to the ground. He slid up behind her, grabbing both of her arms and pulled them behind her back. She gasped, feeling his breath on her ear.

"You weren't lying next to me. Did you occupy his bed instead?" he asked her. She leaned her head forward before tossing it back, slamming into his head. He grunted, his grip loosening slightly. She slipped her left arm free, reaching around to grab his right arm. She shifted her weight, her feet lined with her shoulders as she focused her strength in her legs and biceps. With a yell, she hoisted Gideon over her shoulder and slammed him on his back. He grunted loudly, dust rising around him after he hit the dirt. He swung his feet around, turning on his side and kicked her legs out from beneath her. She gasped, falling on top of him. With his hand still holding her arm, he flipped her onto her back, using his knees to pin down her thighs.

"Is that all you two want from me? Just someone to keep your bedroll warm at night?" she retorted, wincing as his knees dug into a bit. She arched her back, pushing her legs up against his. He weight twice what she did, if not a few pounds more, but she didn't let that stop her. Xerath's guardian weighed three times heavier than he did, after all. With enough momentum, she rolled Gideon over her head, his grip still strong on her as she landed atop him once more. She grabbed his wrists and pinned them to his chest in an X formation.

"You know that's not how I think of you." he said as his eyes softened. She felt herself falter at his expression, which was enough for him to sit up. His arms forced her hands away and he was able to grab the collar of her shirt, determined not to let her go.

"Then why say such things to me?" she asked him, hardening her expression while trying to control the racing of her heart. She feared the effect he had on her. His jaw tensed up, giving a slight twitch as his eyes searched her face.

"I don't want to share you with him. With anyone." he said to her. Rayne stared at him for a long moment, the only sound being the birds singing and the dire wolves softly growling at one another as they roamed the field. One of his hands released her shirt, sliding over her neck. The warmth of his touch seeped through her skin, heating her up instantly.

"Gideon. We can't." she told him, grabbing his hands, but he wouldn't release her. His hand moved to the back of her neck, holding her in place.

"We can. Nothing is stopping us." he tried to tell her, but she just shook her head quickly, her hair coming loose from the braid she started.

"You don't understand." she said through gritted teeth, her hands covering her ears as they started to hum softly, the pressure throbbing in the back of her head.

"Then help me understand, Rayne. I want you." he said, bringing her head toward him and locking their lips in a deep and passionate kiss. She felt herself cave to it, her body melting and molding against him. The humming slowly receded, but the pressure lingered a bit longer before dissipating. Her hands removed from her ears, found his face as she pulled away from his lips. His eyes dilated, stared back at her.

"Gideon..." she let out a quivered sigh, "something is wrong with me." she finally said to him. He cocked a brow, not having prepared for those words to leave her mouth.

"Are you hurt somewhere?" he immediately grew concerned, tilting her head left and right, but she stopped him before he made her head spin.

"No, something is wrong with my head." she let go of his face, snaking her fingers through her hair and gripped it, "I don't know who it is." she told him. Gideon sat back a bit, examining her face as he listened to her.

"Do you think this voice is the result of Ravnyk's spell?" he asked her seriously. She met his gaze, slowly shaking her head.

"No, but it's driving me mad. I don't feel in control anymore." she exclaimed, "I can't stand this feeling of helplessness." she met his gaze, seeing his sapphire eyes looking back.

"Do you think it's another entity trying to contact you like Aetherius did?" he asked her. She stared at him. Why had she not thought of that before? "Rayne, Lord Adkas informed me of something before we left Arakhora. He senses another presence, one similar to Aetherius, but darker, possibly sinister in nature." Gideon filled her in. Rayne dropped her gaze as she pondered on his words for a moment, rising to her feet.

"If that's true, does that mean I have to find it?" she asked him as he rose to his feet next, dusting himself off.

"We'll find it, whatever it may be. As long as whatever it may be is on our side." he told her, "Rayne, please think about what I said. I've known you long enough to not impose too much on you. So, just take your time. I'm not going anywhere." he said to her, grabbing her hands and brought them to his lips. He brushed his lips over her knuckles before releasing them and walked off. She patted her chest to attempt to steady her thundering heart.

"Wow, that was quite a show." Vixen chipped in from behind one of the wooden pillars that helped hold up the roof over the open hallway. Rayne grumbled softly to herself as she walked away from the training ground. Vixen skipped to her side, linking her arm around hers as Rayne stepped back into the hallway.

"For someone that enjoys making a ruckus, you sure know how to keep yourself quiet." Rayne mumbled beside her as she followed the mental map to the bathing room.

"I didn't dare interrupt. You two looked like you needed some quality time." Vixen winked before her expression shifted to being serious, "To what you said awhile ago. About this voice you've been hearing. Can you sense that it's evil?" Vixen asked her. Rayne rummaged through her mind as she recalled the dream she had with this odd being.

"It felt like something was crawling over me, like tendrils, or snakes." Rayne could almost feel the slithering once more as she described it, "It felt like death to me. I know I didn't die for long, but it was so familiar." Rayne inclined her head.

"What did it say to you?" Vixen asked, her voice almost seemed so far away now even with her demonic heat radiating off of her body.

"It wants to make me stronger." Rayne said as they stopped in front of the sliding door. Vixen opened it, seeing it empty and closed the door behind themselves. It was a small room, but large enough to fit the women comfortably. The walls were made of stone with a single glass window that glimpsed outside. In the center of the room was a large wooden tub, filled with clean water. "What are you doing?" Rayne asked her as she began to shed her clothes.

"I thought we could use some privacy to discuss this." Vixen told her as she walked over to the tub and dipped her fingers in. A moment later, steam rose from the surface of the water, enticing Rayne to dip in.

"Thank you." Rayne said as she got in, sighing loudly as she sunk into the hot water, letting it soothe her aching muscles from the constantly training. Vixen knelt behind her and started to clean her hair.

"I should be thanking you, and Gideon of course." Vixen said, grabbing the herbs and sprinkled them across the bathwater. Rayne felt her muscles relax and her head clear in what felt like ages.

"How is it that you know Xerath? What is your relationship?" Rayne asked her, the aroma of lavender filling her senses. Vixen paused for a moment as she pondered on the question. She reached down, grabbing one of the vials and poured it into the tub. She swirled her finger around for a moment until bubbles started to form.

"He found me." Vixen's voice was soft and distant. "I had finished my last victim when he caught me in the act." Vixen laughed weakly. "It was awkward being discovered that way, but he instead of handing me over to the city guard, he granted me a second chance." Vixen touched the tattoo on her neck, a glimmer of darkness in her eyes until it quickly vanished.

"He helped you find the light." Rayne finished for her. Vixen nodded, picking up the next vial and let it pool in the palm of her hand. She rubbed her hands together with a bit of water until the liquid began to bubble and foam. She ran her fingers through Rayne's hair, massaging her scalp gently.

"It was... difficult to maintain that course. The God I once followed didn't take too kindly to the alignment change." Vixen shrugged, "But I was stubborn and determined to get myself through this. That was eight years ago." Vixen picked up the empty bucket, dipping it into the water and began washing Rayne's hair again.

"He has a book about me." Rayne mentioned, staring up at the ceiling.

"Like a storybook?" Vixen asked her.

"I don't know. I haven't opened it. A part of me believes that it's just an empty leather bound, and yet the other part wants to believe that my life is written in it." Rayne brings a hand out of the water, looking at the bubbles that gathered along her fingers. "The part of me that does believe that it's truly a story is scared. A story has a beginning, a middle and an end."

"You think that your story has an end to it." Vixen finished for her and Rayne nodded.

"I spent part of my life in this temple, never once knowing who my parents were and why." Rayne spoke, but then she remembered the dream she had. The dream about a cloaked woman delivering her to this very temple as an infant.

"Rayne?" Vixen called to her. Rayne sat up, her hair sticking to her neck and back.

"My mom abandoned me here." Rayne said to her as she stood up and climbed out of the tub. Vixen inclined her head as she waved her hands over Rayne's body. The bubbles and water that was once dripping from her flushed skin, was now dried away, leaving her body slightly pruned.

"If someone came to me with a book that had my story written in it, I wouldn't want to know." Vixen told her as she stepped behind Rayne, running her fingers through her damp hair. Rayne felt heat, her hair sizzling slightly as Vixen combed through her hair.

"What if the answer to killing Ravnyk is in there?" Rayne asked her, peering over her shoulder to her. The woman peered back with her sparkling silver eyes, chewing her bottom lip.

"That's the risk you'd have to take then, but are you really ready?" Vixen asked her. Rayne opened her mouth, but then she shut it. If she opened the book, could she stop herself from reading it to the end?

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Gideon clasped on his cloak, going through the mission in his head repeatedly. Travel to Barboulder. If it was attacked, check for survivors. If it wasn't attacked yet, give them the warning. Establish communications with the Dwarven King. Most of all, find out why Ravnyk chose that location specifically. With the army he possesses, he could easily overtake each city, and with the power he contains, he could have just wiped out the whole kingdom entirely.

Gideon halted as he strapped on his sword to his belt. Would Ravnyk wait until they arrived to attack instead? Was it truly a trap for Rayne? The questions rolled around in his head as he left his quarters. The Elf warriors had already gathered around the training ground, each one mounted atop their beasts. Vixen waved him over, holding the reins to his mare. He patted the horse's neck gently as he gaze around the large gathering. Each face he glimpsed at was expressionless, eyes dead set on the task at hand. If only his old comrades had the same mind set.

"Is everyone here now?" Mel-Darion walked up to him, holding the reins to a large brown bear. He adorned his green leather armor with gold trimming, his long brown hair tied back in a braid. A rapier was sheathed on his hip in a gold scabbard. Gideon looked around once more until he discovered Rayne beside her stallion and Xerath. Xerath reached into the sleeve of his regal robes and pulled out a book, passing it over to Rayne where she tucked it away in her satchel that hung from the saddle. Mel-Darion followed his gaze to Rayne, his jaw clenching a bit.

"Have you noticed anything off about her since you got here?" Gideon asked him, tugging on his reins and led his horse in their direction, Mel-Darion walking alongside of him.

"Not since her fit in the war room. She is more on edge than what I am accustomed to. Is it because of the Dark Lord?" Mel-Darion asked him. Gideon shrugged.

"Unsure, but we should keep an eye out with her. She's been getting visits from some unknown being recently. I'm also concerned that Ravnyk may have set up a trap in Barboulder." Gideon raked his fingers through his hair, his eyes falling onto Rayne once more. She lifted her cowl to shadow her face.

"Why does she open up to you so easily?" the Prince asked him. Gideon looked sidelong at the Elf.

"We fought together. We escaped death together." Gideon told him.

"You lay in bed with her." Mel-Darion stated, and Gideon didn't deny it. Mel-Darion's eyes hardened as the truth confirmed his suspicions. "So, she will bed just about anyone these days." he grumbled. Gideon grabbed the Elf's collar, tugging him close. They were relatively close in height, Gideon just passing him by a mere inch. The Elves surrounding them immediately drew their weapons, either pointing their arrows or the ends of their swords at Gideon.

"Don't you ever disgrace her again." Gideon growled before shoving him away and continued toward Rayne and Xerath while ignoring the Elves. They glimpsed in his direction, spotting the weapons drawn.

"What happened?" Rayne asked him as he adjusted his cloak. He looked down at her, attempting to settle the rising anger that spiked.

"Just men passing along some choice words is all. Are you ready? It'll take roughly three days to reach Barboulder." He changed the topic to avoid any argument from her. Rayne glanced around as the Elves slowly sheathed their arrows and scimitars. She spotted Mel-Darion in the crowd, his eyes narrowed on her before swiveling his bear away and moved further in to the army.

"I'm ready." she simply said, trying to disregard the knots in her stomach. Xerath nodded, stepping back and pressed his fingers against his throat.

"Remember, the safety of Barboulder comes first. If an attack has not been placed, proceed to the Dwarves Kingdom to alert their king, Hjalgurn. However, if the town appears to have been taken over or burnt to the ground, search for survivors." Xerath's voice boomed over the crowd, silencing any whispers and side conversations. The warriors sat up straighter in their saddles, their beast mounts eager to start their venture. Rayne and Gideon mount their horses, eyeing the field before them. Xerath stepped up to them, clasping their hands in his.

"Be careful, both of you. Something else is waiting for you." he said before letting their hands go and walked away toward his guardian and Vixen. She waved, a smile plastered on her full red lips, but it didn't reach her eyes. She felt the same anxiety they did. Were they prepared for what they might arrive to?