Chapter 28

The sounds of the waterfalls faded to the background as Khai drowned Ana in a barrage of kisses. After a while, he finally stopped to wistfully caress her cheek.

"I won't be able to train you all of next week. A special coach is coming to Arcane to combat train with the legacies. I will be training from sunrise to sunset all day starting tomorrow until Friday.

"Oh…" a small frown appeared on Ana's lips, she quickly changed her expression to hide her disappointment.

"I also have to start training with the soccer team for a match next month, so I will be busy until late at night."

"That sounds exhausting." She said in a small voice. Knowing she wouldn't see him for all of next week suddenly made her heart heavy.

"If you're up late at night, I would love to come see you. We can go to the chapel, or walk to the lake within campus, there's so much to show you…" his voice trailed as he searched her expression, hoping she wouldn't see through his desperation.

But to his relief, Ana's face brightened into a smile. "I would love to see the campus more. But won't you be too tired?"

"For you, never."

His heart-warming response made Ana bury her face into his neck. He smelled wonderful and she knew she would fall asleep in his arms again if she didn't move away from him. As she tried to wriggle out of his embrace, he tightened his arms around her with furrowed brows.

"I'm a little tired and I don't want to trouble you by falling asleep on you again."

Khai pressed his lips on her temples and gave her a bone-crushing hug. He couldn't remember how he survived before her innocent soul walked into his life.

"I love when you do that Ana. I want to hold you in my arms and fall asleep with you every night. Though I can't imagine getting any sleep if I were on a bed with you."

Ana's eyes widened as she turned beet red from his bold words.

Khai cupped her face with one hand and pulled her closer to lightly bite her nose. "I'm going to eat you up if you keep looking so adorable."

Shaking his hands away, she glared at him as she rubbed her nose before resting her head on his shoulder. "Is there anything I can learn by myself when you don't train me?"

He noticed how desperate she was to fight and learn self defense from the first day he started to train her. It bothered him that she was in this battle all by herself when he could fight and win it for her. Hoping she would open up to him, he gently tilted her chin up to look her in the eye. He probed her once again. "Who is it that is troubling you Ana? I know it isn't an animal, so let's cut to the chase."

Unable to bring herself to talk about how Sean attacked her, Ana avoided his gaze as she mumbled a weak excuse to him. "It's just general self-defense. I want to get stronger." Her insecurities were so strong that they had started to suffocate her at this point.

Khai noticed her mood darken and gently rubbed her back as if to comfort her. "I'll have Elliot train you while I'm at soccer practice. He won't be as good as me, but it's only three sessions and I'll be back to help you before you know it."

Khai hated the idea of another man getting close to Ana. But he put her needs first because he knew how much she wanted to train. He would warn Elliot to have at least two feet of space between them at all times.

Ana's discomfort dissipated at Khai's understanding. Not only did he stand by her like a pillar, offering her strength and encouragement, but he also gave her space and time to get comfortable with him. He never pushed her to do something she wasn't okay with and always watched out for her with the utmost concern.

She placed her palm on his cheek and moved his mouth to hers, surprising him with a small peck. However, the surprise waned off quickly and Khai pulled her into yet another all-consuming kiss.

Ana and Khai returned to Arcane just as the sun was setting. He walked her back to her room and lowered his head to kiss her cheek before reluctantly walking away.

Ana couldn't wipe the smile off of her face as stood under the hot shower. Her lips were tender from their continuous kissing and her body was exhausted from the long hike, but she would remember this day as one of the best days of her life.

Her phone chimed when she was almost done drying her hair. It was Meghan, asking if she wanted to grab dinner together. Although Ana was exhausted, she decided that a quick meal would help her rest better.

After getting dressed, she met Meghan outside her room and they made their way to the dining hall.

"George was so hungover this morning, I managed to wake up at noon and get some lunch. He ate some, but has otherwise been sleeping all day."

"I didn't notice that he drank that much."

Meghan gave her a smug smile and elbowed her playfully. "Well you only had eyes for one person in the club last night."

Ana weakly fought a smile as she gave Meghan the side eye. "About that…" she trailed before confessing, "I had my first kiss with him today."

Meghan's eyes and mouth, both snapped open in exaggerated amazement. She held Ana's arms and jumped up and down in excitement. "Tell. Me. Everything."

Ana started from the day Khai confessed his feelings to her and proceeded to tell her about their night at the chapel and their hike today. Meghan absently played with her rice bowl, holding a dreamy look as she listened to Ana.

"He's so romantic! Ana, I'm so happy for you. You've finally found someone who is worthy of you."

Ana's smile fell as she remembered his question on why she was training. "I haven't told him about Sean yet."

Meghan's lips curved into a sympathetic smile as she held Ana's hand in understanding. "You do it when you're comfortable sweetie. Who knows? Maybe you won't even have to. Once Sean knows that you two are together, he might finally leave you alone in fear of Khai."

Ana nodded half heartedly. She shuddered at the wrath that would ensue if Sean found out about her and Khai. Suppressing the negativity rising within her, she opened her phone to check her class schedule the next day to distract herself.

"Should we stop by the library and pick up some study material for the next week?" She asked Meghan.

"Let's go tomorrow, when we meet George for lunch. I'm sure he'd want to pick up some books for himself." Meghan noticed how Ana's spirit slowly returned as she continued spending time with Khai. Not wanting to tether her progress, she was apprehensive to take Ana back to a place of trauma without George's protection.

On reaching her room, she checked her schedule to see when her next class with Margarett would be. She took out the mana stone from her bag and tried to perceive its movement. The stone glowed in response, emitting a light that filled her entire room. Ana squinted to see that the light was spilling out of the doors and windows of her room. Quickly closing the stone in her palm, Ana dropped it in her bedside drawer and walked over to close her windows.

She walked over to the window, her hand outstretched to close it against the breeze. Just as her fingers brushed the frame, she like she saw something was watching her from the dense forest beyond the glass.

As she scanned the trees, the only sounds were the rustle of leaves in the wind. But she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. She stood there, her eyes locked on the forest, but minutes ticked by and nothing happened. She started to think she was imagining things, closed the window shut and slumped on her bed, falling asleep within seconds.

*****

"We got too close this time! You think she saw us?" a tall and slender figure with sharp, angular features hid behind a large tree in the grounds of Arcane.

"You're too tiny to be spotted Yuno!" Another similar figure snickered at Yuno, flipping her long silver hair over her back.

Yuno scowled viciously before the two of them scanned the forest with their piercing golden eyes. Confirming that they were in the clear, the propelled themselves from the tree branch and made a run out of Arcane, swinging from vine to vine as they moved.