Chapter-XXV

The corridor twisted and turned, yet Twyll made no effort to see where the house was leading her. Her head felt like it was filled with cotton, fuzzy and unclear.

How could I touch him?

Her hand still tingled from the aftershocks of the electricity that had coursed through her when she had grazed his arm. What must he think of her? Different? Good?

Twyll scoffed at her stupidity. Her skin was effervescent and sensitive, she looked up as she neared a set of glass doors. They were too reflective to clearly see what was beyond them but it looked like a stone balcony overlooking the city from the lights barely visible. She pushed them open and gasped as warmth enveloped her figure.

"Twyll, what are you doing here?" Trystan asked in a slightly humorous tone. "I know what you are going to say, but I promise you I am not stalking you." Twyll sighed in resignation.

Trystan pushed off of the balcony railing and slowly walked up to her, like a tiger prowling in the high grasses for prey. "I would never insinuate such a thing, I am wounded you would think me so self-absorbed." Twyll laughed, surprised that she still could.

Trystan's smile grew at the sound. The air around them was magnetic, pulling them together until there was just an inch between them. "Did you know that you have a freckle on your temple?" He blurted out.

"No..." She whispered. Their breaths mingled in the limited space between them. Trystan leaned a bit more, their lips almost but not quite touching. Twyll's head was in the clouds, that distant voice in her head just that- distant. It had been so long since she had felt wanted, desired.

Twyll met him halfway as their lips melded and a calm descended. Everything tingled and it felt like tiny explosions were going off.

"So it's true..." Twyll murmured against Trystan's lips. He made a strangled sound, halfway between a laugh and scoff. "What... what is true?" He questioned, his breathing heavy. Their lips were still touching, sliding against each other as they breathed. "That fireworks go off in your head when you kiss." She explained. He laughed out loud then and kissed her again. And again. And again.

"We should probably go to bed."

"Probably." He agreed, his hands going up and down her sides.

"It's late."

"It certainly is." He again agreed, his hands now entwining into her hair running the strands through his fingers.

Twyll laughed and stepped away from him. His lips pouted, like a child whose favourite toy had been taken away. He hooked his arms around her again and pulled her against him. "Stay with me." He whispered into her hair. She stiffened and hastily pulled back, her back suddenly rigid.

"I don't think that is a sound decision, Pearce."

Trystan took a step backwards. "What do you mean by, sound decision?"

"I mean that we barely know each other and I won't climb into your bed because I am not a whore and I am not... I am not easy." She asserted, her voice breaking on the last word.

Trystan's eyes softened. "I don't have any expectations líçé. But we both know that our... bond is different. Beyond our control." He looked equal parts excited and hopeful.

She felt her resolve crumble against his persuasive gaze and it broke her inside that she was so weak that she bent at his fucking eyes. Pathetic.

"No." She whispered. Once. Twice. The same word again and again. "This cannot happen again, I didn't come here to form bonds or relationships. I came here to find answers and I cannot let anything come in the way of that. I am sorry Trystan, maybe when all this is over we might... But no. It cannot continue and it's good you don't have any expectations." Every word made her take one more step backwards until her back hit the balcony doors. Tears were streaming down her face. It burned her heart to say those words. She barely knew him yet every step away from him hurt and it bothered her that she was shedding her tears for a man. A man she was barely even with if not completely. She had become this weak person who collapsed and crawled inside of her at the barest hint of sympathy and affection. She was stronger than that. Her vision was blurred with restrained tears and her eyes hurt because of the strain. She opened the door to her room not remembering how she even got there and not caring. She quickly changed into a nightgown and burrowed under the covers, falling into a restless sleep.

...

Trystan's footsteps echoed loudly as he made his way to the training arena. His head was throbbing and his skin was crawling from the absence of a certain young lady. He walked through the door and immediately made his way to the sandbags, all the while removing his shirt and trousers. He was clad in only a pair of cotton underpants. He taped his hands since he had to be in fighting shape tomorrow and a couple of broken knuckles would not go over well with Bren. He punched the sandbag, putting all of his frustration, anger and rejection into it. The tape around his knuckles loosened and started unwinding around his knuckles but he kept going.

"Trystan, stop." A husky voice commanded.

Trystan immediately stopped.

"What happen boy?" Bren asked with surprising gentleness.

"She rejected me, told me that she doesn't want to start anything." He answered in a low voice.

Bren's face glowed with sympathy as she slowly walked towards him and wrapped him in her arms. He buried his head in the crook of her neck and let the tears fall.

He knew she understood. Knew that she knew what Twyll was to him. What their bond was and how deep it went. Everything hurt in his body and all he still wanted to do was crawl into her arms, not Bren's.

"Trystan, my boy." He laughed, "I... Maybe it's for the best?"

He turned towards her sharply. "What do you mean by that Brenneth?"

His sharp tone caused her to wince. "Well, Cadence reported that when he was scouting the area after informing Twyll, he had also decided to ask after Twyll, in general." He raised his eyebrows at that. "The boys over there were not very... Kind." He fisted his hands. "They mentioned her as flighty and very... loose." Bren's pauses promoted the idea that the actual words used were more provocative and vulgar. This caused another wash of red to cover his vision. Even the idea that Twyll had been touched by someone else other than him and that those people had admitted to it so publicly was abhorring. It also cleared up what she had said on the balcony.

I am not a whore and I am not... I am not easy

"You know, she knows..." Bren trailed off, her eyes turning glassy.

"Bren? Brenneth! What's happening?" His voice bordered on panicked.

Bren gasped as she fell to the floor. Her chest heaving with strangled sobs. She was bleeding from the eyes and the mouth and her skin had greyed in colour.

The door burst open headed by Shalom and Karsyn, followed by Cadence and Kyan. Twyll was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Twyll?" Trystan asked.

Their expressions immediately morphed to fear as Cadence vanished into thin air.

"We don't know, Karsyn was thrashing and her skin was greying. She looked as though she was-"

"-Dead. Yeah, I kinda noticed." Bren had already sat up by now and was wiping the wetness off her face.

"What did you see Bren?" Kyan carefully asked her.

"I don't know," She whispered. "It was dark, empty, nothing. It was like the type of cold that burns and..." She shuddered.

"I saw something similar except there was a vague presence there. Something primal and old." Karsyn whispered. Shalom wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Cadence materialised again in the middle of the room. His face was white and his eyes burned with the aftereffect of wielding.

"Where is Twyll, Cadence?" Trystan ground out though it felt like he already knew the answer.

"She's gone. There is no sign of struggle and the bed looked slept in and her day clothes and Bavmeč are still there." Cadence reported.

Trystan started pacing. His blood was heating and the panic of losing Twyll was invading his common senses.

"We need a plan of action. This is the work of The Dictator. The visions, Twyll's disappearance, it has to be connected." Kyan added.

"The visions were also only sent to me," Bren stated.

"What do you mean? Kars also got them." Shalom queried.

"No, it makes sense. Maybe the visions were only sent to Brenneth and Karsyn's channels caught on o the visions while they were being sent and because of that she must have also sensed the presence in the vision and Bren did not because that wasn't something he wanted her to know." Trystan clarified. "By sending that vision to Bren he must not have anticipated Karsyn's channels interrupting them, It means that whatever tactic he used was just a ploy to scare Bren because she is an immortal and does not have any personal ties to us other than a teacher and student."

"He is underestimating our love and loyalty towards each other" Cadence contributed.

Trystan nodded in affirmance.

"Well, it might as well have worked because I am scared now. Whatever was there in that darkness instilled pure, unadulterated fear in me. It's way too dangerous." Bren interrupted.

"Bren. Twyll is an Heir. She will be manipulated and flattered. She is already in a vulnerable place and so are we all. We've known that there was something sinister going on in this city since forever. Twyll might as well be the biggest political asset and if she chooses him we are all doomed. This city is doomed." Trystan pleaded.

Bren looked at him sceptically.

"Are you sure this is for your city or the fact that you both are Tavaryš?"

"You are Tavaryŝ!" Shalom and Kyan exclaimed together.

"Yes, but that's not important," He nonchalantly stated.

"What do you mean by it's not important?" Shalom questioned with clenched teeth.

"Guys, Twyll is missing and it was quite obvious those two were Tavaryš from the first time they met. We are going off-track here," Cadence asserted.

"Thank you, Cadence. Now we need to work out what our next move is. Twyll is not in bed, I cannot feel her anywhere in this house so it is a fair guess that she has been taken. We all know that the Dictator wants her, assumingly, for the political gain that she could bring to his schemes, right?"

They all agreed.

"That means she will have to be presented to the Stoechìan aristocracy and cabinet members as a Lady..." He trailed off with an encouraging tone at the end.

"...And what?" Kyan asked.

"What Trystan means is that if we convince Twyll to side with us and spy on The Dictator for us we will have a chance at unravelling each and every one of his undercover plans and schemes."

"And along the way save all of Stoechìa from his corrupt rule and restore peace and figure out how to eradicate the Temnota," Trystan explained.

"Well, looks like we have a plan," Kyan sighed.

"Yeah, we do." Trystanmuttered under his breath.