"When I walk, I walk with
you. Where I go, you're
with me always."

~~Alice Hoffman

****************

~Nova~

"So, you aren't mad at me?" I asked Robbie for the fifth time since returning to our bedroom.

"No, I'm not mad," Robbie repeated once again, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

I closed my eyes, my ear pressed against his chest, content as I listened to the steady sound of his heart. He smelled like earth and sweat, his skin still bare and feverish beneath my cheek. 

When we made it back to our room, I had expected him to harass me about my decision to put Nevada and I to good use. Okay, maybe that wasn't the correct description of the conversation but it was basically what had happened. They all made a big deal about how powerful we were but were still terrified to let us use them other than practice. 

"Promise?" I asked, enjoying the feeling of his fingers playing with my hair.

"Babe, I'm not mad," Robbie repeated once again with finally a tint of irritation. "Frustrated? Yeah, that's easy enough but I'm not mad. If I were in your shoes I would probably feel the same way. While I don't like the idea of you putting yourself in harm's way, I know that the more I fight you on what you want to do, the more likely you are to get hurt. I would like to avoid that as much as possible."

I frowned. "I'm not going to get hurt."

Robbie huffed out an exasperated noise, his arms wrapping around my waist and pulling me on top of his body. Pressing my forearms against his chest, I looked down at him. Amber eyes burned up at me, warmth softening the edges of irritation. 

"Don't make promises you can't keep, baby," Robbie whispered, hands gripping my sides. "I want to keep you safe and in one piece. To be honest, if I could lock you in a trunk and hide you in a cave while I kill the bad guys I would. But I can't because you would just find a way out and strangle me before I ever made it anywhere to fight."

I hummed in amused agreement. "That's true."

"I don't want to hold you back," Robbie continued, a sad smile on his face as his eyes lingered on my lips. "I want to watch you flourish, stand by your side not in front of or behind you."

"If I continue to piss August off, I may need you in front of me," I countered playfully, too drained for heavy moments. 

He laughed, the sound rumbling through his chest beneath mine and I shivered from the sensation. 

"Oh little Tink, I think you can handle him just fine without me."

"But if you did it for me," I breathed, lowering my head to kiss the side of his jaw, "I could kiss it all better afterwards."

Robbie's already semi hard cock grew even harder beneath me as I trailed light kisses down his neck and back up. Smiling, I pressed my lips against his, taking his bottom lip between my teeth. He growled, fingers digging into my waist as he rolled his hips, creating a slow friction between our clothed erections. 

"I'll give you everything, Nova," Robbie whispered against my mouth. "Anything you want, anything you need, all you have to do is ask."

"Just you," I whispered, dropping my head to the crook of his neck, wishing we could stay like this forever. "I just need you."

"You've got me, babe," Robbie promised, hugging me tight against his chest, one hand threading through my hair to hold the back of my head gently. "No matter what happens, I promise you've got me."

I closed my eyelids, tears stinging my tired eyes, hating the direction life had taken us. There was always the possibility that whatever awaited us would take him from me and that made me briefly consider his joke of hiding in a cave. Nothing was a guarantee, especially as of late, and I wanted to spend every second I could with him, however I could. There may not be a happily ever after in store for any of us.

"Stay with me?" I asked quietly, my voice wavering slightly. "Just until I go to sleep?"

I wanted Robbie; to feel his hard body move against mine, to see his face as he trembled through orgasm with pleasure burning in his eyes. But he didn't have but a few stolen minutes and all I really needed was to have his arms around me, hold me as if time had stopped just for us.

"Sounds perfect," he replied, smiling against my temple before releasing me.

Turning on my side with my back to him, I reached behind me and laced my fingers through his to pull his arm over my waist. I cradled out joined hands against my chest, sighing as his body aligned with mine. Safe was what I felt, an illusion I would gladly fall into if it meant having him close for just a little while longer. What I felt for Robbie went beyond words, bigger than my head could process, but it was a beautiful chaos I loved and so was he. 

"I love you," I whispered sleepily, my eyes drifting shut, "beyond all manner of comprehension."

"Big word for a sleepy prince," he teased, smiling as he pressed a kiss to my cheek, "but I still love you more."

I opened my mouth to argue but with the heat from his body wrapped around me and the weight of the blanket as Robbie pulled it over us, sleep claimed me before I could make a sound.

●●●●

The emptiness of my bed is what woke me, the nagging feeling at the back of my head that told me I was alone. In the past, that very feeling had left me wanting to drift back into the darkness and never wake up again. I had spent so much time alone in my life that I should have been used to it by the time I became an adult, but every day had almost been harder than the last.

Until Robbie. Everything had changed after I met him that day in the music store, bright eyes and a cocky swagger with a smirk that women and men alike would melt for. I had been one of them but I had fought the urge, denied the yearning I felt for as long as I could. Because there was no way that someone like me would ever deserve a happiness like that.

Shaking the thoughts from my head, I blinked my eyes open and groaned as I sat on the edge of the bed. I could feel Robbie's energy distantly above me which told me he was in the tower but still too far away. It still struck me as odd sometimes, how well I could sense him even from across the house.

The hardwood floor of the hallway was cold beneath my bare feet, making me quickly back track and find my socks. My stomach rumbled hungrily but I had a different destination in mind before breakfast. The nerves in my body were tight and a jittery feeling grew stronger beneath my skin with every step I took. 

I stopped in front of the closed door, my pulse racing as my heart threatened to pound out of my chest. Michael's energy was stronger, drifting towards me through the door alive and pulsing with life. Raising my hand, I drew an unsteady breath before turning the knob.

Michael's body instantly tensed as the bedroom door swung open, kaleidoscopic eyes widening. Panic and fear flooded my senses momentarily, stealing the oxygen from my lungs. The moment he realized who I was, relief swept over his features which I suddenly realized were more gaunt than they used to be. His cheekbones were sharper and his eyes were larger with dark circles beneath them, made all the more obvious by the bandages covering his injuries.

My gaze drifted down the top half of his body, the skin naked down to his waist as he leaned against the headboard. More bandages crossed his chest and torso, but it didn't hide the fact that his ribs were visible beneath them. My heart ached at the proof of his poor health and all the possibilities that could have put Michael in such a state of distress.

"What happened to you?" I asked quietly, meeting his eyes again.

Michael flinched, the action overtaking his whole body, and he pulled the blankets up to hide his pitiful frame. Cautiously, I approached the bed and took a seat at the end, close enough to talk and see him but still giving him space. I hadn't seen Michael since that night and there were so many things I had wanted to say but now that I finally had the chance, nothing came out.

"Nothing more than I deserved," Michael answered hoarsely, head downcast. "I brought it upon myself and the gods repaid my actions as they saw fit."

"Michael, what are you talking about?" I asked gently. 

"I've done a lot of stupid things in the last century and a half," he admitted, still not looking at me, "but that night… it was the topping on the cake. I fucked up in so many ways, and I got what was coming to me."

"Gods, why is everyone so vague and cryptic all the time?" I muttered, mostly to myself. 

He laughed, the sounds sharp and humorless.

"Because it makes us look cool," he replied with a shake of his head. "No, I think it's more of when someone doesn't want to fully admit the truth. Maybe it's too horrible or they're ashamed, regardless maybe they just don't want to lie but can't actually be truly honest."

"Which is it for you?"

Michael finally looked up at me, the multicolored hues of his eyes shimmering to settle as a deep blue.

"A little of both, I guess," he finally said, unable to hold my gaze for more than a moment as he pulled the blanket tighter around him. "I'm not a good person, and after what I did… I don't deserve your forgiveness, or any ounce of kindness for that matter. Plus, telling you the truth of what happened would make you pity me, and I don't want that or deserve it either."

I frowned. "How do you know I'll pity you? Maybe I'll laugh and tell you that karma's a bitch."

"Because I know you, Nova," Michael answered, barely above a whisper. "Unless you've changed that much lately, you'll feel sorry for me. Hell, I feel sorry for me. I mean, I'm not exactly in the best shape of my life now am I?"

"You could be dead," I commented casually with a shrug.

"That's true," Michael agreed, looking back up at me. "I suppose I have you to thank for that?"

I nodded. "Nevada and I both actually."

"Nev,-" Michael stammered, eyes wide with shock. "Wait… she… what? Why?"

I gave him a flat look.

"Why not?" I countered. "You think she would just let you die on the couch out of spite?"

"Uh, well yeah," he answered, dumbfounded. "I didn't exactly part on the best of terms."

"No, you definitely didn't do that," I agreed wryly. "But Nevada is a truly good person, one who rarely holds grudges and hates to see anyone suffer. She's not like us, Michael."

Shame colored his sunken cheeks, bright against his still too pale skin. 

"Is that why you were afraid when the door opened? Afraid it was someone who would hurt you for what you did?" I asked, looking at him curiously before he had a chance to say anything to my previous statement. 

Michael bit his lip, eyes flashing a multitude of colors as an assortment of emotional fragments skittered across my consciousness. Panic, regret and fear were the most prominent of slivers, and I held my breath as I anticipated his response. 

Well, this can't be good., I thought with dread.

"Yes and no," Michael answered slowly but didn't elaborate.

"Again with the vagueness," I chided with narrowed eyes.

He sighed, nervously tugging his slim fingers through a tangled knot in his hair. Chewing on his bottom lip, Michael glanced towards the door and back towards me before opening his mouth.

"Your mother came to see me before she left."

"My mother?" I asked, completely confused as I scrunched up my nose. "What are you talking about?"

"Alana Drakos."

I stared at him, the words not making sense at first but when they did I felt my jaw drop and my eyes nearly pop out of my head. 

"Alana left?!" I hissed, trying to keep my voice down because it was obvious no one else had noticed yet.

Michael nodded in confirmation, eyes sad and regretful. "She asked me for Ashira's message and I read it in her thoughts. You're her son as much as Nevada is her daughter which is why she left."

"Huh?" I replied, my thoughts struggling to process words.

"Alana went to reclaim the throne after the death of the royal family," Michael clarified slowly, allowing me a chance to understand their meaning. 

"What the hell did you say to her?!"

"Just what Ashira wanted, which was, verbatim, 'His name is Raziel.'" Michael quickly defended himself. "And that we were in a dungeon but I didn't know where. Then she left. Nova, I couldn't have stopped her no matter what I said!"

I opened my mouth to argue but snapped it closed again. Michael was in no fit shape to try to fight anyone much less someone like Alana Drakos. She would have killed him, possibly without a second thought with the level of pain she's currently experiencing. I had been able to feel the fractured internal torment since the moment the news reached us and it had left me feeling raw more often than not in the last twenty-four hours. How had I not realized she was here when I had felt it upon waking?

"Don't blame yourself, Nova," Michael tried to reassure me. "Alana is headstrong and would have left anyway. That's why she didn't say anything, not even goodbye."

"Because she didn't want anyone to try and stop her," I breathed, the notion dawning instantly in my head. "Dominic would have tied her to the bed or something."

A roar of anguish and fury rolled through the house, the walls rattling as power surged through the foundation. I closed my eyes, knowing exactly who it was and the reason behind his pain. My father had just realized the love of his life had left him.

"I need to go," I told him absently as I stood and rushed to the door. "I'll be back so don't bother trying to leave."

"I'm not going anywhere," Michael promised just as I closed the door and rushed up the stairs.

Dominic nearly barrelled into me as I rounded the top of the stairs, green eyes flying wildly in every direction. Every muscle in his body was tensed, primed for immediate action against anything in his way. Quickly as I could, I raised my hands in a surrendering gesture and tried not to stumble under the weight of his pain. 

"Dominic, calm down," I tried even though I knew it was futile. "It's going to be okay."

"Where is she?!" he bellowed manically, trying to shove past me. "Her weapons are gone, even her sword. Where did she go?!"

"She's not here but just… take a breath and we'll figure this out," I tried again just as Nevada came padding down the hall towards us. "We can't do anything if you're a rabid bear."

"What's going on?" Nevada asked timidly, taking in the sight of Dominic and I.

Pushing against his shoulders, I tried to get him to stay where he was instead of storming off, to the gods only knew where, in search of Alana. I had no idea how long she had been gone and it was a bad idea to let Dominic go in the state of mind he was in. 

"Alana left," I stated simply, hoping our father wouldn't hear it in his distressed and rambunctious state.

No such luck. Another agonizing sound tore from his throat and Dominic tried to push by me again, nearly knocking me to the floor. Left without any other choice, I raised my hands as power welled in my chest. Within only a couple of seconds, pale bands of energy locked around Dominic's arms and legs, holding him in place but not hurting him. He thrashed as much as the bindings would allow, eyes blazing bright as he looked at me.

"Let me go, Nova!" Dominic yelled, the words echoing off the walls. "I have to find her!"

"We will but not while you're like this!" I shot back. "You'll kill innocent people!"

"I don't fucking care!" he seethed, chest heaving. "I can't feel her anywhere near me. She's gone and I have to find her!"

"Hey, we'll find her," Nevada promised, coming up beside him and placing a small hand on his flexing shoulders. "We will but you need a clear head to do it or you'll hurt us all. It's going to be okay."

Dominic finally looked down at her, and I could practically feel his heart breaking. He stopped struggling to get free, his body nearly limp in the bounds around him. I feared if I was to release him, he would surely crumple to the ground.

"She left me," Dominic whispered. "Why did she leave me?"

Nevada looked at me for help and I hesitated only a second before repeating Michael's words.

"She's the rightful Braelyn Queen and has gone back to claim the throne," I told him, forcing my voice to remain steady. "Alana didn't leave you, Dad. She made a choice that could help all of us. You'll get her back."

Dominic froze, his eyes snapping to mine in shock. I frowned, wondering what I had said to gain such a reaction. Then it hit me.

I just called him 'Dad'… 

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A/N: So this chapter isn't particularly exciting or dramatic but I kind of like it lol.

New chapters may be more spaced out over the next few weeks but I'll get them up as often as possible. I hope you can be patient with me.

If you haven't already, give me a follow because I'll keep everyone updated on my message board.

Thanks as always!❤

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XOXO🖤❤🖤❤

~SM~