No Greater Love {Completed}

Page 21

"Love is fire. But whether it's going to warm your heart or burn your house down. You can never tell."
- Joan Crawford

Shannon's POV

I was surprised when the queen allowed Aviana and I to leave the palace alone. We walked through the city and it wasn't what I thought it would be.

I expected it to be uniform like everything in the palace, but it was just the opposite. The sky was a lot brighter than I remember and the buildings were different shapes and very colorful. The people had their own individual style just like humans did.

Right now the trend seemed to be colored hair. There was a flood of pinks, greens, blues, and purples as we walked down the sidewalk. Their vehicles seemed to be a lot more efficient as well. Each one was completely silent as it passed by. I wasn't use to the quiet. As a matter of fact everything was quiet. If there were people talking they whispered. It was driving me to the point of insanity.

"Shannon come on. We don't want bring attention to ourselves," Aviana said picking up her pace a little. I followed closely behind her. Aviana suddenly stopped causing me to smack right into her.

"What is it?" I asked looking ahead of her. There was a small little girl looking right at us. "What's wrong? It's just a girl."

Aviana grabbed my wrist and turned down the nearest alley. "You have to stay away from children," she replied looking back and picking up her speed to nearly a jog.

"Why?"

"Because they know when someone is a human or not. They have this strange 6th sense when they're young. If they feel threatened or notice something that isn't normal to them, they sound off this horrible shriek that alters anyone with in a 5 mile radius. If that were to happen here in the city that would mean bad news for you. I'm surprised no one has noticed your human yet by your eyes."

We fell silent again and continued to Aviana's house. We came to the back of a thin four story building. Aviana unlocked the door and motioned me in first.

"Welcome to my home. It's not much but it's something." She took her coat off and walked over to the window pressing a button. A steel backdrop descended shutting out the sunlight. I felt pained as I watched the warmth and light vanish again.

"Would you like a tour?" She turned to me and smiled as she let her hair down from its bun. It fell to one side and curled softly around her shoulder.

On impulse I walked up to her and ran my fingers through her blonde locks. She stepped closer to me and leaned into my hand but then suddenly pulled away. I didn't expect for such a simple motion to hurt as much as it did.

She turned away from me looking at the ground. "Shannon, there's something I need to tell you," she didn't look at me, but from the sound of her voice there was something eating at conscience.

I didn't want to deal with anything serious. I didn't want to ruin what little time I was allowed to spend outside the palace. I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist. "It can wait," I said against her neck.

Her body stiffened but she didn't protest. I kissed her cheek and jaw working my way down to her shoulders. I turned her around and pressed our lips together eagerly. She responded with just as much passion and tangled her hands in my hair.

I broke away and hungrily kissed her neck.

"Shannon," she moaned gripping me tighter. Her body slowly grew hotter the more my hands and lips roamed over her. I pulled her shirt over her head and kissed her breasts.

"Wait! Shannon please! Stop!" She pushed away from me backed up against the far wall.

As she stood there I noticed a bright red mark on her stomach that glowed as if it had just been branded I to her skin. I couldn't see it fully see it, but for some reason I think this is what the queen wanted me to find. I didn't look natural even for a Lurian. "Avi," I said taking a step toward her.

She shrank away from me and fell to her knees withering in pain. "Please just stay back!"

"Avi, it's ok," I assured her reaching my hand out to her slowly as if she were a frightened puppy. I had no idea what was happening, but I couldn't stand seeing her like this. "Whatever I did I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

She slowly began to calm down and finally when she looked at me I could see remnants of fear fading in her eyes. "No Shannon, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen." As she sat on the floor I could see that she was physically exhausted.

"What was that?" I asked gently taking her hands in mine. She jumped at first but then relaxed.

"Remember when I told you that I had powers and that I couldn't control it? Well I started to lose control, Shannon. It's been so long since I've felt something like that that I let it get out of hand."

She stood up shakily and saw a glimpse of the mark on her stomach. It's brightness had faded into a dull pink, but I was able to make out the shape fire. That would explain why her body temperature rose so quickly, but I still wanted to be with her. I wanted to how her how much is truly grown to love her.

"I trust you, and I love you more than anything. I need you, and I just want to try. And besides you have to start somewhere right?" I lightly stroked her cheek and pulled her closer. She didn't protest but she didn't respond either. I lifted her face gently and kissed her soft lips once more.