A Most Dangerous Weapon

Chapter 34: Reunited

"Did you miss me?"

I answered his question by leaning forward to connect my lips to his. We kissed fervently to make up for lost time, letting the world around us fade away to dust. His lips were just as soft as I remembered; a complete contradiction to his other scruffy features. We seemed to be fighting over whose lips were in control, only lightly separating for a millisecond to catch our breath before the other pulled back in. My heart was pounding as my fingers danced across his neck and face as if to confirm he was real before burying themselves in his hair. I hadn't been this happy in a long time. And the thing that completely set me over the edge...

The sweet, mouth-watering taste of apples.

Nothing could compare to this sensation. Kissing him was more satisfying than biting into the fruit on my own.

Despite his close proximity, Rowan's voice sounded very distant when he cleared his throat to get our attention. "I hate to interrupt this reunion, but could someone please explain to me what's going on?"

I regrettably separate my lips from Arrian and sit back up to address Rowan, but I don't make a move to detach my body; I continue to straddle Arrian as he lays back on the bedrock, smiling up at me.

"This is Arrian, my lover."

He nods, "Yes, I gathered that much. I want to know why he chose to kidnap me if he's supposed to be on our side?"

Arrian turned his head to explain, "I just needed a way to pull Candra aside without the rest of your camp knowing. If I just grabbed her, then you would have sounded the alarm when you got back. I knew that if I grabbed you..." He points a finger at Rowan with a smile, "... Candra wouldn't be able to resist the urge to save you herself."

I playfully punch his chest. "You were the one who broke all the twigs?!"

He laughs heartily. "Of course! You didn't actually believe that I would let a hostage make such a constant, ridiculous noise?"

I shrug. "When I thought it was Rowan leaving me a form of bread-crumbs, I did think that his captor had to be a complete idiot to not notice." Arrian moves to poke my sides where I'm ticklish, but I quickly swat his hands away and correct my words to form a truce. "HOWEVER... if I had known that the captor was you, the thought would have never crossed my mind!"

Rowan's not in the mood for our playful demeanour. He presses on with the interrogation, "How did you find us?"

Arrian doesn't take offense to his pushy attitude. He responds coolly, "My campsite is close by, just a hundred or so yards away from yours. I was on night watch, scouting the forest when I noticed some smoke in the distance. I stumbled upon your campsite, but I couldn't get close enough for fear of capture. On my way back to my campsite I saw you both in the clearing. That's when I decided on my plan to pull you both away."

"You didn't have to do all that..." I admit.

Arrian gives me a quizzical look as he states firmly, "I'm here to save you, Candra. Now that I've pulled you and your friend away from your captors, we can-"

"You didn't get a good look at the men in our campsite, did you?"

He shakes his head. "It's too dark and I was trying to keep my distance."

"They're no threat to us."

"You were captured during the Galacian raid on the Capital palace! Aren't they-"

"No, they're not."

"But Maximus said-"

I laughed aloud "Since when do we believe a word that Maximus says?!"