Faults

Chapter 22: Taylor

Archie screams my brother's name but Aydin doesn't move in time. The knife flies toward him and pierces his leg, eliciting a scream from his throat. He collapses and groans in pain. Christian is holding his neck, blood pouring from the wound he created. I'm shocked that he was able to fight past Aydin's thought command. While I hate to admit it, his strength has greatly increased.

Archie is lying on the ground, motionless. He must've passed out. I stand up and thankfully, my headache has finally almost gone away. The pain in my neck is still throbbing, however. Christian walks over to Aydin while he's distracted, holding the deep wound on his leg. The knife is still in his leg, preventing the blood from flowing freely. His eyes are closed and the look on his face says nothing other than pain.

Christian pulls the knife from Aydin's leg, making my brother's eyes flick open in an instant. Before he can even move, Christian shoves the knife into Aydin's left side. My twin screams once again and covers his wound, looking terrified for his fate.

With a smirk, Christian leaves my brother and makes his way over to me. I step toward him, lighting my hand, ready to scorch him again. I'm not exactly upset over what he's done to Aydin, but I'm not about to give up this fight very easily.

Christian gives me a placid smile as he stares at me. My headache immediately worsens and my vision blurs. I feel my head hit the ground and everything goes black.

※ ※ ※

"Welcome back," someone says to me.

I blink a few times, trying to get my eyes to adjust to the low light. Christian is standing in front of me. He's shirtless, his neck and back bandaged. His build surprises me. For someone so strong in magic, his body is the complete opposite. I didn't pay much attention to his looks before but now I completely drink in the sight of him.

His hair is straight and black, reaching just below his ears. His complexion is so light that it could be considered sickly. His body is far skinnier than I imagined, with his ribs being decently visible. He doesn't look emaciated, rather just thin. His body is proportionate, and his looks aren't unpleasant to the eyes.

"Where am I?" I ask him, finally tearing my eyes away from his body and regaining focus on his face. I'm almost captivated by him. His confidence in battle is stunning and his lack of mercy sparks my interest. I only wonder why I'm here, though.

Christian answers me, "A ways away from Galariesse. This is where I used to come when I needed to get away from everything. It's just a little shack deep within the woods," he giggles. "I don't think your brother or Archie are going to find you. Aydin is most likely dead by now."

Rubbing the back of my head, I gawk at him. "Aydin is... Dead?"

"Probably. I left him there to bleed out and by the time Archie would have woken up, Aydin should already be long gone," he explains.

I stand up and look around the small shack. There's a small kitchen with a table and a singular chair and one bed on the other side of the shack. That's it. I look at the door, wondering how far away from home we are. Christian catches me eyeing the door and says, "I wouldn't advise running away. An animal will find you before you find your way back to the Kingdom."

"Why am I here?"

He leans against the wall, watching me. "I find you to be intriguing. Your magic is very strong and I think we could be unstoppable if we teamed up. Just imagine getting back at your brother and Archie..."

"You have my attention," I say.

"Between the two of us," he pauses, walking over to the bed. He lifts the mattress and pulls something out from under it. He heads over to me and holds out a leather-bound book with sigils on the cover. He then continues, "And this, we have enough power to take them down. Not to mention, we could take down the entire Kingdom as well."

I take in his words. Defeating Archie and Aydin, taking over Galariesse? Finally something I'm deserving of. With a grin, I say, "Count me in."

Getting vengeance for all that Aydin and Archie have put me through would be beyond glorious. I'm not about to pass that up. It's not like I was against Christian in the first place. I was only fighting him for the sake of my own freedom.

"How come you've agreed so easily?" he asks me.

"I have nothing against you. Taking down my brother and Archie sounds wonderful," I tell him.

He laughs. "I couldn't agree more."

A moment of silence passes between us before I speak up again. "Christian?"

"Yes?"

"What's that book?"

"Oh, you'll see."