[Xaden x Y/n] Love on the Parapet

Chapter 51

Y/n's pov

You feel your heart clench as Xaden's fist grows stronger, his arm around you against Varrish glaring into your soul. Despite the situation, you feel flushed at the fact that he still cared, the bone-crushing hug from Xaden only moments ago having emitted his desperate relief seeing you unharmed. For now, you think to yourself as Varrish warns Xaden of something that you did not want to find out before leaving.

'What happened.' Xaden asks the second Varrish leaves, turning you around to face him. You sigh, the shock of seeing Varrish in every dark corner of the college never fading quickly. Xaden's eyes soften as he watches you tremble. 'Gods, I should have come earlier.' He whispers to himself, thinking you couldn't hear him over the other dragons arriving and roaring into the air.

'He's the vice commandant. And nobody can do anything about that.' You say, half warning him to not try anything with Varrish, because that could easily mean that Varrish would come after Xaden which would be even more detrimental since he was an officer. In Samara, after all areas. Xaden looks down at you, his hands holding your shaking shoulders. You swallow, trying not to let your stomach flutter at the warmth of his palms on your skin.

'Did he do anything to you?' He asks, the obvious awkwardness of the air between the two of you seemingly not being a problem to him as he eyes you all over again for any signs of injuries. You shake your head, Xaden sighing in the stress and anxiety he surely gained over the whole week.

'Not yet. He keeps watching me though.' You reply shortly, Xaden's expression turning tense as he looks around Basgiath as if to scan for any threat. He rubs his mouth with his hand as his face becomes anxious thinking of Varrish.

'And even if he had done something, you can't come here without permission.' You say, knowing what Xaden is thinking, and his eyes shift over to you in an instant. You meant it as he should not be coming to Basgiath on weekdays since he would be in even more danger, but Xaden looks pained as he looks over at you. Partly because you didn't want him to get distracted at the war zone, but mainly because however hurt and resentful you felt, you'd never ask Xaden to risk his own life and possibly all the others just to check on you.

'I should have. He clearly wants to harm you, and he's been harassing you all week. I tried to fly over on-' Xaden stops as you interrupt by holding your hand over his lips. You know he won't stop going on about this if you try to stop him with words.

'I know you tried.' You say instead, unable to meet his eyes, the onyx flecks gazing straight into you. Hwad had told you how much trouble Xaden was causing Sgaeyl a few nights ago since he was insisting that he fly out to Basgiath to check on you. She had told you the fact during your flight lesson the night after, and you had almost softened at the thought of Xaden going as far as to argue with his dragon to come and visit you early, knowing that he'd get into trouble for doing so. Instead, as with all the other normal events, your worry for him overpowered the flattery. You knew how much Varrish affected him, as much as Varrish affected you. Xaden saw what Varrish had done to you, saw his face spattered with your blood. You knew that he couldn't get the image out of his head for months, and that he still saw your broken figure whenever you got injured even a little bit.

'I didn't want you here anyway. You would have been in trouble.' You say instead, Xaden's eyes turning confused as he watches you. He reaches up to remove your hand from his lips, holding your fingers for a beat longer.

'You don't mean that.' He replies, and you note the tint of disappointment in his voice. You know that he wants you to expect the same from him as before, even as you are trying your hardest not to do the exact same thing. Instead, you ignore the plea in his gaze as you look to the ground.