Black Sapphire | Xaden Riorson | S/H

LX

・・・　・・・　・・・

     "I would know..." Xaden looks at me so gently when I mutter to myself. "I would know if he read my mind. I would know."
     "No, Vicious. Trust me, you wouldn't," Xaden tells me quietly. His face sinks into something heavy and his hand slides down my face until it settles over the back of my neck. There's no accusation, no anger in his tone, only resignation of our fate.
     "I wouldn't know. Fuck." My mother's wide-eyed stare fills my mind. She wouldn't have agreed if she had known. She wouldn't have agreed to something so disgusting. A contract of her body for what? The small possibility of a threat being levied against us? Her hands were so frantic when she signed to me, she scratched herself with her nail. It drew blood. Do not ever forget his brown. Do not ever look away.

     "It's addressed to you," Garrick says. He's gotten so close all of a sudden. He hands the envelope to Xaden who drops his hand from my nape and unfolds it. I can see the neat Navarrian writing scribbled on the outside when my vision starts to focus again.
          War Games for Xaden Riorson,
          Wingleader of Fourth Wing
     I recognize the handwriting. Of course I do. We had pages of it in my house, the stipulations my mother had to abide by for fear of what would happen to me if she didn't.

     "That's from Colonel Aetos." Garrick glances up at me.
     "What does it say?" he asks as he folds his arms over his chest. "What's our assignment?"
     "Guys, I see something at the trading post," Liam announces, startling me with a jump of my shoulders. I'd forgotten he was still here. "Oh shit."
     Xaden's eyes flicker up and then over the text again as the color drains from his face. His breaths begin to heave and he suddenly crushes the paper between his hands.

     "It says our mission is to survive if we can." My fingers curl until my nails bite into my palm. Xaden stares down at me for agonizing seconds and Garrick's arms untether themselves.
     "That's not..." He shakes his head.
     "Guys, this is bad," Liam tells us quickly. Imogen steps into view from the staircase below and goes to his side.
     "This isn't your fault," Xaden tells me, but he's too late. I'm already trembling everywhere, slowly growing overwhelmed by all the footsteps in the silent soundscape rushing at us from every angle.

     Xaden turns away from me toward the rest of the squad with a heaved sigh. "We've been sent here to die."
     Every head turns his way except for Liam's. That makes me nauseous. What could be so bad out in that valley that he doesn't even twitch at the prophecy of his death? Gods. I shiver as I remember Violet's outburst.
     "We need to keep an eye on Liam," I announce quickly with a step forward. Xaden glances over toward me as I draw in some attention, but it seems to click for him as quickly as it did for me.
     "Fuck." He drags in a sharp breath and pushes the waddled-up missive into Garrick's hands. "Liam, what do you see?" I step back and up onto one of the square merlons surrounding the wall. It puts me above and off-center enough to see the valley below, but I can't make out anything.