Feathers and Blood (boyxboy)

Chapter Seventeen

It seemed Morpheus had not been exaggerating when he claimed Luke would be overprotective once we were reunited. As soon as we had stopped squeezing each other to death (which took up a long time), he had ordered everyone out of the room, including the strange and beautiful demon who seemed reluctant to obey. Luke didn't even seem to care that Stacy, an enemy for all he knew, was walking free inside his walls.

Once the throne room was empty, he held my hand and dragged me to a small door concealed in the darkness of the walls without a word. It revealed a stone staircase that spiraled upwards, and I would have commented on its fairy tale charm, but I didn't want to break the silence. We hadn't said anything to each other except for our names, and it seemed unfit to shatter that fragile bond now.

We silently ascended, side by side, with his tail gently brushing against my back. At the top of the stairs was a huge iron door. It was slightly ajar, and I could see that it was half a foot thick, had four different locks, and was lined with various metals. Luke let go of my hand to close the door thoroughly, but his tail never left me, as if to completely let go of me would be to lose me. Beyond the door was a short hall with no lighting at all. I could have been walking off a cliff, but I had to rely on Luke to guide me there safely.

At the end of that hall was another door identical to the first, only this time, as Luke closed the door, I heard him whisper something under his breath, and I felt a chill of fright run through me, if ever so subtle. We were in a room now, I could tell. Only now did Luke detach himself from me and leave me alone in the dark. I heard some fumbling as I hugged myself; it was cold, and I was starting to feel nervous, although I still refused to speak.

And then there was light! Luke was holding a candle, and with a slight smile towards me, he went to light another few. As he did so, I could see that we were in a small room that was littered with throw pillows, a few blankets, weapons such as swords and knives on the walls, and an unnecessary amount of candles.

There was nothing in the room to sit on, so I plopped down on the floor, waiting for Luke to explain what the Hell he was doing. He knelt down in front of me, setting a candle next to us, and reaching out to hold my hand again.

"You should be safe here," he whispered, breaking the silence.

I raised my eyebrows. "Is that what this is? It's a tad bit too excessive, don't you think?"

He scowled. "They took you from inside the castle, Jesse!" he pointed out incredulously. "I'm not trusting anyone or anything ever again."

"Ah," I began guiltily. "About that..."

But he shook his head. "No, I don't want to know. At least, not right now. I just want to rejoice in the fact that I have you again."

Now it was my turn to scowl. "You do not have me. I'm just here again. I don't belong to anyone. I'm not yours."

He laughed softly, reaching out to touch my cheek. It didn't feel like Antias' touches, which were cold and full of lust. This felt warm and safe and loving, and I wanted more. I leaned forward and he did the same, so that we were centimeters away from each other. "No, you're not," he agreed. "I'm yours."

I knew what was going to happen. I always did when it came to Luke. It was as if I had known him for a long time, and since I had no memory, we could have and I wouldn't know. This wasn't the time to ask about that, though. The King of Fear was finally kissing me, and this took priority.