Wild and Out of Control

|chapter forty-three|

|xaden|

Instead of going to guard Danica and Liam, Garrick decided to accompany me while I chase the motherfucker who kidnapped Danica.

     We followed the bastard back to his room under the college and watched as he climbed back through the window from our position across the waterways. We've been surveilling him for minutes now, and if it were up to me, I would've already barged in there and torn him to pieces, but Garrick held me back, saying it was irrational to barge into an unfamiliar environment with a possible unfriendly. Normally, I would've agreed with him. Hell, I would've been the one who ordered surveillance before the attack, but when it comes to Danica, rationality walks out the door.

     "Imogen is with them right now," Garrick says from my side, making sure to keep his voice down so we don't alert the man to our presence.

     "Good." Knowing Imogen is there to watch over two of the most important people in my life keeps me grounded.

     He shifts so that he's facing me. "Xaden, are you sure you should be doing this?"

     "What's that supposed to mean?" I keep my focus on that window, seeing the man pacing back and forth in the room.

     He sighs. "It means you shouldn't be doing this."

     I turn my attention to him. "Like hell I shouldn't. He kidnapped my Danica! That's a personal attack on me."

     "Which is exactly my point. You're too emotionally involved in this. I mean, do the professors and the General even know about this man and Danica's kidnapping?"

     I grind my teeth and clench my fists. "No. They would just get in the way."

     "You could get into a lot of trouble if you take this into your own hands. You could jeopardize yourself." He pauses, lips thinning as he thinks of something. "Look, I understand that you...care for Danica, but you wouldn't normally go head-first into things like this."

     "I don't just care for her, I..."

     Unlike what some people would say, I do care. I care about my friends and family, I care about my people, and I care about my land. If I didn't, I wouldn't have taken the deal that got me and everyone else a one-way ticket into this death college. I care for people like Garrick, Bodhi, and Liam, and for my dragon Sgaeyl. But what I feel about Danica is more than care. If I just cared for her, I wouldn't take the time to memorize the titles of the books by her bedside so that I know what she likes to read. If I just cared for her, I wouldn't have counted the freckles on her cheeks. If I just cared for her, my chest wouldn't constrict every time she was out of my sight, and it wouldn't release the moment I saw her again.

     I don't know when it happened, but somewhere along the line, I fell in love with Danica Hawthorne.

     Garrick seemed to understand what I was saying. "You love her." It wasn't a question. "Yeah, I know, well, I guessed. From the way you're acting and the way you look at her, I knew it was more than just lust."

     I meet his eyes, which are full of understanding. "Then you know why I must do this and not let the professors handle it."

     "Then let's do this smart." He nods to the window. "What's it like? Have your shadows told you anything?"

     I narrow my eyes. "My signet does not work like that. But to answer your question, my shadows picked up that he's the only one in that room and that there's one door that leads to a long hallway. I don't know where it goes."

     "How doesn't your shadows work like that?" Garrick questions. "Isn't that how you scout ahead with your shadows?"

     "Yes, but they don't tell me things."