Guardians: Protectors of Light

Chapter 38

DRAMA CHAPTER! Our lovebirds are gonna go through it!

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Valery's voice is laden with hurt and frustration. "How could you be okay with sharing a room with her?" She doesn't even turn to face him. "Especially without talking to me first? Does our relationship mean so little to you?"

Trent's eyes soften as he steps closer. "Our relationship means the world to me. I mean," he pauses, a chuckle escaping him, "I've been in your bed most nights anyway. It's not like I need mine with I'm with you. I mean, if you are this angry about her being in an unused room, I could invite her in with us and we can have a nice three-way slumber party." Valery's tone turns intense, her eyes narrowing into dangerous slits as she whirls to face him.

"Bedrooms are sacred places, Trent. They lay bare one's whole heart. She should not be there. I found out you had a spear tip lodged in your ribs. I expect you to come to me when you return. You should have come back with the first group. Heaven knows what kind of damage you did waiting like this. Not only do you not come home right away, you return with another girl clinging to your arm. AND you're okay with sharing a room with her. All of this, after the choice we made. What do you do, engage in a fling, and move on?"

"I NEVER AGREED TO THE IDEA. You are mad at me over a suggestion that isn't even going to be carried out!" Trent's voice tinges with frustration. "I was the one who convinced her to leave that cell. She chose to trust me. It's not unusual for the abused to latch onto the first person who offers help. I'm simply providing her a haven." He sighs, his expression troubled. "The Council was in disbelief when they saw me with her. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. I'm truly sorry, Val. I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you, but what was I supposed to do, leave her there to die? I thought the enemy of my enemy was a friend. And this is the ONLY place she could go for help. What if I came back with.... Hauk Hogan? Would you still be so ready to fight?"

"Just shut up and let me look at you." Valery snaps. Trent lifts his shirt to allow Valery to unwrap the improvised fabric that winds its way around his torso.

"Matt and Angela know," Trent tells her after a moment of silence.

"What?" Valery hisses as the bandages fall away. She lays her hands on Trent's ribcage, one on each side of the wound. He hisses at the pain.

Serves you right.

"Angela read my mind; I tried to shield it from her, but my mind was going a mile a minute. Matt caught her confronting me about it." Trent explains.

"Shouldn't you be trying to get yourself OUT of the doghouse?" She snaps.

"Well. You're already mad at me. Figured to get it all out at once."

A growl scrapes its way up Valery's throat. Trent rolls his eyes, and presses his lips shut against a mad scientist laugh he feels bubbling up from his chest.

A feral laugh slips through his lips as he ruffles his hair. He instantly winces, seeing an all-new level of angry in her eyes. "I'm sorry," Trent tells her again instead of giving into the crazy he feels brewing inside.

"This is a mess," Valery comments, ignoring his choking noise and throat clearing.

"Sandra did what she could, she's rudimentary at best when it comes to first aid."

"I'm talking about our lives." Valery snaps. "Your side, though it looks terrible and it's clear she tortured you, I can heal it. Our lives aren't as easy though. What if this gets out?"

"You know Matt and Ang won't squeal."

"Who knows if anyone else overheard you guys? You and I both have positions of respect. We need people to trust us and know we are guiding them right. I struggle with that enough; I shoot fire when I get worked up! You could lose your place on the council."

Trent's voice carries a weight of remorse as he speaks, his body tingling with the familiar sensation of healing under Valery's touch.

"I should've been stronger. I let things go too far," he sighs.

Valery's eyes show a mix of vulnerability and hurt. "Are you saying you regret being with me?"

Trent responds quickly, his tone sincere. "No, Val. I enjoyed every moment. It just shouldn't have happened."

Valery's eyes hold a hint of defiance. "I made the first move," she points out.

"You've always been impulsive. I've always tried to protect you, even from yourself. I failed you." Trent's voice is gentle and caring.

Her hands fall from his side before the wound is fully healed. "Please, enough," she snaps, her gaze sharp. "No more." Her eyes, like shards of ice, lock onto his. "We both thought you might not make it. War is looming. I won't stand here and hear you regret what, for me, was an incredible night."

"I'm not regretting it!" Trent exclaims, throwing his hands up in frustration.

"But you called it stupid," she fires back.

"Maybe just ill-timed. We let our emotions take over," Trent explains.

"Don't worry, you won't be in my bed anytime soon," Valery retorts, her hands returning to his side.

"Valery," Trent groans. Valery remains silent as she skillfully seals the wound shut. "Are you just going to take every single thing I do or say tonight and throw it back at me?" He closes his eyes and rubs his forehead, his exhaustion visible. She softens and sighs, her shoulders starting to fall. "All I wanted to do was to come to you and fall asleep with you next to me, but right now, I'm starting to wonder if I'm better off in my bed roll staring at the stars. I did nothing wrong and I'm not going to stay this calm forever."

"So go lay on the porch looking at the stars." She comments, deciding to let her anger go. "You lost a lot of blood, and even mending wounds can't change that," she advises.

"I love you, Val," Trent murmurs as he adjusts his shirt. "And I understand you going through it right now. You're grieving, and you're angry at the world. But you really need to learn to pick your battles. I am NOT someone you need to be angry at. At least not right now. "

"Everyone loves me the second they are feeling better, telling me that you love me does no good after I just healed your ass. Go on, get out of here and leave me alone," she insists.

Trent leans down, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. He yanks back with a shout, stumbling backward as he presses his hand to his lips now red, puffy, and tingling. "Really? You REALLY had to scald me instead of turning away?" Valery only glares and crosses her arms. He takes a deep breath, his shoulders rising and falling as he fights for calm. "This is absolutely ridiculous. Lashing out like this over a suggestion that was a test of commitment, nothing more." He takes a deep breath and looks her over. "You are running hot. You know where to find me when you're... cooler," he reassures her.

Trent gives her a lingering look, then slips out of the room, his yell of rage echoing down the hall. "Is there anyone SANE around here?" Trent bellows as his footsteps fade away.

Valery's eyes sweep across the storage room, taking in the neglected piles of herbs and forgotten medical equipment, each covered in a thin veil of dust. They sit there, abandoned and untouched, much like Valery herself – relegated to the shadows, summoned only when desperation calls. And her heart aches. First kept from the mission complete, and now I'm being forced to get on board with some woman clinging to Trent's arm. She couldn't walk straight in, cowering with the others in the first group. OH NO. Trent had to bring back a puppy. The fuck-tard. She roars and flips the table, flinging herbs and notes across the soft carpet. She scowls at the heavy table, her chest heaving, a new hole in the wall caused by a corner of the table. That wasn't good enough. Damn it all. The desire to burn grows stronger as she tightens her fists, her nails biting into her palms.