Loving Rain (Watty Awards 2011)

Chapter 41 - The Love

You might want to go back and read Chapter 21 - The Words, and reread Cian's prophecy. It might help if that's fresh in your mind. 

Cian's eyes and his song on the right. Check it out. =)

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Loving Rain - Ch. 41

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               “I’m sorry,” Cian started to mumble, his eyes falling from where they had met mine and staring simply at the ground. “I didn’t mean to interrupt anything. I just…”

               I could feel Alan’s whole body go stiff, as if he too realized that this danger was bigger than any he could have anticipated. Cian turned to leave us alone, but my body was already moving of its own accord. Before Alan could get a good enough grip on me I had slipped off the bed and my feet patted the ground as I ran to my other prince. My arms went around his waist as they had so many times and for one brief second he allowed his body to melt and infuse with mine. But then something clicked, and he became rigid in my grasp.

               Alan was standing behind me; I could feel his rough and ragged breath warm the back of my neck. Cian’s hand, which had been at the small of my back to hold me to him, slowly inched away from my body, and his head rose from my shoulder. His breathing was shallow, but just as loud as Alan’s deep intakes were. All of this made sense to me, since they were in a room together and I had been in both of their arms, but it didn’t make any sense when Cian’s hands reached my shoulders and pushed me back off of him.

               My eyes were open wide and my mouth was contorted into a line of pain. Fists were clenched at my sides, and my knees and elbows locked so that none of my body could move. Cian’s hands fell, and I stood in between them, equidistant from both of the men I loved. But neither of them were looking at me. They had their eyes set on each other; both with the same hard, dark expressions on their faces. The expressions that broke my heart.

               Rotating my neck made it possible to switch from boy to boy within a fraction of a second. Nothing was said. Neither of them had anything to say to each other that wasn’t already known. I watched Alan’s eyes twitch, and his fur start to shake, the telltale signs that his anger was rising. And I saw something I had never seen in Cian: his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat, and his eyes kept flickering from Alan to the ground. It was as if he were nervous, something that Cian had never been. I think that was what sent me over the edge and allowed me to break the silence.

               “Alan, I need you to leave. I need to talk to Cian.”

               At the sound of my voice both of them had turned to look at me, their looks now beginning to vary. Cian’s was one of unbelief, and Alan’s was one of annoyance. But then his blue eyes closed and he wouldn’t open them again until he knew they had softened.

               Finally, he just turned to walk out onto the balcony that he used so often to disappear. He might have vaguely whispered, “Alright,” but I wasn’t certain. In just a few moments only Cian and I remained in the room, and our eyes met for the second time that day. Also for the second time, he was the one to break it.

               Cian pushed past me, although carefully not making contact with me, and sat down on my bed. One elbow rested on his knee and his chin rested on that upturned hand. His fingers were slightly bent and covered up his mouth so that I could only see about half of his face when I turned to look at him. I must’ve made some sort of squeaky or scared noise, because his head snapped over to me, his eyes full of concern but still glazed over with that sort of far away gaze.