The Last of the Firedrakes...Or so We Thought

Chapter 10: Unsuspected Love

All Kalen and I have done for the past four days is ride as fast as our horses could take us to the Eldoren border. I don't even want to think about what would happen if we were caught by one of the guards.

Kalen and I stopped to water the horses and ourselves in a gorgeous clearing. We had been avoiding the trail to Eldoren, deciding that was the first place the Shadow bastards would look. We stuck to the woods not too close to the trail but not far enough that we'd get lost.

The clearing we'd stopped in consisted of a stunning waterfall with perfectly clear and clean blue water that sparkled in the sunlight, tall, beautiful green trees, and a few large rocks.

Kalen was with the two horses giving them a rubdown. I was currently lounging on one of the rocks, soaking up the sun. I got a brilliant idea. I stood up, removed my socks and riding boots, riding cloak, pants, and shirt. This left me in my underthings. I hid my clothes out of sight behind the rock I was lounging on.

I strutted up to the pool at the base of the waterfall, screamed, and jumped in. If Kalen had been able to turn around fast enough to witness my extravagant jump, he'd know exactly what I was up to. Hopefully he just saw the splash.

The cold water caused me to lose my breath, but I stayed under. I kept my eyes open and was watching for any sign of Kalen. When I saw him appear at the edge of the pool, I surfaced, pretending I was out of breath.

"Danica, thank the Mother you're ok I was-" I grabbed his hand and flipped him over my head and into the pool. The water splashed my face when he made contact with the water.

He resurfaced, anger written all over his face and pinned my arms to my sides. He leaned towards me so that he was whispering in my ears. "Danica you bi-"

"Tsk tsk, Kalen that language is so inappropriate." I said challenging him.

He gave a mischievous grin and dunked me under water, holding me there. I thrashed in his grip but he wouldn't release me. My lungs burned and felt like they were about to explode. When he finally pulled me back to the surface, he was cracking up with laughter.

"What's so funny?" I asked not at all amused.

His silver-blonde hair was glittering because it was wet and the sun reflected off it. His hair looked very handsome in this light. His muscle corded arms were still holding my arms in place. I just now realized he isn't the same lanky boy he was when we first met a long while ago. He had cut his hair so it was no longer at his shoulders, but in more of a quiff style. His cheek bones were sharp but his jawline was sharper. His nature green eyes glittered with amusement.

His eyes softened a bit at my clear anger. "Oh come on, cheer up." He said. He turned around and dove deeper into the pool.

"Hey! I wasn't done talking to you!" I dove in after him, swimming under the water in attempt to catch up. I surfaced, searching for Kalen. "Kalen?" I called out.

"Over here!" Still treading on the surface of the water, I spun around and spotted a flash of his blonde hair on the opposite side of the waterfall. I swam doggy-style to the waterfall and slowly passed under it. The water pounded down on my head as I swam through.

When I reached the other side, I pushed my golden brown hair out of my eyes and spotted Kalen sitting on a ledge. He had stripped out of his shirt and his toned muscle was very defined on his stomach. His tan skin gleaming with the wet. I spotted the V of his hips curve down into his trousers.

He smiled at me and reach a hand out to pull me out of the water. I settled down next to him and watched the waterfall pour down into the pool. I sensed Kalen's presence next to me heavily. I had never ever had feelings like this towards Kalen. Ever.

Kalen put an arm around me and pulled me toward his bare chest, sending a shiver down my spine. It was a perfectly normal gesture, especially between me and Kalen, but the lack of clothing made it different.

I peered at Kalen. His eyes were looking dreamily at the waterfall, he hadn't seemed to notice the fact that both of us were half naked.

Kalen and I had been like brother and sister since we were five. What had changed between us? Why did I feel the way I did towards him? Conscious that I was staring, I looked away and tried to shake off the feeling.

"...are you listening?" Kalen asked.

"What?" I looked over at him.

He smiled and my stomach dropped. "I was saying that we should head back to the horses. It's getting dark, we can just camp out here tonight."

I nodded and we both stood. He gripped my hand and said, "Together." We jumped in at the same time and made our way back to the bank. We cut through the water and pulled ourselves onto the grass at the side of the pool.

Still smiling, we dried off as best as we could and pulled on our stiff clothes. Kalen set up camp as I made sure the horses were situated.

"Dani, I'm going to go get some firewood. I'll be back soon." My childhood nickname was music to my ears.

"Alright! Don't go far!" I called back.

I finished up with the horses and set to work making a fire pit. I set stones in a circle with space in the middle for the firewood. I completed setting up the insides of the tents.

Where was Kalen? He really should be back by now. "Kalen, where are you?" I called into the woods.

There was a rustling in the bushes. My heart clenched, "Kalen this isn't funny." Raw fear tore through my whole body.

"Come on, you've had your laugh now come out." I circled the camp looking at the woods. I couldn't see much in the pitch black state. "Seriously Kalen, you're scaring me."

I felt a pinch at my neck. I went to slap it away and whispered "Nasty bugs." But when I touched my neck there was a small dart stuck in the skin. I pulled it out and a small drop of blood dripped onto the grass.

I was getting dizzy. I tried to stay standing but I was too light headed. I collapsed to the floor of the forest on my side and looked out into the dark forest. Two shapes emerged. It felt like I had been physically punched in the stomach when I saw that one of the two figures was Kalen.

His hands were tied behind his back and he was gagged. My vision became blurry and dark spots clouded my sight. Someone was holding Kalen, keeping him from coming to me.

"Kalen," I whispered before darkness claimed me.

<3
Hey guys! Hope you love this chapter. I had so much fun writing it!
The next chapter will hopefully be out soon. Unfortunately, I've been suffering from writers block but we should be good soon.
Enjoy!

Xoxo,
DD