The Dawn Of Abnega

Chapter 3

AURORA

      I am beyond shocked when I hear Ellio shamelessly proclaim that he wants me and I am going to be his, only. The confession makes me gulp and I can feel my face warm.

The men of Abnega do not show much interest in me. If they talk to me, it is because the topic of conversation is important business. They don't flirt, they don't try to court me, they don't even speak to me with any ounce of casualty. It is like I am seen as every man's mother, even when I am the same age or even younger than them. Callahan is the only person that has ever treated me differently since he actually smiles when he talks to me and tried to challenge me four years ago.

Truthfully, I do not want Callahan. I have no interest in him. He rubs me the wrong way, ruffles my feathers, and gives me an unsettling vibe. Callahan is a kind, gentle, optimistic guy. There is nothing truly wrong with him. But I don't want all of the extra attention he gives me and I know he puts me on a pedestal that is too high for me to reach. It makes me uncomfortable and repels me more than it flatters me. And he doesn't understand how I feel, even though I have tried to reject him time and time again.

But Ellio...

I don't know what Ellio sees in me or what he has seen since he's arrived, whenever that was. Why does he suddenly want me to be his? Why is he putting himself in danger and standing in front of me like he is my protector when he doesn't know me? I don't need protecting, and if he thinks that, then he is clearly the wrong man for me. But yet again, I have not had someone stick their neck out for me in many years and it feels strangely... flattering.

Maybe my judgement is being clouded because I find Ellio unexpectedly enticing. There is something about his tall, slender, modest frame that calls to me. Even now, with his back turned to me as he towers over Callahan, I can feel my mouth get dryer and dryer by the second. Ellio is not intimidating, by any means. His features are too soft, his build is too slim, his hair is too curly, and his voice isn't nearly deep enough, but he still makes me flustered. He may not be the typical Abnega warrior that I imagined myself marrying but he's charming and mysterious and I'm begrudgingly intrigued by him.

All of those dreamy thoughts are aggressively tossed from my train of thought when Ellio turns around, flashes a soft yet lustful smirk my way, and then spins his blade in his hand before he swings it at me. The twirl of his blade catches my attention and is the only thing that reminds me that we are fighting before he attacks. I'm not sure if he slyly alerted me on purpose or if he's just sloppy with his tactics, but it doesn't matter because I'm far too distracted by him to think about it.

I try to focus all of my attention on Ellio's blade so I don't stare at him too much and give away just flustered he makes me. I don't know what Ellio's life was like before he walked into this quarry but he's good with a blade. He's a little sloppy and reckless but he has strength in every swing; enough for him to grunt when he puts his back into the swing and gets abruptly stopped by my own blade. His grunts are much lower than his regular voice and the deep sound catches me by surprise and caused me to sweat.

I'm so caught off guard by Ellio that he eventually manages to swing his blade at the one in my left hand, effectively distracting me from the one in my right hand, before he kicks it out of my hand. I gasp as I turn to see my blade sticking out of the rusty orange dirt. My eyes lift from my blade in the dirt to my young prodigies watching eagerly a few feet away, and a new surge of energy courses through me when I am reminded of their presence.