Disobey

Chapter 22 - Moving Forward

*Paige*

I woke up, a bit alarmed, to a firm weight pressed against my side and magic flowing under my skin. I chose to ignore the later, for a moment, I favor of the former. 

Leo was tucked neatly into my side, hand gripping my shirt and head resting on my arm while I was sprawled out on my back. His breathing was soft and low, but he looked so gentle when he slept. Unafraid. Such a contrast from when he was in that small cage. The one I had put him in all those times. How many times had I been the object of his fear? How many times have I been the one to hurt him?

"You're thinking too loudly," he mumbled. "Stop it." His eyes shown blue like the ocean as he watched me with a calm expression.

I turned onto my side so I could run my hands through his sandy, tousled hair. He turned his head to the side, offering more free real-estate. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." I peaked over to the other bed, where Tori had passed out and then to the table where Kyan was carefully avoiding eye contact with me, eyes trained on the dingy motel door. I didn't care. I wanted to have this. It wasn't too bright out, so I could still assume it was still early morning. "Go back to sleep for a little. I'll wake you up when we need to leave."

He shook his head, letting out a soft hum of disagreement. "No. I would rather talk while we have the time... Do we have time?"

"A bit. Enough. A motel in The City, so close to my apartment, won't be the first place they check. Normally, I would try to flee as soon as possible - use the sewers to get as far out as possible or try to steal a car. Staying in The City isn't smart."

"And you're a genius."

"And they know me. I'm not comfortable with this, but we'll be safe for a while. It'll at least give us some cover."

He nodded, drawing himself closer into my warmth to wrap his arm loosely around my back and trace the lines of my shoulder blades, down my spine, and back up again. Over and over. 

How long has it been since I've allowed someone to touch me like this? 

How long has it been since I've trusted someone like this?

...have I ever trusted someone like this?

"You're thinking too loudly again."

"Sorry."

He hummed again. "So you're a magician..."

Ah. I had figured that we would be back here eventually. It was a miracle that I had convinced him to put it off for so long. A miracle I was thankful for.

"I... I've had magic for as long as I can remember. It's been a target on my back since I was a child. Where I grew up, it was useful for pickpocketing. Getting some food. Maybe a book if someone had one that interested me. But one day the Black Hands came. They came and picked a fight. This was before they had testers and limiters so the only way for them to tell was to pick a fight. A few of us stayed out of it.

"I'd never seen Black Hands before, but the woman who cared for us, she knew them. I had never seen fear like that in her eyes before, when they dragged the others away. The other kids were afraid, but I knew. If I wanted to survive in this world I needed to be terrifying and they were the most terrifying people I had ever seen."

"So you went to the tryouts," Leo whispered, so quiet and delicate.

"So I went to the tryouts. Before then, the general assumption had been that magicians were to scared to step into Black Hand HQ, and they were mostly right."

"You beat them up."

"I beat the shit out of them," I replied, smirking at the memory, despite the horror that it brought me. "I was so proud and eager to prove myself. I made them machines and weapons and those silencers. When I showed my superiors my silencers they were so proud of me. I flew up the ranks and I was, maybe, happy..."