The Lost Child ~ [Xaden Riorson]

Chapter 13

I groan as I'm shaken awake, two large hands holding my shoulders. "Five more minutes."

"No, we need to get up now and get you back to your room before Xaden wakes up." A deep, male voice says in my ear.

"Fine," I whine, rolling off the bed and falling onto the floor. "Shit!" I open my eyes and glare at the man standing over me. "Why didn't you stop me, Garrick?"

He chuckles as he offers me a hand. I shove it away from me and stand up on my own.

"I didn't know you would roll off the bed." His eyes twinkle with amusement.

"Right..." I trail off, giving him a side-eye. "So you and Imogen?"

"You and Xaden?"

"Shut up," I blush, "I asked you first."

"We're friends." He says, shrugging.

"Like I believe that." I scoff, putting on my vest of dragon scales.

"And you and the Wingleader?" He asks, tossing me the pile of clothes he grabbed from my room so I could stay with him until assigned a new one.

"He's such an ass." I roll my eyes, pulling on my plain black shirt I stole from Garrick.

"Is that mine? I saw you wearing it last night but I forgot to ask."

"Yeah, it's so comfortable." I smirk at him, pulling on my black-leather flight jacket. "I mean, he said we both would have terrible consequences if he ever found out we slept together again."

"So, should we stop?" Garrick asks, pushing me back onto his bed as he starts to pull the tight, leather training pants up my legs.

"Probably. Besides, I'm pretty sure your crush would murder me if she ever found out." I push him away by his shoulders and finish putting on my clothes.

"Shut up." He blushes, shoving me playfully.

"No, because you guys would be the ultimate power couple. I'm just saying."

"Let's go, Kir." He ushers me out of his room as soon as I get my boots on.

"Garrick." I say, looking at him with pleading eyes. "My legs hurt."

He sighs. "Fine."

"Yay!" I jump onto his back, wrapping my arms around his neck as he holds me up by my thighs. "Onward, my noble steed."

"You're a pain sometimes." He groans, starting down the staircase.

"But you love me anyway."

"It'd be so much easier if I didn't."

I slide down his back as we reach the bottom of the stairs. "I'll see you. I'm going to go find Violet and Rhiannon."

**********

"Oren Seifert." Captain Fitzgibbons finishes reading the death roll and closes the scroll as we stand in formation, our breath creating clouds in the chilled air. "We commend their souls to Malek."

"I can't believe they tried to kill you when you were sleeping." Rhiannon's still seething at breakfast after Violet told the table what happened when they asked about the bruise in the shape of a hand at her neck.

"Even worse, I think I'm getting used to it." Violet whispers back.

"I'd hope so. I'd say our stalkers have stalkers at this point." I shiver dramatically.

Captain Fitzgibbons makes some minor announcements, and I tune him out as someone strides our way, cutting through the space between Flame and Tail Sections of our wing.