The Falling Rider

Chapter 14

After what seemed like forever, we finally land at my favorite spot on the island. I look behind me to see Gallagher staring at the beautiful scenery with his mouth hanging open. I giggled and he turned towards me.
"It's so beautiful." He says, smiling at me.
"I know. It's my favorite spot on this island." I say, looking back at the waterfall.
"I can see why." He says as Rain walks towards us. Storm unfolds his wings, knowing I want to show Gallagher the cave. Gallagher looks at us, confused.
"Just, trust me." I say, taking his hand in mine. His eyes flicker down to our hands, then back to me, smiling. I smile back and leg go of his hand. Storm flies through the waterfall with Rain close behind. I whoop as we do and we come out on the other end, drenched in water. We land on the floor of the cave and I quickly hop off of Storm. Gallagher hops off of Rain and walks towards me. His hair is wet, sticking to his forehead. His clothes are sticking to his skin as water drips off of his face. We stare into each other's eyes before the moment is ruined. Our dragons, as always, found it would be funny to shake off the water, sending it everywhere. Including, on us. I flinch as water lands on me. I hear our dragons chuckle as they walk to a corner of the cave, laying down next to each other.
"Storm!" I shout at him and he chuckles again. I roll my eyes and cross my arms. I look back at Gallagher who's smiling at me. I can't help but smile back. I missed his smile so much. He moves my wet hair out of my face and behind my ear. His right hand caresses my cheek and I lean into it. He wraps his left arm around my waist and pulls me close to him as I wrap my arms around his neck. His eyes flicker down to my lips, then back into my eyes. I hope you're right about this heart. He kisses my forehead and pulls me into a hug. Teaser! I hear Storm chuckle and realize he'd read my mind. I playfully glare at him, still hugging Gallagher. He smiles at me and lays his head back down next to Rain's. Aww. Gallagher nuzzles his head into my neck. I nuzzle my face into his neck and sigh contently. He holds me tighter and breaths in my scent.
"I can't believe I actually found you." He mumbles into my neck.
"I'm glad you did." I mumble into his. I feel him smile against my neck and sigh contently. His breath sends tingles through my skin as his hands rub circles into my back. We finally pull away after a few minutes of relaxation. I grab his hand and pull him through the cave. The dragons follow as I show him the first part of the cave which consisted of different minerals in the floor and walls. The second part I showed him covered in different patterns which reminded him of the cave he showed me. The third and final part consisted of hundreds of multi-color crystals. When we finally got to the final part, I made him close his eyes. He chuckled, but covered them with his hand.
"No peaking!" I shout as I lead him into the crystal filled cave.
"Ok! Can I open them now?" He asks.
"Yep!" I shout. He uncovers his eyes and gasps at the crystals. As he admires the crystals, I remember the time I came in here and collected two small, blue crystals. I attached them to pieces of black leather, turning them into necklaces. They were for Gallagher and I if I ever saw him again. You know, since our favorite color is blue? Yeah, well I kept them in my saddle bag.
"Ooh! Close your eyes again!" I shout. He chuckles and covers them with his hand. I rush to Storm's saddle bag and take the necklaces out carefully.
"Aww, you're giving that to him? That's so sweet!" Storm teases. I chuckle as I roll my eyes. I run back to him and hide them behind my back.
"Ok, open." I say and he uncovers his eyes. I quickly pull out the necklaces, one in each hand. Gallagher stares at them with wide eyes. Does he like them? What if he hates them? This was a bad idea...
"Adira..." Gallagher trails off.
"Yeah?" I ask shyly.
"These are... beautiful. Did you make them?" He asks still staring at the necklaces. Yes! He likes them!
"Yeah. I know it seems strange, but I made them for us if we ever saw each other again. So, umm, this one's for you," I say, putting the necklace over his head "and this ones for me." I say, putting mine on.
"You made them for us?" He asks.
"Yeah. I remembered that your favorite color was blue and just went from there." I explain shyly. He just stares at me in awe.
"Do you like it?" I ask.
"No," disappointment fills my heart,"I love it." He finishes. My eyes widen as he pulls me closer to him and smashes his lips into mine. I relax into the kiss and return it, wrapping my arms around his neck as he wraps his around my waist. He pulls me closer to him as he deepens the kiss. A loving, passionate kiss that lasts for what seems like forever. Fireworks went off in my heart as our lips moved in sync. Only when we ran out of breath did we break the kiss. We lean our foreheads together, breathing deeply. He holds me tightly in his arms as mine tighten around his neck. We look up at each other, many emotions flickering in his eyes. Shock, happiness, and most importantly... love.
"Adira..." Gallagher whispers.
"Gallagher..." I whisper back. He leans back down to me, kissing me softly. His gentle hand caresses my cheek as he deepens the kiss. When we pull away, he keeps his face right in front of mine. I felt his breath on my lips and looked into his eyes.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." Gallagher says, smiling joyfully. I giggle and bite my lip.
"And you have no idea how long I've wanted you to do that." I say. His smile widens as my cheeks burn and I look down to hide them. He gently lifts up my head by my chin and looks into my eyes.
"You're cute when you blush." He says as he caresses my left cheek. My cheeks burn even more and he chuckles.
"Adira, thank you." He say.
"For what?" I ask.
"Everything. The necklace, the tour around this beautiful cave, and for giving me the chance to be with such an amazing girl." He explains, smiling. I smile back as my cheeks finally start to cool down. He chuckles and kisses me again. A long, gentle, loving kiss that I've yearned for. We break apart when we hear our dragons laughing. I glare at Storm who's laughing at our cheesiness. Well, I guess that was pretty cheesy.
"You bet it was!" Storm says, then continues laughing. A smile grows on my face after realizing how cheesy that was. Gallagher and I start laughing along with our dragons. After I finally finish laughing, I wipe the tears from my eyes from laughing so hard. I look over to Gallagher who's staring at me.
"What?" I ask, still smiling.
"I've missed your laugh." He says with a dreamy look in his eyes. I blush slightly and he chuckles.
"Adira?" I hear an echo throughout the cave. It sounds like Skyrah.
"You're friends are looking for you." Gallagher says.
"It must be important. They don't usually bother me when I'm here if it isn't." I say, getting on Storm. Gallagher gets on Rain and we fly back to the first part of the cave. I see Skyrah, Li, and Darius gathered in the cave. Gallagher and I land next to them. They look worried, but when they see Gallagher, their expressions turn to shock.
"What is it?" I ask.
"How did he find us?" Skyrah asks.
"He... Actually, come to think of it, how did you get here?" I ask Gallagher.
"I gave Rain something of yours to sniff so she could track down your scent." Gallagher explains.
"What did you use?" I ask.
"Well, at first the scent wasn't strong enough, so this time I used your blankets." He answers and I let out a sigh of relief.
"What did you think he used?" Storm asks.
"I don't know. I'm just glad it wasn't anything, uh, personal." I say shyly and he chuckles.
"Anyways, what is it?" I ask the others.
"When all of us went out to hunt and fish, Leo left to see you. We figured you'd be back by then, but when we got back, our camp was raided and you weren't there. Where's Leo?" Skyrah ask and my blood boils. He stole from us? Seriously? That's low.
"Gone. He said we'd never see him again when he saw Gallagher and I talking. Well, he said that after Gallagher punched him him a few times and I kicked his shin, but same difference." I said and all of their jaws dropped.
"You beat him up?" Darius asks Gallagher.
"You kicked his shin?" Skyrah asks me.
"Leo's gone?" Li asks us.
"Yes, Gallagher beat him up. Yes, I kicked his shin. Yes, he's gone." I answered. They all cheered and jumped up and down.
"What?" I ask.
"He was a jerk!" Li shouts.
"He slapped you across the face!" Skyrah says as she clenches her fists.
"He deserves to be alone!" Darius yells.
"Thanks, guys. Anyways, I think it was Leo who raided our camp. He was pretty mad when he left." I say and they nod their heads. I look at Gallagher who looks confused as to who these people are.
"Oh! Gallagher this is Skyrah and Darius, some of my best friends, and you know Li." I say, gesturing to everyone. Gallagher nods and says hi to everyone.
"Adira? Can I talk to you for a moment?" Skyrah asks. I nod and get off of Storm. He nuzzles me and I pat him on the head before I walk over to them. Skyrah and I walk to a corner of the cave with Li following behind.
"Are you and Gallagher a thing now?" Skyrah asks and I blush slightly.
"Uh, I guess so. I mean, we never really made it official. Well, except for the kiss..." I trail off quietly.
"He kissed you?!" Skyrah shouts and a smile appears on both the girls' faces.
"Yes." I say and they squeal. I quickly cover their mouths and give them a look that basically says shut it! They nod and I uncover their mouths. Their smiles don't go away as we walk back to the guys. Skyrah immediately walks over to Gallagher and pulls him off of Rain.
"It's so great to finally meet you!" Skyrah shouts, hugging Gallagher. Gallagher's shocked expression makes me giggle and he quickly turns his attention towards me, smiling. I smile back as I blush.
"It's great to meet you too." He says, still staring at me. She pulls away from him and rushes over to Darius, whispering something in his ear. His expression turns from confused to shocked and he smirks at me. Skyrah told him about the kiss. Shit. I know I'll get teased for this. Oh well.
"Yeah, Gallagher! Great to meet you!" Darius greets as he shakes Gallagher's hand. When did we become adults? Handshakes? Seriously? Gallagher smiles at him and Darius mumbles something to him. Gallagher chuckles and looks back towards me. Oh no. What did Darius do this time? Gallagher walks over to me and wraps his arms around my waste. I wrap mine around his neck and he kisses me gently. A short but sweet kiss. He looks into my eyes and smiles. I smile back as I feel my face heating up. I hear a squeal and look back at Skyrah who's about to bounce out of the cave. Hyper bunny. Hehehe. Yep, the kind of things that go through my head after a kiss from the most amazing guy in the world. Nope, not denying it anymore. You can taunt me all you want! I hear Storm chuckle and I smile at him. Darius is still smirking at us, and I realize I'm still held tightly in Gallagher's arms.
"You guys are so cute!" Skyrah squeals.
"Kiss again!" Li shouts and I giggle while Gallagher stares at me. He follows my little sister's command and kisses me after I stop giggling. A longer kiss that deepened the longer it lasted. We broke apart when we couldn't breath. We stared into each other's eyes while we breathed deeply. I heard more squeals and I watched the girls as they jumped up and down, squealing and holding hands. Li's eyes widen and I know she has an idea. She stops squealing and jumping, making Skyrah stop as well.
"Skyrah! Kiss Darius!" As soon as those words left Li's mouth, Skyrah blushed furiously. Darius' smirk was wiped off of his face and was replaced by a light red color spreading across his cheeks. Aww! All of a sudden, Darius ran up to Skyrah and wrapped his arms around her tightly, kissing her quickly. Skyrah's eyes widened, but she soon relaxed into the kiss. The smile I had on my face grew wider as Li squealed. They immediately broke apart and left each other's arms.
"Ok, ok. I think that's enough squealing for today. Let's head back to camp. Gallagher, wanna stay?" I ask him.
"Are you kidding me? I'm never leaving you again!" He says, taking my hand and leading me to our dragons.
"And I'm never leaving you either." I say as I kiss his cheek and get on Storm. He smiles at me and gets on Rain. Soon, everyone is on their dragon and were out of the cave, flying back to camp.

Leo's POV:

I quickly walked through the dark corridors heading towards his office. After leaving that bitch, Adira, back at the island, I raided their camp and flew straight here. Once I put Lightning in the stables, I started making my way to his office. The corridors were only lit up with a small lightbulb hanging from the ceiling every few feet. I finally reached it. Unlike every other black door, his door was red. I knocked on his door and waited.
"Who is it?" A deep, scratchy voice asked.
"It's me. Leo." I confirm. The door opens and I walk in. I get to his desk and kneel.
"What is it, Leo? Why are you here and not with that wretched princess?" He asks, angrily. His voice echoed off of the walls making it creepier.
"She doesn't trust me anymore, sir." I say.
"Why the hell not?!" He shouts, anger clear in his voice.
"Gallagher got in the way, sir." I answer.
"Hmm... Do they have interest in each other?" He asks, scratching his head.
"I believe so, sir." I confirm.
"We could use that to our advantage. I'd like you to spy on them. Find out any information you can on them, then report back to me." He orders.
"Yes, sir." I say.
"You are excused, soldier." He says and I leave his office. The kingdom better watch their back... This is only the beginning.

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Hey guys! Hope you liked this chapter! You'll find out who this mystery man is soon! See ya!