Silver Shadow (Maven x Mare)

Chapter 20: MARE

"Mare. You know it's not that easy," Maven says, though his eyes hold possibilities. I managed to calm him down his anger of seeing me in with Cal's presence evident even in my smell.

"Yes, it's not that easy, isn't it?" I reply, looking away. Maven's arms tighten around me, and I feel his pulse reflect his heartbeat.

"You better go. They would see you here," I try to come down from his grasps, but he hesitates. I could feel his breath on my skin. "I could do it, you know," he whispers. His eyes are cool, but it reflects flame, deadly flames. "But it would take time, I told you to be patient," he sneers.

I flinch at the irritation in his voice. Maven wants me so much that he doubts, but who am I to blame him? I slowly recall Cal's arms around me, and his soothing assurance that he understood me. Because he did, he really did. He was an outcast like me.

Even though Maven now wears a crown, I cannot deny his efforts. The fact that he slips from the Silvers' watch just to see me speaks volumes of his desire.

"You have to go," I say, my voice barely audible. His mouth traces my ears, so hungry and thirsty of me. I cannot help but feel a fire in me, returning the heat of his own body.

His grin is like a blinding light in the dark, with his perfect teeth. I cannot help but admire his handsomeness, though it sent shivers on me at the same time. "Oh sure. But I'll take you with me."

******

Maven does not care about getting caught by the others, but I do, so we are careful as we sneak out, with him guiding me in the dark. I wonder if anyone will notice that I'm gone. Shade and Farley will never look for me, I'm sure, unless we would still be gone until dawn. Kilorn will definitely look for me, though not now. And Cal? What will Cal do if he sneaks to my room like he usually does and find me not there?

I keep telling myself that this is one of the nights that Cal has for his own bed as Maven quietly leads me towards the shore. His hair shines in the moonlight, and I feel a pang of guilt, thinking about Cal. But I tell myself that this could get worst if Cal indeed finds out that I'm missing.

"What are you thinking?" He asks, speculations forming in his eyes.

"Where are we going?" I ask, as we hurriedly walk, my heavy boots burying in the sand.

Instead of answering me directly, Maven just grins. "Oh, you'll see. I wish I could read your mind, though, because I know that is not exactly what you were thinking about."

I flinch, and Maven feels my hesitation. He stops and looks at me, the wind brushing his hair slightly. I wear a pained expression at remembering the memory of me in a cell, with Elara forcing me to surrender my thoughts and treasured memories with her ability.

"I'm sorry, Mare. I am not my mother," Maven says as he pulls me closer to him, his skin warming my shivers. I breathe in his scent, now of seawater.

"You just read my mind," I whisper, and Maven tenses. I laugh it away, knowing that no Silver can ever inherit his mother's ability. "But you know me so well, right? It's like you can read what's on my eyes."

He relaxes, and a smile of surprises form on his red lips, a statement from his pale skin. "Yes, I do, come now, we're almost there."

We walk again, Maven now gripping my hand and taking long strides with his legs. He walks so light in the sand you'd know he's been doing it for years, and I wondered. I wondered how Maven got used to the shore when he is a burner.

My list of questions pile up as he leads me into the small entrance of a cave, just below the rocks of the shores. It seemed so out of place that one would not notice it at first.