When The Heart Sings

Chapter 20

Serena's POV:

"I am going to kill you! What were you thinking sending her in there? They could have killed her!"

A somewhat-panicked voice replied, "It was the only way you would help get Jessica and Alex out! She is safe now!"

Darien roared in fury from somewhere below. I opened my eyes sleepily and realized that I must have fallen asleep as Darien had carried me. I slowly sat up and realized that I was lying on a bed. If I hadn't been sitting, I would have fallen down when I saw Alex sitting at the foot of the bed.

He glanced back at me in relief, "Oh, good. You are awake. Do you think you can calm Darien down before he gets angry enough to leave the house to go after those three? They are currently in the backyard shaking in their boots, but Darien won't go that far while you are up here."

I blinked as I tried to wake up. Darien must have heard Alex since he appeared in the doorway before I could even think of a response. Alex swiftly got off the bed and moved away from me before slipping out the door with a faint smile.

Darien was already beside the bed, "How are you feeling?" His eyes were a bit darker blue than normal, but nothing like that black color.

I yawned, "A bit tired, but fine. Are you okay?"

He sat on the bed beside me and pulled me onto his lap as he hugged me to his chest, "I am relieved that you are all right."

That wasn't quite what I had meant... "Were you injured?"

"No."

I leaned against him with a sigh of relief. I spoke quietly, "Thank you for coming for me."

He wrapped his arms tighter around me and placed a small kiss on my forehead, "I would always come for you. Without you, nothing else matters. You are my heart. If you were to die, life would not be worth living."

I hated to break it to him, but he had it backwards. I wasn't sure how I could possibly live life without him at this point. Look at what the bond had done to me within mere hours when we had been separated. All I could think of was that stupid dream of the heart and the shield.

I looked up at him, "I will be your heart if you will be my shield."

He looked deep into my eyes, "I can handle that."

He leaned forward to gently kiss my lips. I returned the kiss, but we both kept it short and sweet. I refused to admit that it made my insides turn into mush. No doubt it was another side effect of the bond, although I didn't let that interfere with how much I enjoyed the kiss.

We sat there for some time, simply relaxing in one another's company. My stomach growled, and I blushed as Darien chuckled before picking me up bridal style and getting to his feet. I lightly kicked my legs, "I can walk you know."

His amused eyes smiled down at me, "I know. I prefer it this way though."

I rolled my eyes in good spirits, one day this guy would get tired of lugging me all over the countryside. At the very least, he would have to put me down in the kitchen. I realized that we were at Nick's place again and glanced around as we entered the open central area.

I was proven wrong about being put down as I noticed that Alex was already sliding an omelet onto a plate. He carefully approached Darien to hand me the plate. Darien eyed him up, but didn't seem overly bothered by his approach. I took the plate and fork with a quiet thank you. Alex nodded with a kind smile as he went back into the kitchen.

Darien headed to the living room to sit in the overstuffed chair in the far corner. I guess I wasn't getting out of his arms anytime soon. Not that I really wanted to be. Sitting on his lap was more dignified than being cradled in his arms though, and being able to sit also made eating my breakfast easier.