The Radiants Chronicons : Vol. I & II Of The Radiants Duology Series

Radiant (Vol I) - Chapter Thirty nine

Chapter 39

"Hey, you." I raised my head to look at the smiling curly haired boy standing, in front of my room.

It surprised the hell out of me to see him, so I let him in and asked. "You got out?"

"Just this morning. I got sick of lying in bed. The Clandestine needs me."

The Clandestine isn't the only thing that needed you. "That's good, then."

He looked round my tiny room I shared with Laurena, and smirked. "Nice room. Very neat".  It looked almost exactly like every other room in the Clandestine, but somehow Laurena did a little touch up to it, to make it seem more homely.

"Never been inside before? Even before I came?"

"Why would I be? Laurena's not much of a good host."

I hummed. "True".

His gaze shifted to my wrist, which was wrapped in bandages, then back to my slightly bruised face. "What happened?"

I shrugged it off. "I tripped. It's nothing."

His eyebrows furrowed. He certainly didn't look convinced, but there was no way I was telling him that I got into a fist fight with Laurena. And lost. "You should be really careful around here."

"Thanks for the concern, but as you can see, I'm doing fine." I paused. My face turned somber. "How are you doing?"

His wide grin didn't look convincing. "Never been better"

My face turned stern. "You can try that bullshit with anyone else, but don't dare do that around me. You look tense. It's all over your face. It's hard not to notice."

His lips shot up slightly. Amber orange eyes stared at me intensely. "Sometimes I don't think I deserve you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're so amazing and you can read me so well. Instead, all I do is to push you away and it's driving me crazy."

"Then it's fine. I'll let you do what you have to do. Being a leader comes first to you. I wouldn't want to stand in the middle of that."

He grimaced. "I hate how calm you are, about this. Other girls would flip or make a damn scene. But all you do, is to be understanding, and it makes me feel so guilty."

"You want me to be upset?"

"I don't know. I just—" He let out a slow sigh. "I should really get my shit together."

"You should."

"I just need to do one last thing."

"What's tha—"  Something unidentifiable flashed in his eyes. He leant in ever so slowly and I gasped lightly, when his firm hot lips touched mine.

This was the kiss I had longed for, and it made me give an unexpected moan, each moment our lips met. He slipped his arms around my waist and nudged me closer. An explosive desire ran through my body, as I ran my fingers through his curly brown hair. That beautiful hair I had always wanted to touch.

A longing sigh escaped from my lips, and he murmured against me. "I've always wanted to do that."

"Me too."

"This can't happen again." I instinctively looked away from him when he said that.

He raised my chin and turned the direction of my head to his, Our eyes locked. His softened, as he spoke. "Hey. After tomorrow's party, I'm stepping down as a leader. Aliyah would take over."

"Levi. I—"

"I'm not changing my mind. It's what's best for us."

"It's your dream. Your life. I don't want to stand in the middle of that."

"I don't even know what that is anymore. I've been doing this for so long and have never let myself have what I needed. You made me see that."

"What about this Clandestine? What about your father?"

"That's my biggest concerns, but I just want to do what's best for me."

"I don't want you to stop being the leader. You're the best at it. Aliyah can't fill your void."

"I thought you'd be happy about this. I'm choosing YOU over my career. Isn't that what would be great for us?"

"I don't want you to step down because you want to be with me. I want you to step down, because it's what YOU really want. You love your job and I don't want to give you reasons to despise me in the future, for giving up your dream."

He went silent for a while, then he cupped my face. "I'm not making a mistake with you."

"I really hope so."

He searched my face. "Do you really think I shouldn't step down?"

I meshed my lips softly with his and gave him a chaste kiss. I slowly ran my fingers through his soft curly hair. He closed his eyes and sent a flutter of kisses on my fingers.

His eyes were still shut and he gave a soft whisper. "You haven't answered my question."

"I know."

"So you're not going to tell me what to do?"

"This is something you need to figure out on your own, Levi. If you want to be your own man or Vikram Caden's puppet, it all depends on you. It's your call to make, not mine."