Golden Dawn

|Chapter 30 ~ Brief Kindness|

Angelus Duncan stood behind me, holding my gaze with a steady crimson one, his eyes glowing in slight humour. 

Christa and Jacob, along with about everyone else in the hall gaped at us. Their eyes were wide, totally stunned by the Defender's sudden action. Lex too, stared at him with an ashen face. My friends were all scared for my sake, dreading what the Defender would do to me in order to punish my embarrassing behaviour.

Quîncîn couldn't stop laughing, snorting as he took in my dreadful state and Angelus' unexpected appearance on our side of the table. Fortunately for him, I was too stunned by the Defender's piercing gaze, to slap him. 

My eyes were fixated on him, his face taking on a bronze shade in the firelight. The first thought that entered my mind was how good  he looked. It was as if I saw the deep ruby colour in his eyes for the first time. His dark onyx hair - that always seemed to take on any colour of darkness surrounding it - appeared silklike in my intoxicated state.

Then Angelus did something no one expected, especially not me. The Defender grabbed my arm, pulling me out of the chair in one swift motion.

I immediately felt unbalanced on my limp feet and collapsed.

Right against his chest. 

My heart beat so fast I thought it could jump out of my ribcage. Angelus' chest was sheer stone against my cheek, hard like concrete but also surprisingly warm. His familiar scent wafted up my nose and it immediately calmed the roaring in my mind, the smell of burnt metal and earth reminding me of the mountains and forests I first saw on Nova Terra. His scent evoked their brutal beauty and magnificence to me once again. Along with other strange feelings that threatened to swallow me whole.

Christa gaped at the Defender and my drugged form against his chest. Her hazel eyes were filled with an unreadable expression. Probably embarrassment and worry, I couldn't tell. Jacob and Lex shared her blatant shock, Ferîan and Quîncîn gawking at the defender - the latter not laughing anymore.

"Please excuse us. Enjoy the evening." Angelus announced to the entire hall as if he didn't just touch me.

An Alium. 

A human. 

The enemy.

Angelus' face was calm and controlled, a sheer juxtaposition to my own that had begun to turn darker crimson by the minute. I tried to step away from the Lesphares, but just ended up flailing like a newborn deer. The momentum almost caused me to collapse in front of everyone.

Thankfully, I didn't manage to embarrass myself any further as Angelus steadied me with one strong arm at the exact same time I would've made impact with the ground. His face still betrayed no emotion, whilst my own felt as if they could drown me in an endless sea. My head whizzed with adrenaline and the remaining tonic that raced through my veins.

Strong arms suddenly cradled my body, lifting me upwards to the bright ceiling. The light stung my eyes. Murmurs exploded all around us. Angelus Duncan, the most powerful Lesphares on the planet picked me up and started towards the entrance of the hall.

His footsteps were the loudest sounds in the room. It was the most awkward and embarrassing moment of my entire life, the silence so unbearable I wanted to utterly disappear from existence. The Defender however, just kept on walking as if the situation did not inconvenience him at all. 

I breathed for the first time when we were finally alone in the hallway again. It was dark, safe for occasional moonlight that casted a silver radiance on the sandstone walls. The wind was warm against my exposed skin and immediately made the fluffiness in my head dissolve as we made our way through the palace. I felt very uncomfortable as Angelus walked, not able to say anything. Thankfully, Angelus also stayed quiet, each step the Lesphares took, making the shadows along the windows lengthen as if his mere presence fuelled the darkness in them.