Chapter Twenty Seven
Ronnie woke with a start, immediately wondering what had woken her. A noise, she realized. She glanced at the clock on the table and saw it was just after 2AM. She laid still and listened for the noise again. Her body flooded with warm, tingling awareness as she heard the soft rustle of fabric, making her smile.
“I know you’re there,” she whispered.
“I didn’t want to scare you,” Gavin whispered back. He sat on the edge of her bed as Ronnie sat up and scooted over to make room for him. When she knew where he was, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, her head pressed against his chest.
“You could never scare me,” she told him as his arms came around her. Ronnie sighed as all the tension left her body and she finally felt the comfort she sought all day.
“You’ve had one hell of a day, Princess,” he commented. She nodded.
“And I’m proud of you,” he added and she lifted her head. She could see his face well enough to know he was smiling at her, the kind of smile that made her heart flutter, and she blushed as she nestled against him again. This was what she needed. She closed her eyes and settled against him. Sleep began to take her again when she remembered her shoulder. She sat up so quickly she nearly knocked Gavin off the bed and reached back to turn on the lamp. Its soft glow made both of them blink as their eyes adjusted.
“I have to tell you what else happened to me today,” she declared grinning and showed him her right shoulder. He looked at the smooth skin and shook his head.
“I don’t get it,” he admitted.
“The shadow hound’s claws raked my shoulder when it attacked me after you left,” she told him. “And I healed myself.”
“You healed yourself?” he repeated slowly. She nodded and reached back to retrieve the paring knife she left by her phone on the table. Still grinning, she turned back to Gavin, the knife poised to slice her left palm.
“What the hell are you doing?” he exclaimed as he reached for the knife. Ronnie shook her head as she jerked her hands out of his reach.
“It’s okay,” she insisted and sliced open her palm. The pain only lasted a moment and then they both watched as blood pooled in her hand and the wound knit itself back together. Once it was healed, she reached for a tissue and wiped away the blood. She set the knife back on the table and grinned at Gavin, so giddy she could barely sit still.
“Isn’t it cool?” she asked beaming. He shook his head, an odd expression on his face, like he was seeing her for the first time. He reached up to cup her face with one hand and she stilled, her heart fluttering in her chest.
“You are amazing,” he whispered. Her breath caught in her throat. He leaned toward her and she willed herself not to run away again. She wanted this; she had wanted it the first time it almost happened. His lips were almost to hers when a knock sounded softly on her door.
“Veronica, is everything okay?” her mom asked as she started to open the door. “I thought I heard voices.”
Gavin disappeared over the far side of the bed as the door opened all the way. Ronnie shot her mom a smile, praying she didn’t look as out of it as she felt. “Yeah, Mom, I’m fine. I was on the phone with Andi. I’m sorry if I woke you,” she replied. Her mom frowned as her eyes darted around the room. Ronnie’s heart pounded as she silently willed her mom to go back to bed. Apparently finding nothing amiss, her mom sighed and started out of the room.
“Okay, well, get back to bed. You have school in the morning,” her mom said and left the room.
“Okay, Mom, good night,” Ronnie said as the door closed. She reached back and turned off the light as she listened to her mom retreat down the stairs. She shifted around as Gavin sat behind her on the bed.
“I should go,” he whispered into the darkness. She shook her head.
“Not yet, you just got here,” she argued. She reached out to touch him and his hand grasped hers.
“I know, but that was close.”
She knew he meant more than just her mom finding him in her room. He was talking about the fact that they almost kissed again. She wondered if it would ever happen and then shooed the thought away. Shawn had just told her he would never take her back. She shouldn’t be trying to kiss someone else; she should be mending her broken heart. She sighed as Gavin pulled her into his arms. He stroked her tangled hair and she sighed again, this time content. He only held her a minute before straightening up and reaching into his cargo pocket.
“You dropped this earlier,” he told her and put a cool metal cylinder in her hand. She smiled at having her sword returned to her.
“Thank you,” she replied and remembered his communicator. “You forgot something, too,” she said as she reached over the edge of the bed next to the nightstand. She grabbed her purse from the floor and sat up again. He watched curiously as she pulled out the device and handed it to him.
“I already dodged a call from the queen and took the one you know about from your sister,” she told him as he took the communicator.
“You should keep it. It gives us a way to keep in touch,”
She shook her head. “I don’t know what to do with it. You can teach me when I go back to Kalearnia for my training.”
“You’re coming back?”
She grinned at the excitement in his voice and almost yelped when he pulled her into his arms again. She giggled against his chest.
“I take it you’re happy about that,” she teased.
“Of course I am. I hate not being here for you.”
She leaned back to look at him as he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “You know, you’re definitely not the jerk I first thought you were.”
“I told you I could make you like me.”
“I think I did even when you told me that.” She sighed and moved out of his embrace. They had to stop all this lovey-dovey crap before something happened that probably shouldn’t. Besides, she knew Rick would take advantage of the attraction between them, especially now that he had made up that stupid no fraternization rule.
“That wasn’t really a rule, was it?” she asked Gavin. He shook his head. She smiled; even though he said he couldn’t read minds, it seemed like sometimes he could read hers.
“No, he made that up when he saw us,” Gavin replied. “And it sucks because a lot of Spiral Defenders marry each other and start families together. It’s going to make a lot of people mad.”
“And they’re not going to like us much once they find out it’s our fault the rule went into effect.”
“I can deal with that. I’m just worried about you.”
Ronnie squared her shoulders. “I’m a lot stronger than I used to be. I think I can handle it. And if I can’t, I’ll have you there to help me out.”
“I’m always here for you.”
“I know.” Another awkward silence hung between them. Gavin sighed.
“I have to ask this,” he began. “Are you doing this because of what happened earlier with Shawn?”
“No. As much as he hurt me when he said those things, this isn’t because of him. It really isn’t even because of you, even though I know that’s what Shawn will think when he finds out. I’m doing this because I have to. How else am I going to find out why the wraiths are after me, find out what Rick is up to and find a way to stop him? I also want to know what you can’t tell me about why the queen sent you to retrieve me.” A smile pulled at her lips as he shifted uncomfortably next to her. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll know soon enough,” she added.
“I just don’t know what you’re going to do when you hear it.”
“Hey, what did I just say about being a stronger person? I’ll be fine; I’ll deal with whatever it is.”
“I hope so.” The bed moved as he stood up. “But I do have to leave. I don’t know how long Rick will be too occupied to keep an eye on me.”
Ronnie reached out and grabbed his hand. She wasn’t ready to let him go. Now that they couldn’t be together, the time
they did have seemed too short. He squeezed her hand.
“You gotta let me go, Princess.”
“Only for a little while.”
She let his hand go and knew the moment he was gone. She settled back against her pillows but wasn’t sure how much more sleep she would get. It was already two-thirty; her alarm would go off at six. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and relaxed as the dream of Kalearnia that she had been woken from came back to her mind. She and Gavin walked into the castle in her dream as she drifted off to sleep.