"Yes. I'm tired though," she confessed.
I smiled at the two; my shoulders slumped as I sighed. I would love to nap now.
"Wait, wait. The romantic scene is getting good!" Serenity called out.
"Don't you dare faint now, Scarlet." Aurora scowled.
I wanted to obey their request, but my mind already faded.
"Scarlet!"
I heard Mako call out, but I couldn't open my eyes. I felt someone embrace me, keeping me from landing on the ground.
"I got you, sweetheart. You did good," Junho whispered.
I mumbled something, relaxing in his arms as I felt soft lips press against mine.
"Let's go home."
Chapter Ten
DAY 3: 21:00 P.M.
SCARLET
I opened my eyes; the soft scent of cologne greeted me.
"Christian?" I mumbled, my voice barely a whisper. I felt utterly exhausted like I'd gone to war and returned.
"Hey, baby. You okay?" Christian's hand went through my hair; his lips lowered onto mine. We enjoyed a slow, passionate kiss before we broke apart.
"I feel like I got hit by a truck. Well, I guess we were close to getting hit by an energy ball. I think that's almost the same," I rambled.
Christian sat up, putting the nightstand lamp on before returning his attention to me. I turned to my side, noticing I was only in a loose white t-shirt which I knew was Christian’s from the smell of the cologne he normally wore.
"You scared us, Scar. Never seen Junho freak out like that since...well, the bomb incident," he revealed; his voice grew lower as he glanced away.
I could see the worry in his amethyst eyes. I slowly sat up; Christian helped me before pulling me into his arms.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think it was gonna escalate like that. Everything happened so fast. One minute, Mako and I were gonna head to the showroom for the auction. Next thing I know, we're on Cassandra, trying not to get blown up or shot at," I confessed.
"Cassandra?"
"Mako's Suzuki Hayabusa 5033 dual-quad motorcycle."
"...she names her cars?" he asked.
"Yup. She likes naming things. I think it's cute," I commented.
He grinned. "Everything about Mako is cute. I think her people will love her when she returns to Heila. She will bring new life to the realms," he confessed.
"Are the other realms that bad?" I questioned.
"They aren't bad. It's just many realms are old school. They don't like change. Only a few like Winterlya, Feminara, Heila, and Distala are open to the idea of changing rules and updating their way of life. There are still many areas in the realms that follow the basic ways of living. Since Blair Aspen’s attempt in domination, the other realms, besides us, aren't in any rush in the development or usage of technology. To be honest, I don't think they would have been accepting of phones and stuff if it wasn't for Marcus' pushing," Christian explained.
"Oh. I hope they warm up to new change eventually. I guess with everything that happened in the past, I don't blame them for being so stingy," I replied, resting my head on his bare chest. "We're you able to arrest any suspects?" I asked.
"Only two survived and are currently in critical condition. They're all different shifter races so I'm assuming it was a plan to steal...uh Cassandra," Christian explained.
I smirked at the mention of Mako's new toy. "I guess they didn't expect us to steal it and spoil their plans." I giggled.
Christian’s fingers played with my hair. "Nope. That was a surprise for all of us," he admitted.
"How did you know we needed you?" I asked.
"Well, I got a call from Junho who was freaking the fuck out. I was chilling with Ethan and Elias, who was sleeping until he literally jolted awake. Within a minute we were swerving onto the highway and tracking you guys down. I had to shoot down some reinforcement that was trying to cut you guys off," Christian explained.
"Can Marcus and Elias communicate telepathically? And if you were shooting, who was driving the car?"
"Elias and the others have a special bond communication. They explained to us when Makoto had her sleepwalking episode with the milk. They were gifted the ability to communicate telepathically by the gods as Mako's star knights and are able to communicate regardless of distance. Just difficult the further away they are," Christian explained, allowing a moment to pass before carrying on.
"And Ethan was driving."
I lifted my head up to gawk at him.
"Ethan? Our computer whiz, clumsy Ethan? Who hates when you go past eighty miles per hour was driving like THAT?!" I emphasized, stunned.
"Yup. I made sure Elias taped it for future reference. He did a good job." Christian nodded in approval.
"I'm impressed," I agreed, resting back on his chest again. I yawned, feeling exhausted again.
"You sure you're okay?" he whispered.
"I'm fine, Christian. I'm sorry for worrying you all. I'm still a little unstable from everything that happened. Oh snap! Risuki! Where did he go?" I asked, lifting my head again.
Christian eased me back onto his chest.
"Relax. He's in the corner over there." Christian motioned to the corner of our room – Moonlight was cuddled up with another ball of fur – Nightmare's three tails wagged slowly back and forth. She must have noticed our gaze, opening her mismatched eyes to peer at us.
"Mew?" She stayed in place, tilting her head.
Moonlight didn't move, looking like he was fast asleep.
"Oops. Sorry, Nightmare. Go back to sleep," I encouraged, feeling bad for waking her up.
She relaxed, closed her eyes and cuddled next to Moonlight; her tails glowed a light pink before they wrapped around the both of them.
We stayed silent for a few moments, till we knew she was asleep again.
"Did you take a picture?" I asked, quietly.
Christian grinned, nodding.
"Have a full album and a few Polaroid shots." He winked.
I giggled. "Best boyfriend ever," I joked.
"I know, thank you." He grinned, proudly.
I slapped his chest playfully, before leaning in to kiss him. He relaxed; his hand slid around my waist. We didn't deepen the kisses – just kept them short and sweet.
"You should sleep. You and Mako are supposed to go hiking with Ethan and Elias tomorrow, remember? Then, we're having a campfire in the evening," Christian reminded.
"I remember. Ya, I think I need a bit more sleep," I confessed. What time is it?
"Nine in the evening," Aurora announced.
You're like a biological clock.
"It's just easy for us to tell the time," Serenity revealed.
I shifted slightly in Christian's hold, feeling comfortable in his warm embrace.
"We get to have alone time when we go to the mall this week, right?" I whispered.
"Yup. Cece said after you guys go for milkshakes with Makoto and Eli, she and Vinzent will keep watch to make sure Mako doesn't buy the entire mall and we can have a little date."
"She wouldn't buy the entire mall...wait, could she?" I asked curiously.
"Only daughter of Arthur and Catherine Heart, who are probably the richest royal family in all the realms. Therefore, she certainly could," Christian explained.