Chapter 24:

"So, ummm, is it just me, or are you also thinking that we haven't even scratched the surface of terrifying with that man yet?" Genie asked as she looked over at Lexi, who just swallowed hard with a nod.

"Ari, either you have balls of absolute steel, or he's got a serious thing for you, considering you mouthed off to not only someone that could probably snap you in two if he really wanted to, but can literally push enough energy through a full-grown amphithere to kill it just by placing his hand on it. Not to mention that hit he just took, for you, and just walked it off like he's not currently bleeding out." Lexi said as everyone in the crowd just watched in awed silence as Xavier simply walked over to where the other rider was pulling his blade out of the drake, sheathing it behind his back without so much as a flinch at the pain from the still bleeding wound that had probably immobilized his whole shoulder. 

"Well," I sighed out as the other two just looked at me. "If it says anything, he did tell me that he was at that camp that we were at for over eight months last year, and I know you haven't seen it, nor do I ever want you to see it, but it says a whole hell of a lot about what just happened there. You don't survive in a place like that without either being walked all over or being the scariest person in the room, and trust me, no one walked all over him. You don't get that if you show even the slightest hint of any sort of weakness." I whispered to them as they both just gawked at me. I, however, just watched as Bane jumped up, perched on Xavier's good shoulder, and they both just walked out the gate of the arena, and in a couple of moments was walking casually up the stairs towards us. 

He stopped in front of me only to turn and pull his knife from the amphithere's snout, from where it had landed on the wall before wiping it off on the beast's leathery skin and sheathing it at his hip once more. Then he turned towards me, raising an eyebrow as if he was expecting me to say something, but the General spoke up once more, cutting off anything I was about to say or do. 

"Now, that was a rather entertaining round, but do remember that we still have a mat challenge for you as well, Knight, so why don't we make our way towards that portion, shall we?" He called from the arena floor, but Xavier didn't even so much as glance in his direction. I was over caring at this point. He had just once more saved my ass and got seriously hurt because of it, so I reached for him without reservation. His gaze instantly snapped to where my hand made contact with him for just a moment before slowly coming back to mine once more.

"You're bleeding, really badly. Do you need help wrapping that, or something, before the next match?" I asked in a hushed whisper. I knew there was no way he was getting let out of the next match, not when this was pretty much a punishment for him, but if we didn't stop the blood flowing from that wound, there's a good chance he would pass out in the next match. 

His gaze strayed to the blood that was steadily dripping onto the stone at our feet, but before he gave me an answer, Genie spoke up. "I could help, at least a little, if you want?" She stood up beside me, wringing her hands as she looked down slightly, obviously a little nervous to say anything at all. "I may be a plant fae, but I can also do basic field healing work. You saved our friend, so the least I could do is stop the bleeding until another healer has the chance to look at it." Her normally soft voice sounded even smaller as his gaze swung to her as if she expected him to just smite her on the spot. Slowly, he looked back at me with a raised eyebrow as if asking if I trusted her, and I instantly nodded.

"That would be appreciated, thank you," Xavier answered her in his low, warm tone, and Genie practically lit up as Lexi just watched our interaction with wrapped fascination. He knelt in the small space between me and the wall with his back towards Genie. Bane eyed her for a moment before slowly climbing down into Xavier's lap. 

At some point, Bane had placed his chin on my leg, and I started scratching under it just like how Nova liked it. Somehow, by the end of it, I had two dragons curled together on my lap as Genie finished doing what she could for Xavier's shoulder. 

We trailed further behind Xavier as we all made our way into the combat gym, and even though I knew he should be fine, I was still nervous. Thanks to Genie, all the bleeding has stopped from his shoulder, but he has lost a lot of blood, and the wound is still raw and open. It looked horrible. 

I forced myself to stand on the edge of the mat as Bane and Nova stood in front of me, both of them also intently watching this match. The man he was facing was a little shorter than him, covered in bulky muscle, and as the match started, he charged Xavier, who simply stepped out of the way before grabbing the man by the back of his shirt and throwing him onto his face on the mat. The move, however, only made the man rage even harder, and when he got up, he started swinging wildly at Xavier, who either blocked or dodged each attack. He didn't attack back just yet, but simply waited, assessing the man as he carefully defended his shoulder. 

That was when things seemed to get serious. The other man tightened up his stance and started throwing far more strategic hits. A moment was all it took for the man to push past Xavier's guard and grab his wounded shoulder, digging his fingers in and making it start to bleed once more. Xavier simply gritted his teeth, grinding his jaw at the pain before punching the man so hard in the gut that you could hear the wind rush from his lungs. This time, as the other man fell, Xavier grabbed him by his hair and followed through by slamming his face into his knee. The crunch of bone from the man's nose and possibly other parts of his face breaking was audible from the vicious move before he fell limp to the mat, blood pooling around him as Xavier just stood there. 

We all let out a collective sigh of relief as they called the match, Xavier being the obvious winner once more, and I swayed on my feet, causing both Lexi and Genie to reach for me. They instantly started to drag me off to the infirmary as I lost the battle to hold myself upright once more. The second they laid me on one of the empty beds, my head started to steady out just a little, but it wasn't long before I passed out from the exertion on my battered body. 

When I blinked my eyes back open, I instantly looked down over myself, but my broken arm was in a fresh bandage, and most of the minor cuts and scrapes were gone now. My eyes slowly adjusted to the dark room as I felt a heavy weight running all the way up my legs, along with the warm press of Nova right beside my ribs on my good side. Looking down, all I saw was inky black stretched out across the white blanket covering me, and I smiled. Bane was stretched all the way up my legs, his head resting on my stomach as he slept, wings tucked in tight and belly up, more like an overgrown puppy rather than a dragon. I smiled as I rubbed over the smooth scales under his chin.

"Careful, you start doing that too much, and you'll be stuck with him." Xavier's warm tone came from beside me, and I instantly looked over to where he once more sat in the chair beside my bed. He had cleaned up at least, since the fights, but still looked just as tired. 

"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see you, but you should be resting. You were hurt pretty badly, and there's no way that's healed yet."

 He leaned in closer to me, whispering low enough that only I would be able to hear him. "If you think for a single second that I would leave my mate unguarded while she's unconscious, then you still don't know who you're dealing with, princess." Every single thought fled my mind when those lips pressed a soft kiss to that spot right under my ear, and I couldn't have stopped the gasp that fell from my lips even if I had wanted to. That only seemed to spur him on as he slowly kissed over the side of my neck, sending little jolts of pleasure coursing through my entire body at the contact. "I warned you," he whispered against me, sending a shiver down my spine. "I'm done trying to fight this, so you might as well get used to it." 

That made me grin, and I quickly decided that life was far too short not to enjoy it. He was the worst kind of drug. The one that you didn't even realize you were addicted to until you couldn't live without it. 

Just a simple turn of my head caused my lips to brush over his, a slow, simple caress that seemed to catch him off guard just as much as it had me. We both took a breath as a shiver worked its way down my spine before I leaned into him a little further. That seemed to be the second his control snapped, and I was pressed back into the cot as he leaned over me. Pressing his lips more firmly against mine as he took full control of the kiss, gently cupping my cheek as he tipped my chin up slightly, and my hand curled into the front of his shirt. 

It wasn't the hard, demanding kiss I thought I would be getting from this man. No, he shocked me even further with just how soft, sweet, and tender it was. Every soft press felt like absolute heaven, even in this hellhole of an academy. It wasn't long before he carefully pulled back from me, and every single part of me just wanted to pull him right back in for more, but the door at the end of the hall opened, and the night staff walked through, checking in on everyone. 

The next morning, when I woke up, Xavier was gone, but Bane was still lying on top of me before one of the staff members walked in and informed me that I was free to return to classes.  Apparently, even though I still didn't feel good, as long as I kept my bandage on my wrist clean and dry, it should be fine and would heal by the end of the week. As I got up and got dressed, I honestly felt a little bad making Bane walk, but once we got out into the hall, he jumped from the nearest window, making me smile. Nova watched from where she was perched on my good shoulder before she rubbed her cheek against mine with a low rumble. 

'You and Xavier seem to be finally getting... We'll just say, along.' Nova giggled as she rubbed against me, curling her tail around me in something of a hug. 

'Well, he's actually being nice to me now.'

'Was he ever truly not?' 

I just huffed at her because she wasn't entirely wrong, but at the same time, she wasn't entirely right either. She just giggled at me as I walked into my room and changed into a clean uniform before following Lexi out for breakfast.