Chapter 25:

It seemed like every passing hour, I was just starting to feel worse and worse. My whole body felt weak and heavy, my arm throbbed something fierce, and I couldn't focus on a single one of my classes to save my life. I couldn't help but to feel like something just wasn't right. I should be feeling better by now, not worse. The healing I had gotten should have taken care of any infection or anything like that with my wounds, and if I was sick, they would have told me. 

By the time I was sitting in the dining hall with Lexi and Genie for dinner, I had no desire to even eat. I mostly just pushed my food around my plate, occasionally picking at its contents. 

'You haven't been acting right all day.' Nova commented as she blinked up at me. 

'I don't know, Nova, something just isn't right. I should be feeling better by now, not worse. Do you think Xavier will be in the gym right now?' 

'Probably, but you should go rest tonight, Ari.' 

'Not for training, Nova. I was thinking that maybe he would know something that we don't, you know? He has to know people; maybe getting a second opinion wouldn't be a bad thing.' 

'You know, you can just say that you want to see him. There's no shame in it, Ari.' She snickered at me, but I just took a breath, ignoring her as I looked back at Lexi and Genie. Making a quick excuse to leave the dining hall, Nova jumped up onto my shoulders as I picked my tray up and headed back out into the main hall. 

Walking down the hall, I had to keep my good hand on the wall for support the whole way to the gym before pushing the heavy door open. I thanked every single god imaginable when I saw that the gym was empty, except for Xavier. He was over by one of the benches, and it looked like he was about to gather his things to leave before he turned towards me with a raised eyebrow. Nova lept from my shoulder down to the floor, going over to Bane as Xavier grabbed his things and started towards me. 

I met him halfway, walking up to him with only a slight stumble before he steadied me, placing his hands on my hips, but I had other ideas. I unabashedly leaned in against his chest, greedily taking in his warm, spiced scent, letting it calm a bit of my worry.

"What did I tell you about coming here when you're not up for it?" He asked, but his tone didn't have the same bite to it that it normally did when he berated me, not to mention the little fact that his arms had moved from just holding me up to gently cradling me against his chest. 

"I know, I just... Something isn't right, Xavier." I whispered back, leaning into him a little further as my good arm wrapped around his waist, and I leaned my head against his good shoulder. I couldn't help it; it just felt too good. He was so warm and steady that I could have happily just stayed there forever. "I feel like I should be getting better by now, but I'm feeling worse by the second. I think something is wrong."

His fingers gently traced over my cheek, tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear, and I saw his eyes widen slightly before he cursed under his breath. "How long have you had a fever?" He asked, but his tone had completely lost any sort of edge to it at this point as I searched those sharp eyes. 

"What do you mean?" 

"You're fucking burning up, Ari. When did this start?" 

"I... I don't know. I haven't felt good all day, but I was just healed. I shouldn't have a fever." It made no sense. I just got healed. There's no way I should have any of this going on unless someone messed up. He didn't answer me, though; instead, he just stooped slightly before picking me up like I weighed nothing. His hands hooked under my thighs, and I frantically wrapped my good arm up around his neck in pure surprise as he started towards the door. "What are you doing?" 

"Taking you somewhere where you can lie down while we figure out what's going on and who's going to fucking die for it." He practically growled the last few words as he kicked the door open and stormed out of the gym. 

I didn't have much of another choice but to accept it, considering I absolutely didn't have the energy to even think about attempting to fight him over it. Instead, I just lay my head against his shoulder once more as I leaned into him. I didn't even bother trying to track where he was taking me, and honestly, I really didn't even care as long as he was there. 

I still didn't fully understand when our relationship had taken this turn, or even exactly why, but at some point down the line, he had become the one person here that I trusted explicitly. Maybe it was when he was protecting me and saving me at the camp, or maybe even that little fact that we were apparently mates, but did it really even matter at this point? All that really mattered was the fact that I trusted him.

He took me down a short hallway before carefully leaning me up against a wall beside a door so he could pull out a set of keys and unlock it. He shoved the door open, quickly placing both hands back on me before walking through it and shutting it behind us with his foot. He walked about halfway through the room before gently setting me down on the edge of a soft bed, and I instantly realized where he had taken me. 

"You brought me to your room?" I asked as I slowly let go of him, allowing him to stand up. 

"Yes, do you have a better idea?" He quipped, and I huffed at him. He had a point, and I wasn't in the mood to actually argue anything at the moment.

Then he knelt in front of me and started unlacing my boots, causing me to gawk at him for a moment before stuttering out a response. "Xavier, you don't need to do that. I can take my own shoes off." I protested, starting to lean down to help, but those sharp eyes swung up to mine, leveling me with a look that instantly pinned me to the spot. 

"Lay down, Ari." He commanded in that low tone of his that had my body instantly complying as he just continued, pulling off both my boots. "You came to me for help, so let me help you." He whispered as he stood before, gently helping me adjust to where I was lying more comfortably on his bed. Then he walked away, disappearing through a door by the foot of the bed. I honestly didn't know what I was expecting him to do when I came to him earlier, but this definitely wasn't it. I could hear the sound of running water and realized that he probably had a private bathing chamber, instantly making me a little jealous. 

It was only a few moments later when he walked back out, holding a towel in his hands as he came back over beside me. He sat on the edge of the bed beside me before pressing the cool cloth against my forehead, causing a shiver to run down my spine. "Now, will you let me take a look at your arm, because I have a feeling that's where this is stemming from, and if that's the case, then I could at least get you some proper help for it."

I knew better than to question his sources at this point; you didn't get to where he was in this place without knowing people. Instead, I just reached up and carefully unbuckled the sling from around my neck. He carefully took my arm, supporting the broken limb as I removed the sling before he gently extended it to where my wrist was resting across his lap as he went about removing the bandages. 

I just closed my eyes for a long moment, attempting to steady my head as I allowed myself to actually relax there. I greedily soaked in every single soft brush of his warm fingers over my skin. Focusing on the small jolts of tingling pleasure that touch sent through my whole body rather than the throbbing wound he was checking over. 

He sighed, and I felt his gaze on me as his thumb brushed over the palm of my hand. Slowly, I opened my eyes, glancing down at the swollen, angry, red mess of a wound on my wrist. I winced at just the look of it before my eyes slowly traced up the tense line of Xavier's body. He was well beyond pissed. With his back towards the window, I couldn't fully make out his expression in the dark room, but I really didn't need to either. The sharp lines of his body, highlighted by the moonlight, said it all. His jaw clenched as he bowed his head slightly, causing some of the longer strands of his dark hair to fall over his forehead. The moon played over all the sharp angles of his toned body, and I couldn't help but to be taken aback once more at the sheer beauty of this man, even as the lighting made him look every bit of the lethal weapon this place had forged him to be.

Those eyes swung to mine, seeming to shine even brighter in the dim light. They only softened slightly as he caught my gaze, but it still wasn't nearly enough to hide the anger simmering below the surface. I honestly almost pitied the person he went after for this, considering that gaze alone promised nothing but cold death to whoever let this happen. 

"Stay here. I'll be right back." He whispered to me, but his tone honestly surprised me. Considering the look in those eyes, I was expecting that cold, unfeeling tone that generally followed that gaze, but it wasn't. If anything, his tone was almost gentle, or at least as gentle as Xavier Knight could get. His thumb brushed over my palm once more before he started to get up, gently setting my arm behind him as his words finally sank in. 

"Wait, where are you going?" I asked, instantly worried that he was just going to leave me alone here. The dragons hadn't even returned yet from where they had left earlier, and he was just going to leave me, injured and completely defenseless, in a place that I didn't know. 

"Ari, you're in my room. You're safe here. It's warded from anyone coming in without either Bane or me directly connected to them along every wall. Bane can open and close the window for him and Nova to come in whenever they're done, and even if it wasn't warded, there are very few people actually willing to risk just walking into my personal space. Word tends to get around fairly quickly when anyone who seriously wrongs you just disappears, and trust me, there are very few people actually willing to risk that. This is the only space in this academy that I can actually say that you're safe." That had me releasing the breath that I had been holding; of course, that's why he brought me here. "Now, I need to turn in a favor to get that taken care of before it gets any worse. I won't be long, but you need to stay put until I get back, please, Ari." He whispered as he leaned over me, pressing one hand beside my head, and I couldn't help myself anymore. 

I reached for him, letting the fingers of my good hand trail over his sharp jaw as he leaned over me. I was actually a little surprised that, rather than feeling trapped with him over me like this, like I did with anyone else, I actually felt comfortable with him. "I would never actively put you in danger unless I had no other choice, princess." He whispered to me, closer now, and my hand instinctively cupped his cheek as he leaned in, closing the last little bit of distance between us before claiming my lips in a soft, sweet kiss. He pulled back far too soon and turned towards the door.

"Thank you for everything," I told him as he started towards the door, and he paused, glancing over his shoulder with a rogue smile. 

"Don't thank me yet, princess. Normally, that's supposed to wait until after I save your life." I couldn't help the smile that pulled from my lips before he winked at me and walked out the door.