Page 6 of The Order: Rise of the New Empire (Order #4)

Chapter five

Aaron

S kipping rocks across the surface of the reflecting pools, Kai takes a seat on its edge, his feet avoiding touching the water given his traumatic experience within its depths.

Tuning out of the other's conversation on the deck revolved around Mason's discovery, I keep my focus on Kai.

I can always ask Xavier for information later.

Whatever the hell is happening with Kai right now is more important.

For months, he has been biting at any opportunity for information on his sister, and now that he has it, he sits in isolation, filled to the brim with nothing but pain.

Taking a seat next to him, he barely glances up at me, tossing yet another rock with as much force as he possibly has.

Despite the interaction we shared in the cabin, Kai's avoidance of talking about the touch we had shared has been at an all-time high. Most of his free time is spent with Xavier or absolved in his own theories and thought patterns.

Forest's absence has driven the man mad. His last bit of hope for family was caught up in the woman, given the love he has for her is stronger than most biological siblings.

Watching the rock skid across the surface of the water, he lets out a large sigh, keeping his focus on the ripples working through the water each time he tosses.

"Your form is getting weak," I joke, nudging him in the shoulder. A frown paints his expression.

"I want to kill Fallan," Kai hisses.

The hatred Kai harbors for Fallan has only escalated over the past several months.

Taking a sharp breath, he resorts to chucking the rocks, watching them drive into the water, months of hate settled in each toss.

"I'm sure Xavier would help you," I sigh, glancing at the group. All of their eyes are wide.

Perhaps I don't want to be a part of that conversation.

"Why aren't you up there with the others?" I question, knowing his answer well before he has said it.

"So I can hear more bad news about Forest when all I can do is almost get myself killed in every given situation that can help her? All while Fallan's cocky ass gets to stay in her home, sleeping in her sheets as if he isn't the very reason my sister," he grabs a new rock, turning his body, chucking it toward the balcony. Narrowly missing Fallan's face, he glares, giving him a sideways expression. Kai's mouth pulls into a grin. "Is doing god knows what with Elyon."

Initially, all Kai felt was pain.

Pain is his default, something that keeps his soul kind. Despite all of his loss, the one thing that has stayed true to the man is his ability to find the good in most situations. No matter how much death the man has faced, the way he chooses to hold himself in this ruthless world has always been derived from love, not revenge.

Now?

Now, all he feels is revenge.

Coated in scars from his incident with Josh, Kai hides away each time he changes, having a panic attack the one-time Fallan tried to get a good look at his torso one morning at breakfast.

That was the first time I had seen Kai's rage.

Grabbing a butter knife, Kai slammed the cutlery into Fallan's leg, screaming in a frantic frenzy, ready to tear Fallan's face off.

Had Xavier allowed the interaction to go on for longer than the five seconds it did, I question whether or not Kai would have killed him.

Not that anyone would blame him.

"You feel better?" I question once he has turned back toward the water.

"Not in the slightest," Kai sighs. "I didn't even graze him."

Scooting a bit closer, I grab his shirt before he can shift away, slamming my hand down on his leg, keeping him as close as I can.

Ready to tear my hand away from his leg, I glare at him, giving him a stern look.

"Not with me," I hiss. "You're not going to do that isolation bullshit with me any longer," I snap. "Eventually, we will both have to hear what they have to say about Forest, and you will have to listen."

Saying nothing, Kai keeps still, something breaching past his cold face.

"What?" I question, finally seeing the one thing I have yet to see in his expression for months.

Emotion.

"I forgot," Kai whispers. "What touch felt like."

Letting out a sigh of relief at his comment, I ignore the group of people watching us from the deck, letting my arm wrap around his shoulders. Feeling him settle into my side, I run my hand through his curls, ready to feel his hand push on my torso, creating as much space as he possibly can.

It never comes.

"Why the hell have you shut me out?" I question. "When has that ever benefited any of us?" I push, his head shaking.

"It seems like anything I hold onto is compromised the moment I have any attachment toward it. You are one of the few things I'd rather not see hurt, all because I allowed you to be close to me," he answers honestly, keeping his voice down.

"Remember that night, in this very cabin, before I got a knife pressed to my back?" I question, finally gaining his interest. "We sat like this, side by side, listening to each other's dreams and hopes, even though you felt as if they were pointless," I push. A small laugh escapes his lips.

Who knew I needed to hear that laugh so desperately.

"You leaned into me like this, and I clung onto every word you said," I push, grabbing his chin to get him to look at me. "How the hell do you think I have felt knowing we shared a moment like that? How do you think it has felt to feel your isolation? You think I find comfort in knowing how much time you spend with Xavier-"

"We have a common interest-"

"Doesn't mean I don't need you, Kaiden," I snap, finally laying out my truth for the both of us. "Maybe I am delusional to think the moment we shared in that room was more than just a lapse of judgment created by emotion, but I know one thing is for sure. That touch we shared has been the only thing on my mind every time I look at you, and all you've been doing is feeling a pain that I can't even begin to try and comfort because you can barely look at me long enough to hold a conversation," I snap, seeing his eyes up close for the first time in what feels like forever.

"I don't want to hurt you," he pushes, a scoff rolling off of my throat.

"You already did," I push. "You hurt me every day you keep me isolated. Forest is gone, and we are doing everything we can to figure out if there is a way to bring her back. Xavier is suffering because Forest is all he has, but Forest is not all that you have. I am still here."

"And if you leave me?" he questions. "Then what am I left with?"

Shaking my head, I stare him down, leaning as close as I possibly can.

Touching noses, his curls graze my forehead. Our eyes lock with a burning heat.

"I didn't leave you when I hated you, Kaiden Blackburn," I whisper. "Why the hell would I leave you when I love you?"

Watching his eyes grow wide at the statement, his mouth snaps shut. All of the words he was ready to throw at me are suddenly impossible to spit out.

Leaning back just enough to see the red flaring through his cheeks, I give him a long look.

"When I kissed you, at the time, I thought you were just sad, needing someone with you, so holding you seemed like the only thing I could do-"

Saying nothing, his lips collide with my own, his hands wrapping around my neck, stopping me from entertaining my own spiral.

Feeling his body press into my own, I let myself melt into the kiss, thinking of every lonely waking thought I have suffered through during the past several months. Feeling him kiss me with a need far deeper than anything I have felt before, I let my hands cup his face, feeling wet blotches paint my face in all the places the tears have managed to escape his eyes. Keeping him as close as humanly possible, his body burns with heat, the desire to have him open up like this to me eating us both alive. Kissing the man until there is no air left in our lungs, he pulls away, keeping his face settled between my hands.

"Please, be the one thing that loves me and doesn't let go," he sobs, Kai's true emotions finally present.

"I've come this far, haven't I?" I smile, leaning into him once more.

Initiating the kiss this time, I let his lips land on my own, rolling my thumbs over his cheeks and wiping away every tear I can. Moving away from his lips, I kiss his cheek, working over to his jawline before closing into his ear. "So help me Sanctum, if you confide in Xavier again over me, I will pummel our Commander," I warn, my deep-rooted jealousy revolved around their connection something I can no longer hide.

"Pummel me?" Xavier's voice questions. His arms are crossed as he watches us.

Not immediately pulling away as he has done in the past, Kai hides his smile. He looks back toward the water as I stare down the grey-haired brute.

"I really hope you are not insinuating you could ever get an advantage over me," Xavier mocks, a lick of sarcasm ridding his tone. "Unless you'd like to try. I have a feeling you'd feel more pleasure than you would rage in hand-to-hand combat with me," he smiles.

It's the first smile I have seen on his face in months.

"So, he smiles and jokes now?" I question, taking a glance at Fallan's stoic figure positioned on the deck with the others.

"Today is a good day, Aaron," he smiles, taking a seat next to me. Mason's brooding figure approaches our trio.

"Care to enlighten me?" I question, his eyebrows raising with delight.

"Depends. Do you plan on telling Kai more lies on how you plan on 'pummeling me.'" Xavier questions, his sarcasm intact.

Creeping closer, Mason tucks his hands in his pockets, keeping a safe distance away from us.

"What the hell did you do to him?" I question, wondering how long Xavier can hold his smile before cracking. "I thought you had bad news."

"I did," Mason snaps, his eyes narrowing at Xavier. "Apparently, all news is good news to him when it involves Forest."

"We know where she is," Xavier smiles, letting his head crane back as he enjoys the rays of the sun. "That sure as hell is good news to me, golden eyes," Xavier says giddily. Mason's only response is a smirk.

"What did you give him?" Kai questions, now, just as wary as me.

"Information," Mason sighs. "Seems at least one of you was fond of what I had to say."

"Love birds?" Xavier questions, giving us both a thrilled look.

Keeping Kai leaned against me, we both raise our brows, wondering at what point we will understand the root of Xavier's joy.

"Yes?" I ask with fake thrill, nudging Xavier in the leg with my foot.

"I have a simple question for both of you," Xavier smiles. Both of us lean forward in anticipation.

"Have either of you ever been to the Precipice?" he questions, Kai and I exchanging a look of confusion.

What the fuck did Mason just pull us into?