Page 12 of Of Bone and Ash

FIVE

Serafina

“Don't go, you just got back,” I whisper, tears falling down my cheeks as I stare up at my best friend. My hands are twisting together as anxiety rolls through me, making my skin itch. We are standing in the foyer of our house, the Christmas decorations twinkling around us.

Ryland jerks his eyes away from me, and I can see him swallow, jaw clenched, as he shakes his head. “Draga Mea, I have to. I already told them I would take the job and need to be there tomorrow,” he says, his voice cold and unresponsive—so unlike my friend.

He’s been acting weird for a few weeks now, no longer joking and messing around with me like he used to. The other night, I sat next to him on the couch during family movie night, and he stood up so fast you would have thought I burned him. He blustered some stupid excuse about needing to go check on something before running out of the room.

I saw the looks of concern on my brother's face as Ryland's dad, my Uncle Zane, ran after him. When I looked at my brother, he smiled and shook his head.

“Don't worry. It's a Dragon thing,” he says with a shrug, trying to play off Ryland's behavior as if it were normal. It wasn’t. I knew it wasn’t.

Ry was gone for three days after that, and when he returned, he was different. He didn’t hold my hand when we crossed the street, like he always did when we were out shopping. He purposely sat in the armchair that only fit him during movie nights, and he stopped smiling. That was the worst of them all.

“I don't understand why you have to go to work at that school. You were offered a job at Black Veil, which is only a couple hours away from us,” I whisper, crossing my arms over my chest as I watch him step over to the stairs and grab the large black bag he packed up. I wonder what he packed. It doesn't look like much.

Ry has been in our family since my brother and uncles found him half-dead in a testing facility where they used and hurt Fae children. He was only thirteen at the time, and my brother applied to foster him until they could find a permanent home for him. After a few months, Ryland and Uncle Zane, had bonded, their Dragons forming a familial link, and Ryland was officially part of the family. It's been eight years… Eight years of ups and downs. Eight years of helping each other through our shared trauma. Eight years, and all he has now is a large bag in his hands.

“Because they have the Balaur Patrol, and I want to be around my kind,” he replies, making me frown. His kind? As in Dragons?

“What about Zane?” I ask in a huff, frustration slowly creeping in.

“Zane supports my decision, Serafina,” Ryland growls, annoyance thick in his tone as he heaves the bag over his shoulder.

“What about me?” I rasp, the knot in my throat thickening as I desperately try to stop the tears trailing down my face.

“You'll be fine. You have Gabe and Dani…” he trails off, still not looking at me.

“I won't,” I deny, shaking my head. Just the thought of Ryland leaving is tearing me apart. Something inside me slowly withers away the longer he keeps his distance from me. “I… I need you, Ry,” I whisper, reaching out to grab his hand. Ryland growls and jerks out of my reach, making me freeze as he finally looks back at me, and I can't help but flinch back at the cold glare on his face. “What’s wrong?” I ask in a desperate attempt to get him to talk to me again. “I can’t help if you don't tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing is wrong. I just need to do this, Fina. I'm an adult. It's time I grow up and leave,” he snaps, dark eyes glimmering with gold.

“I don’t want you to leave!” I snap back, my frustration bleeding to anger as a dark shadow falls over us, my magic coming out to play.

“Knock it off. You don't want to hurt anyone,” Ry growls, darting forward and taking my trembling hands in his as he adds his magic to the mix, soothing my deadly fog until it fades into nothingness. Ryland shakes his head, breathing heavily as he drops my hands, but I reach out, catching his big fingers in my small hands, and hold on tight.

“See! I need you here!” I yell, my voice intensifying and cracking from years of disuse as I gesture around me. He just proved what I’m talking about. How can he not see that? No one—not even my brother—can calm my magic the way Ryland can.

In a desperate attempt to keep him here, I lunge up, pressing myself onto my toes, and take his lips with mine, my tears mingling into our kiss. Ryland freezes, and I hold my breath, worried he’s going to push me away.

We don't do this. We never do this; it's just that I’ve loved him for so long! I need him to stay here, and I will do everything I can to show him that. My heart sores as Ryland’s soft lips hesitantly move against mine, and I swear I could cry from relief alone. My legs shake as Ryland kisses me back, his strong body steps forward, and a rumbling, almost purr-like sound I’ve never heard before echoes from his chest. His hands yank from mine, and suddenly I’m lifted in the air, my back colliding with the wall as Ryland’s hips pin me there.

I feel the solid length of his cock hard in his pants and moan, gasping into his kiss as Ryland takes control, his fingers weaving themselves into my hair, tilting my head to the side so he can devour my mouth. I try to keep up, unsure if I'm kissing him right. This is the first kiss I have ever had, but fuck, it was so worth the wait!

“Ryland,” I gasp when he slows the kiss, my hips rocking instinctually into his, earning a devilish growl in response.

“Fina,” he rasps against my lips before drawing my bottom one between his and nipping it with sharper-than-normal teeth.

“Ohh!” I whimper, and I shiver as I press myself into his muscular body. Like a light switch being flipped, Ryland freezes, and my heart stutters in my chest as he slowly releases my lips and pulls back. We stare into each other's eyes. His pupils are dilated, and the gold of his eyes is so bright I swear I see flame lighting their depths.

“Ry?” I whisper, then gasp as he suddenly steps back, letting my feet fall to the ground. Ryland shakes his head, eyes wide in horror, as he stares at me like I’m a monster. He takes an unsteady step back, then another. “Ryland, wait…” I say as I watch him lose his shit. He’s going to run. I know he is.

Shit! I shouldn't have kissed him.

“No!” Ryland shouts when I take a step toward him. He holds up a trembling hand and shakes his head, the heat in his eyes moving from aroused to hatred. “No! Serafina! You are a child!” he growls as he runs a hand through his thick, black hair. “Fuck!” he snarls, twisting on his heel as he strides for the front door.

“No!” I scream, my heart pounding. “No. I need you, please! I swear I won't do that again! Please, Ryland! I need you to stay!” Ryland's hand falls on the door handle as he freezes, and I hold my breath. Please, please, please, I mentally chant, a sob bursting between my lips when Ryland's shoulders sag as he opens the door.

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