The Moon's Fangs | 1
21 | calm before the storm

Amelia

After we fell, a cascade of dreams took over and Sio never showed back up for a second round. The oblivion which walks side by side with sleep controlled the narrative for the rest of the night. It allowed me a few hours of peace I hadn’t been able to get the past couple of nights. I soaked in every second until my body slowly stirred back awake.

The position of the room and the angle I had initially fallen asleep somewhat… shifted.

As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I didn’t see the lowered footboard of the bed under my feet, nor the sheets in a tangled mess after a night of deep, somewhat restless slumber. No. I could see the bed, but I no longer laid in the bed.

Where my hand should have moved across soft sheets towards a pillow, it instead slid up something smooth, radiating heat. My fingers idly trailed up a taut curve, replaceing sharp edges before entwining into… hair. That’s when I felt it. Something steady rose and fell underneath my weight. Warm breath brushed past my hair, tickling the side of my neck.

My stomach dipped, and liquid heat rushed through every inch of my being as I registered what I laid on top of.

Not what. Who.

The armchair had lengthened into a bed-like chaise, as if to snuggly accommodate the two bodies nestled in it like a stack of two pancakes. My backside was devastatingly flush with his front.

Sweatpant-adorned legs were outstretched and tangled with my bare legs. One leg laid on the outer side of my right leg, lazily bent over my knee, foot curled around my calf while his other leg pressed up and between the middle of my legs, holding down my left in a languid curve.

The shirt I borrowed from his closet had scrunched up past my upper thighs from how his legs influenced mine, barely hiding my intimates from view. One of his hands laid on my thigh, emitting warmth like a summer’s sun. Two of his fingers rested under the shirt’s hem, dangerously close to my inner thigh.

My own fingers were lazily wrapped around his tricep, and, —gods— from his wrist, a tendril from his Guide had looped itself around my opposite forearm several times, reaching the crook of my elbow where its little head found reprieve.

My hyperawareness grew with each suspended second. I could feel the subtle curve of fingers across the curve of my neck. One of his fingers may have been raveled with my necklace. The delicate chain shifted with his slow adjustment.

My heart thrummed wildly against my chest, but I dared not move. On the outside, I was frozen still, like Medusa herself petrified me on the spot. Inside, butterflies exploded into fireworks, setting fire to every swooning blood cell rushing through my veins.

After a long, shell-shocked moment passed, I braved a look up at his face.

The Fates must truly favor him. Reks Arlen was nothing short of a masterpiece. A man whose features could rival the likes of Gods. The devilishly handsome ones, at least.

His head was tilted back and slumped against the cushion. Dark lashes fanned across his cheekbones, casting tiny shadows in their wake against the subtle light emitting from the Guides. My hand was still loosely entwined in his hair at the nape of his neck, wrapped with his singular braid. Everything from his parted lips to the sharp edges of his jawline lured my eyes like a moth to the flame. Every part of him in this unguarded state was a sight for sore eyes, one I never wanted to forget.

Nox dozed in projection form across not my shoulders, but Reks’ shoulders. My eyes narrowed on the traitorous snake, body twisted halfway belly up around the back of his neck. Even its little forked tongue lobbed out to the side.

I couldn’t decide whether the four of us resembled an adorable pack all snuggled up, or if the two Guides were on the brink of getting caught sleeping on guard duty. Luk at least had a good hold on me still, whereas Nox just capitalized on the chance to get cozy with Reks.

Flames ignited my cheeks as he shifted again, hands moving across my skin. His hand curled farther around my neck, brushing up my jaw as his other slid higher up my shirt. The entirety of his hand disappeared underneath, and explosions went off in my body as his thumb hooked into my panties at the hip.

Gods… how did this even happen? There was no way I could slip away without him noticing. How long had I been on him like this? How did I not wake up to any of this… this touching? If I didn’t die from embarrassment, getting caught in this mess when he woke would surely do the trick of sending me to an early grave.

~My, you certainly get wrapped up in the silliest emotions.~ Nox snickered, one upside-down eye peeping open.

I shot it an evil death glare. You knew and didn’t tell me? This is probably your fault, for all I know! An evil scheme you came up with so you could get all snuggly with Reks.

~Excuse me? I’d never!~

As gently as possible, I channeled my inner sloth to try and sneak off without waking him. The last thing I needed was for him to wake up with me laying all over him. No. Definitely no.

I only made a couple meager inches of progress before his arms headily pinned me back down in place, hands pressing against my skin.

His fingers curled possessively around my hip and around the entirety of my jaw as he startlingly stretched, unconsciously tilting my head at an upward angle. My heart raced maddeningly, beating like drums against my ears.

“Reks… Reks.” Every centimeter of my skin burned as his fingers idly explored the curve of my hip, following the crease of my underwear. His thumb swept across, adding pressure to the dip of my hipbone. A place both intimate and unforgivingly ticklish. The sensation of his hands lit up every nerve like fire on a gunpowder line. His mouth dangerously skimmed my temple. My breath hitched. “Reks, l-let go.”

He sedately moaned, cracking open one eye. A crease formed along the inner parts of his brows as his vision adjusted to the dark room.

The faint glow of our Guides was enough to reveal his sins.

After a second of comprehension, a hypnotic smirk tugged at one side of his lips. “You first, Outlander.”

Freaking hell. Even his morning voice was addictive, like a potent drug.

My brows knitted together, and I gave him the meanest glare I could muster as I tugged down at the tangle of hair interlaced between my fingers. His eyes semi-rolled as he bit down on his lip in… in pleasure. It sent my heart into a chaotic rhythm.

The threat on the tip of my tongue suddenly died. “I… y-you… you’re not supposed to restrain me. Th-this is a violation of our agreement.”

~The condition specified you to not be restrained against your will. Technically, this predicament did not happen in that capacity.~

Shush it!

His eyes roved down the length of my body, assessing. Even after fully recognizing where his hands were located, he made no move to fix his obvious transgressions. A breath of amusement swept over my temple. “You left me no choice. I had to protect myself.”

“…Protect?”

The delayed memory of what he meant gradually pressed back into my mind. In that dreamscape, Sio had hurt him. Almost killed him, if that was even possible in a dream. Did he still feel pain from what happened? If he did, he didn't show it.

“Afraid so.” Reks continued as one of his fingers drifted up the column of my neck. “You wage war in your sleep. This was the only way to keep you from kicking the shit out of me.”

Fire radiated through my skin, fueled by unbridled embarrassment. “That doesn’t explain why I’m laying on top of you instead of in that bed.” I argued, despite knowing full well my sleep-induced kicking was the reason Blaire stopped sleeping in the same bed as me during our sleepovers.

His chuckle vibrated under me. His other fingers curled up the entirety of my neck to graze my earlobe, still angling my jaw in a vulnerable upward angle to face him. His dark eyes lingered on my lips before dragging them over to meet mine. “You’re a damn inferno. Don’t tell me you’re still worked up about falling victim to those pesky laws of nudity. In some rare cases, I replace embracing such laws to be—”

My heart slammed against my chest, and I tightened my grip around his braid. “Get your pervy fingers out of my panties, unless you’d rather have a bald spot.”

One of his brows rose, and something hardened against my ass as his voice lowered in sultry challenge. “Say please.”

“Please.” My whisper fell into a weak plea. One with a hidden meaning I inwardly begged he hadn’t taken notice to.

My body burned for him while my brain sent reminders of how this man was an assassin for an alien empire. Even though I hadn’t seen him kill anyone didn’t mean he wasn’t capable. So why. Why, when this assassin had his hand wrapped around my throat did I no longer feel fear?

His drowsy smirk lifted into something more feral. “Submission’s a good look on you, Outlander.”

My irritation spiked as his hands slipped free from my skin, along with the retraction of his Guide looped around my arm.

“Yeah? Well, arrogance looks terrible on you.” I quipped, rolling off him, then stumbling when standing up straight. Nox quickly followed my pursuit, trailing up my arm to replace perch around my shoulders. The lights in the room gradually came alive as I shot Nox a traitorous glare that promised a lecture in its near future.

“You’re quite the handful. You know that?” Reks pushed a hand through his disheveled hair, proving to be much longer when not fixed. A stubborn tress fell back over his forehead, sweeping over his brow. From his bare chest, all the way down the deep v of his stomach was a darker shade of pink from where I must had laid for hours. Faint scar lines similar to the ones across his wrists variously marked different portions of his skin, barely visible to someone not looking for them. Untold stories must hide underneath each faint line. “See something you like?” He watched me through one open, bemused eye.

“What? No.” I whipped my stupid red face away and out of his pirate view. “I was… just thinking about what happened. When Sio stabbed you.”

One of his hands swept down the hard length of his torso, to the side where Sio had punctured him. I looked away again before his eyes lifted back up. Even still, I could hear the smugness drip from his voice. “Aw. How sweet of you to worry about me.”

Like the brave little lamb I was, I inaudibly parroted his mockery with my back to him, earning myself a sidelong look from Nox. Its tail swished anxiously between my shoulder and collarbone.

~Reks Arlen was harmed in your dreamscape? This is far more serious than originally conceived. Damn my incompetence! The lack of respect towards other Guides’ hosts is unforgivable.~ it hissed in frustration as I picked up the glass of water sitting on the bedside table.

I stared down at the faint pink tint. “I think I’m more shocked than anything else. With how adamant it had been before, I thought Sio would be pleased to see you. Its reaction caught me completely off guard. For a moment there… I really thought it wanted to kill you. Where do we even go from here now? If it can toy with us like that in a dream, what is it capable of doing here in reality?” the faint sound of his weight shifting off the chaise reached my ears as I continued. “We’re not even near the thing, and it can pull off something like that. Hell. Even when I was on a whole other planet, it managed to get into my head. How does that make sense? How can it have so much control? It's like a snake god.”

The water quivered in the glass, despite trying to make light of it.

Reks’ hand slipped under Nox to rest on my shoulder. It sent a wave of ease to wash over the tension, banking it. I caught his gaze over my shoulder, magnetized by the shimmer of cyan skittering across the bottoms of his abyssal stare. Not only did they have a way of absorbing all light, but they also had the special ability to capture all my focus, like nothing else mattered in the worlds.

“I know it looks that way. But if Sio really had that much power, it wouldn’t be jumping through all these hoops to lure you to it.” His hand fell from my shoulder, then he shrugged, moving to stretch his arms. “If you ask me, as long as we can control your dream-walking, we hold the power.”

“Are you forgetting the part where it threatened you to not interfere again? It sounded serious.”

“Pff. Getting threatened comes with the territory. Sio may not like me, but the Guide replaces me useful enough to not outright kill me. As long as I don’t try that stunt in particular again, it’ll just prepare its next threat to my life for the next line I cross.”

I blinked, setting the glass back down on the table after taking a drink. “What do you mean, in particular?”

“Attempting to delay or confront Sio in your dreamscape again won’t work. We already experienced the attack against our psyches from its outrage. Provoking Sio where it has the upper hand is a plan destined to fail.”

“So, what then?” I asked, lifting my hands, palms up. “Are you suggesting next time it happens, I pretend nothing’s wrong and act like Sio is getting what it wants… while you get to play big spoon to my little spoon?” my cheeks reddened from what I implied.

“For now.” His chin lifted, placatingly. “It’ll give us insight into how much Sio can influence outside of that scape. If it doesn’t catch on that I’m keeping you, then Sio will be forced to meet on our terms.”

I grimaced, rubbing the side of my finger back and forth against my lips. The last thing I wanted was to have to hold my ground in a scary standoff with that cobra. But Reks was right. Sio held the power in that scape, and provoking it wouldn’t end well for us.

Not only that, but the bite mark looked fresh when I entered its domain, as if it had just bitten me. I could no longer feel the pain in reality, but I did in that realm. If Reks tried to reenter, there was a chance his deadly wound would reappear just the same, and he’d be put at an immediate disadvantage.

I crossed my arms as a stubborn pout formed over my lips. “Mm… can’t I just try to stay awake and not fall asleep? Or, better yet, do you think Altered has a drink that’ll keep me from getting sleepy?”

His expression deadpanned. “You realize forcing yourself to stay awake will only force your body to shut down, leaving yourself in a vulnerable state longer than normal for Sio to take advantage of, right?”

As I sighed and rolled my eyes at his comment, he continued. “Stop stressing. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

I smirked to hide the defeated feeling lingering in my chest. “Well, I trust you… which is a lot compared to everyone else I’ve met from this planet so far. I mean I guess I don’t completely blame them… but last time I talked to Danika and Nolan, it was like pulling teeth for any information I wanted.” I took a drink of water, then set it back down.

I wished they could be a viable option to put our faith in. But a wish was all it was. Danika had too much to lose, and Nolan proved to be a dirty, rotten little liar. And I had no idea where Nikoe stood. I hadn't run into him yet, but something told me he wouldn't be down to help us out.

“Was that almost a compliment?” he smiled half smugly, motioning for us to go down the hallway. “When we fell into the shadows, I saw some of those images you mentioned before. A damn tornado of confusion, but I caught sight of the citadel amongst the visual chaos. If I had to bet a wager on it, I’d say Sio was there.”

“Oh?” I said, following him down the hall, enjoying the view of how his muscles flexed and moved down his back. “There’s a lot of images I don’t recognize, so I’m glad you can pick up on them. Is it on the surface? With a name like, the citadel, it doesn’t exactly scream easy access.”

“One problem at a time,” he said, stopping in front of the armored door. A tendril slipped out from his wrist and connected to the door’s lock mechanism. “First, we need to deal with our little Black Market favor.”

“Why?” I asked, accidentally bumping Nox’s head when pushing a lock of hair behind my ear. The Guide dipped under my flesh, like my skin was the surface of opaque water, disappearing out of sight.

“Like you guessed, the citadel isn’t simple to get into. The Black Market is our best chance to get access to some under-the-table tech to make getting in and out easier. Depending on what they have to offer will factor in on how we proceed.”

When the door opened, Reks stepped to the side to let me pass in first.

His armory was long and rectangular-shaped. The half we walked into was lined with shelves, storing all kinds of techy gadgets and weapons. Parts of the walls without shelves showcased larger weapons resting in brackets and on mantles.

The variety of blades he had were both surprising and mesmerizing. Yes, he was an assassin, but I would have thought something such as blades would be a primarily archaic technique used by humans, not an advanced alien race with the capability of using freaking portals. But these did look different. Most all the blades here had an opalesce sheen to their sharpened edges, like Sio's scales.

~These weapons are infused with a special kind of astral energy.~ Nox supplied my curiosity with the bite-sized snack of knowledge it yearned for. ~The opalesce sheen was documented to only ever been seen on vitiate’s weapons who solely belonged to Ellison Lucil. Any other astral-infused weapon outside of her vitiates resembled energy like what Nolan Rhosyn's guns possessed.~

My fingers slid across a workbench, eyes trailing across to the other side of the room where it looked to be set up for weapon testing and combat training.

“What could the Black Market possibly have that you don’t?” I wondered out loud, gaze hovering over the overused practice dummies, covered in random stitches.

“Couple things, I hope.” He sighed, walking over towards the assortment of blades mounted to the wall. “I just need to grab some things before we head out. I suggest you replace a pair of boots, unless you prefer going barefoot in the badlands.” He shot me a teasing look over his shoulder.

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”

It’s not like I continuously chose to go barefoot. The barefoot life kept choosing me. One may even call it the infamous barefooted curse.

“There should be a pair in the master closet,” he lifted twin blades from the wall, checking their points.

“Mm… pretty sure your boots aren’t going to fit me.” Oh, how I wished I would have worn my favorite pair of white Converses before crap hit the fan. Those shoes were the most worn, most faithful pair of shoes I owned. Wearing another pair would be like cheating.

“Not mine. Ellison's. You and the empress are roughly the same size in everything else, so I’m sure they’ll do.”

My lips puckered distastefully. He sure had a lot of her things here. What kind of relationship did he have with the former orleizen empress? I wanted to ask but didn’t want to cross that line. I didn’t want to upset him. Especially not after what Sio did to him in my dreamscape.

I turned to leave but stopped at the door. I touched the doorframe, curling my fingers around it as I looked back at him over my shoulder. “Hey, Reks? When we get back, do you think you could teach me a couple things? Like self-defense. I know we’re on a tight schedule, but I’d like to feel a little less… helpless next time things get crazy.”

He paused in his study of his twin blades, an intrigued look surfacing in its stead. “Go to the mat over there, if you think yourself brave enough.” He set the weapons down on top of a large glass case containing strange gems, then nodded over in the direction of the training mat across the room.

Right now? Oh. He meant right now.

“O-oh, okay.” I said, walking over to stand on the mat. It didn’t cross my mind that perhaps my current attire wasn’t suited for this until fiddling with the ends of the oversized tunic. But he practically dared me to by questioning my bravery on the spot! He left me no choice but to follow up on the challenge.

~I’ve noticed your inner voice is far more aggressive than your outer voice.~

Nox! Don’t… call me out like that. I mentally chided back at the gossiping snake.

Reks set a small drawstring bag down next to some other things on the workbench before meeting me on the mat.

I shifted my feet, suddenly feeling awkward. And a little cold. Maybe I should have snagged a pair of pants before agreeing to this. “Are you going to show me how to defend myself against one of the crystalline monsters? Or how to knock out a bandit?”

An ironic smile played on his lips. “You should be more worried about the opponent in front of you.” he side-stepped, moving in a slow circle around me. Like a hungry shark investigating a shipwreck. “Right now, you’re up against a vitiate who has killed over his fair share of monsters - an assassin who has slit countless enemy throats without so much as blinking. Someone whose whispered alias invokes fear.”

Okay, don’t get cocky. I shot him a squinted look before losing visual of him as he circled behind me. “Um… don’t you think that’s a little too advanced for me? I was hoping for more of a crash course for beginners.” I turned as to not have my back to him, but Reks had already made his move.

In one fluid motion, he snatched and restrained both of my hands behind my back while the heat of his other hand wrapped around my mouth to keep me from screaming. My heart lurched, body turning rigid.

His hand slid down from my mouth, cupping the line of my jaw instead. The drag of his palm against my mouth pulled my lips apart, leaving me with the taste of his intoxicating scent, disorienting me further. The full length of him pressed into my back as he whispered against my ear. “If you can defend yourself against me, you can defend yourself against anyone.”

My breath hitched.

“Anyone?” I turned my head to look at him, heart pounding. It took every ounce of my willpower to not let my eyes track down to his lips. It would be a complete double-whammy after falling into his gaze. Crap. If I let his good looks get to me like this, I’d never get anywhere. Time wasn’t on my side. Stay focused.

“For the most part. There are always exceptions.” His fingers slowly slackened around my chin and wrists, easing away.

Realizing the chance of escape, I sharply yanked away from his loosened hold, hoping it would catch him by surprise. But he used my futile attempt to his own advantage.

He shoved his weight with my own, sliding a leg in between mine to twist my body around.

I gasped, closing my eyes shut as we fell to the mat. The impact partially knocked my breath free, but he controlled the landing enough to keep it from being painful.

Nice of him to be courteous enough to not squash me.

“What’s your next move, Outlander?” Reks breathed, pinning my arms over my head. A lock of his obsidian hair fell, tickling my forehead. The sight of him sent a chill to slowly roll over my skin while a wave of heat did the same underneath. The tips of my breasts hardened in response.

“If I told you, it wouldn’t work now. Would it?” I wriggled uselessly, fully knowing I had no next move. How was I supposed to get out of something like this when my opponent weighed more than me – was stronger than me?

“Not every strategy relies on strength.” He said, as if reading my mind. He adjusted his knee between my legs, which sent the tunic farther up my thighs, exposing more skin. The small movement sent a sudden jolt to ripple through my core.

“Maybe I just don’t want to hurt you.” I countered.

“Holding back in a fight is a major downfall, Outlander.” He said, grimness edging his tone. “Doing so is like signing off on your own death. How likely is it the enemy you’re facing is holding back too? The answer is, they’re not. If they’re giving it their all and you’re not… whether that be because of fear, history, or something else, you’ll be the one whose blood spills in the end. Hesitation has no place in a battle.”

The way his eyes swallowed the light into their black prisms spoke volumes, like he spoke from experience. Like a lesson he learned the hard way.

“When I programmed your Guide, I gave it access to combat techniques I have access to as a vitiate. Reach out to Nox and make your move… before I do.” A plotting smirk curled at one side of his mouth, a promise up to no good.

I bit down hard on my bottom lip, holding my breath to keep from giving an audible reaction.

Nox. I command you to do something cool and impressive.

~Command? A please would suffice.~ Nox huffed out a short hiss.

Please get me unstuck, oh great and powerful, Nox. I mentally growled through my teeth.

~Hm… better. But there is still room for improvement. Nevertheless! My time to shine has finally arrived. How shall we impress the impressive Master Arlen… Let’s see… Augmenting muscle memory with a new combative skill set now, with a focus on defense.~

The blood in my veins raced hot as something inertly changed. Strange, surreal visions of a first-person point of view flashed through my mind, through my body, of a technique being used in real-life scenarios. Months of training honed into my own body within a split second, imprinting the original owner’s perfected skill deep into my bones to use at will.

My eyes widened with excitement, sparking curiosity in Reks’ dark gaze.

When his lips parted to ask what I learned, I took joy in cutting him off and showing him instead. I shoved my trapped leg against his outer leg’s knee to make him lose balance and swung my opposite leg against his hip to force him to collapse against his side. I turned with the movement, setting myself on top of him in a swift straddle.

The new skill zipped through me like lightning, thrilling me further.

“Well, lookie who’s on top now—ah!” My victory was short-lived.

Reks yanked my still-trapped hands upwards, flinging my body completely over his head and into an impromptu somersault, planting me firmly on my back once again.

Reks released my wrists as his simpering laugh filled the room. I stared stubbornly up at the ceiling, then at his face when he loomed over me. “Lookie who’s on top now.” He smugly parroted my words, then lent out his hand for me to take. “This first round goes to me. Redemption is yours to take whenever bravery is on your side. Try not to pout with every loss.”

I gave him a teasing glare, taking his hand and pulling myself up to meet his challenge. “Careful, vitiate. You might just be eating those words when I do get my sweet redemption.”