23.

“Damn it,” Kiran growled and slammed his hand against the bar behind me. I jumped, startled by his outburst of anger. He turned to face the interrupters, but did not leave my side. “Can I help you gentlemen?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“Forgive us for the interruption sir, but Ms. Matthews is not allowed in your private club,” Principal Saint ended his sentence with a small bow. His manner was respectful, almost subservient.

Outside of school, the roles were reversed. Kiran was in command here, and Principal Saint must obey Kiran’s orders. I may have had a hard time wrapping my mind around the monarchy before tonight, but the facts of Kiran’s power were clearly displayed in front of me. I was forced to understand the role of the monarchy in my life now. My face flushed with embarrassment, as I noticed all eyes in the enormous room focused on us.

“I granted her entrance,” Kiran said softer, noticing the onlookers as well. His voice however, was none the less menacing.

“I’m sorry sir; by your father’s order she is not allowed here,” Talbott interjected himself and I couldn’t help but despise him a little more.

“Mr. St. Andrews is waiting upstairs to take you home,” Principal Saint addressed me for the first time and then angled his body as if to tell me I should leave immediately. I began to move, but Kiran stopped me by putting his hand on my waist.

“There’s no need for that. I was leaving anyways. I will take her home. Please tell Avalon, he is free to go,” Kiran took me by the arm a bit roughly and began walking towards the door.

“Excuse me, Prince Kiran; there is still business to attend to,” Talbott again interrupted, but this time I could hear the small amount of trepidation in his voice.

“What business?” Kiran growled quietly without even turning to look at him.

“I am not at liberty to say in front of.... her,” Talbott referenced me with a disdain that let me know exactly how he felt.

“Fine,” Kiran stood still for a few seconds longer, but did not let go of my arm. He left his back turned on Talbott and Principal Saint, apparently trying to decide what to do next. I was too afraid of him to speak. I could feel the heat of his anger swirling around us. The electricity pulsed between my skin and his fingers wildly. “I will walk her to the door,” before anyone else could object, he began walking again, pulling me along beside him.

“I’m sorry,” I stammered out; not exactly sure why I was apologizing.

“Don’t be. You did nothing wrong,” he mumbled through gritted teeth.

He did not let go of my arm the entire walk upstairs. I hurried along beside him as quickly as I could in the shoes that I was wearing. Kiran rushed up the long flight of stone stairs and through the long, brightly lit hallway. He did not stop moving until we reached the door to the outside.

If I was surprised by his behavior downstairs, I was even more surprised by his behavior on the way back to the front door. But nothing could have prepared me for what he did next.

Once we reached the door, I grabbed for the handle, hoping to escape to the safety of car Avalon had stolen. I was perplexed by Kiran’s behavior, but more than anything I was humiliated by my exile from his private club. I wanted to put this night behind me and crawl into a ball, forgetting about this entire experience. Kiran however had a different idea of how to end the night.

Although I reached for the door, Kiran stopped me by grabbing me firmly around my waist. His hands were hot against my skin, even through the material of my dress. He pushed me roughly against the wall and pressed his body against mine. One hand stayed on my hip, but the other he raised above my head to plant firmly against the wall. The magic flared in my blood, making it boil beneath my skin.

Kiran stared into my eyes for several seconds looking for something I was not sure I possessed. The intensity of his expression left me breathless and the closeness of his magic made me dizzy. The electricity ran between us wildly, igniting a lightning storm in my veins.

Suddenly, his lips were against mine, and his hand was tangled in my hair. He kissed me hungrily, pressing me against his body and wrapping me up in his magic. I kissed him back as if I couldn't breathe without him. Every place our bodies touched felt like a thousand degrees; he kissed me passionately, leaving my mouth for only a second to kiss my neck and jawline, but then he was back to my lips with even more passion. I heard him sigh sweetly as though he had waited for this kiss his for a very long time. Our magic connected with an almost violent force and I fought to keep consciousness. Our souls were united in that one moment, and I never wanted to leave it.

Kiran’s sigh turned to misery as the door at the end of the hallway slammed shut. Another magical entity was present and our perfect kiss was forced to a close. Kiran was across the hallway in milliseconds. He gave me one more intense look of longing and then turned around to walk in the other direction. I was left staring after him with swollen lips and messy hair.

Principal Saint waited at the end of the hallway for Kiran to approach and respectfully opened the door for him to pass through. The door closed behind him with a loud finality, leaving me to feel cold and alone. Kiran’s magic was no more apart of mine; I felt drained and empty. Although my own magic was still pulsing through my blood at a rapid rate, without Kiran’s to set it on fire, it left me something to want.

Principal Saint stayed on my side of the door as if protecting the entry way from the likes of me. The thought of forcing my way past him crossed my mind, but the other side of the door offered no hope to reinstate the kiss anyways. I tore through the door to the street instead, running as quickly as I could to the safety and loneliness of Avalon’s stolen Lexus.

I found sanctuary in the passenger’s seat of the sedan. I plopped down on the seat, very unlady-like and completely out of breath. I barely paid attention to Avalon, but out of the corner of my eye I could tell he was equally as emotional as I was.

I touched my fingers to my still swollen lips, expecting Avalon to drive away. Instead of making a getaway however, he rolled down his window and I saw the figure of Principal Saint resting his hands on the open window frame.

“How dare you bring her here,” although Principal Saint didn’t use my name directly, it was crystal clear who he was referring to. His fingers gripped tightly to the window sill. Clearly he was angry, but I was confused why my presence here would conjure such rage.

“Nothing happened,” Avalon defended himself loudly, and accentuated his point by slamming his hands on the steering wheel. His fingers wrapped themselves around the leather and gripped the steering wheel equally as tight as Principal Saint’s. “We’re all fine.”

“Something did happen,.” Principal Saint spat back. I realized I preferred a much more docile school teacher, than this angry and scary version of Principal Saint. Everyone was clearly livid with me, but I could not figure out why. Maybe I wasn’t allowed in the club, but were these reactions really necessary? “The entire room noticed who she is because of the prince’s damn affections for her. Now not only do you risk discovery but the entire kingdom will soon be aware of her effect on the prince. Damn it Avalon, what were you thinking?”

“I am stronger with her near me. I can’t just run reconnaissance without some type of protection. You send me into the lion’s den and you expect me to kill the beast, unarmed,” Avalon nearly shouted at Principal Saint; he grasped the steering wheel tighter and glared out the windshield.

“Never mind that now. Get her out of here,” Principal Saint touched the steering wheel underneath Avalon’s firm grip and the car instantly turned on. “Take her straight home; we will talk about this later,” the two of them had yet to address me personally. If only I could stay mad, but the burn of Kiran’s sweet kiss still lingered on my mouth.

Avalon stomped his foot down on the accelerator and my head slammed back against the headrest. He peeled out of the parking space without slowing down. It was my turn to dig my fingers into something and I found the edge of my leather seat and held on tight.

“Damn it. Damn it. Damn it,” Avalon repeated over and over; and then another long stream of expletives poured out of his mouth. I was not sure how to react, but felt strangely responsible for the demise of whatever he had planned tonight. “Why can’t you just stay away from him?” he practically shouted at me.

My temper flared up immediately. “If I remember correctly, you were the one who dragged me along to that place, and you were the one who left me completely alone! Kiran approached me. I did exactly as you said and did not move from the bar. He came over to me. I didn’t even know he was there!” I yelled back, suddenly over emotional and definitely sick and tired of being blamed for Kiran’s actions.

“You cannot talk to him anymore Eden; you have to end whatever there is between you.” Avalon softened his voice, almost pleading with me.

“There is nothing between us,” I replied just as softly; but my lips burned from the memory of our kiss. I looked out the window and watched the scenery fly by as Avalon drove a hundred miles an hour.

“Do not lie to me,” he said sternly. “Eden, don’t lie to yourself. He is dangerous and.... evil. You have no idea what you are getting yourself into. You cannot be so reckless,” Avalon’s eyes turned hard as he stared at the road ahead of him. I didn’t know how to respond to his allegations; I didn’t know why he hated Kiran so much. But I did know that Kiran was not evil and that he was not dangerous; at the same time an uneasy feeling washed over me and a small pit of fear began to grow in my stomach.

“There is nothing between us, really,” I tried to sound confident, but my voice was tiny and far off.

“Promise me you will not let it get farther than what it is right now. Promise me you will stay away from him,” Avalon turned to face me and the look on his face was enough to make me promise anything. I quickly shook my head “yes” and reached out to grab his hand. His skin was cold and when I touched it the magic easily flowed between us. My senses became even clearer and my magic became instantly stronger, rushing quickly throughout my body.

“He will take that away from you,” Avalon said sadly, and I understood that he was referencing our magic. “You have to trust me Eden.”

“I do,” I said simply, knowing that it was the complete truth. Whatever it was about Avalon, and whatever happened to our magic when we were together, I knew it was no mistake. I trusted him completely, and I knew he would only do what was best for me. I did not know however, if I could keep my promise to him and stay away from Kiran.

The rest of the drive home was made in silence. Avalon’s eyes never softened. I could feel his magic on edge and irritated. I could feel him always searching our perimeter, looking for other signs of magic. I was not sure what he was looking for, but it made me nervous.

Avalon pulled into the same spot on the street that he took the Lexus from what seemed like hours ago. He parked it perfectly and I relaxed a little, realizing he brought it back in excellent condition. We got out of the car, silent still and he walked me to the door.

I expect to say goodbye to him at the doorstep, but when I unlocked the front door and turned around to say goodnight, I realized he was following me inside.

“Where’s Sylvia?” Avalon asked. He began to search the downstairs of my house as if expecting to find an intruder. My throat closed in nervousness, wondering what exactly he was looking for.

“Um, I think she’ll be at the hospital all night,” I noticed that Avalon called my aunt “Sylvia” and I couldn’t remember ever giving him her full name.

“I better stay here tonight. Do you mind?” he didn’t wait for an answer, but walked over to the wicker basket of blankets behind the oversized couch and pulled out a large, warm quilt.

“I guess not,” I debated whether to be annoyed or scared, but in the end I decided I trusted him; and so I walked over to the linen closet and grabbed him a few feather pillows.

“Goodnight, Eden,” Avalon plopped down on the couch and pulled the blanket over him without even taking off his shoes.

“Goodnight, Avalon,” I replied and made my way up the stairs and into the quiet safety of my bedroom. What a night.