“Love you,” she whispered before I left and I glanced back at her, my world brightening at those two small words.
“I love you more, beautiful.” I stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind me and finding Darius playing around with the Heirs and Xavier, though it looked like Geraldine had taken off.
Caleb was zooming around them all in high speed circles while they did their best to try and land a punch on him, all of them chuckling like idiots. But as I watched, I found myself transfixed by their unbreakable bond with one another.
I was about to slip away, figuring I’d track down Noxy and see if he wanted to hang out for a bit when Seth caught sight of me and let out a bark of excitement.
“Lance, come play!” he called, but I just folded my arms in answer to that.
Caleb shot past Seth, slapping him hard enough to make his head wheel sideways and Xavier whinnied a laugh. Seth chased after him, trying to land a hit in retaliation but Caleb was moving like the wind and started slapping him with every circle he completed, riling Seth up into a frenzy as he tried harder to catch him, though he never resorted to using magic.
“Orion’s too boring to play,” Max said dismissively, a goading smile on his lips.
“Why would I play a game I could win in five seconds flat?” I responded and he sniggered.
“Prove it then,” Max encouraged and I almost stepped forward but then I glanced at Darius again.
He looked like he wanted to say something, but no words left his mouth and doubts crawled through me as I wondered if he wanted to spend some alone time with his friends. Maybe he felt too awkward telling me to fuck off. Maybe he couldn’t stand to be around the guy he’d been forced to spend the past few years with, who he’d cuddled in bed with night after night without him ever truly wanting that. Maybe I was always going to be a reminder of his father’s control over him, and we’d keep drifting apart until we were strangers.
The mere thought of that made my gut tug and I searched for the words that might make it right, but came up short. He’d been unwillingly bound to me for so many years, I had to give him the space he’d been denied without complaint. He deserved that much. Though being away from him was honestly starting to feel painful in a way that had nothing to do with magical bonds. I just fucking missed him.
Caleb yanked on Seth’s hair on his next circuit of the Heirs and Seth growled, lunging forward to catch him but colliding hard with Xavier instead. Glitter cascaded everywhere from Xavier’s hair as he was knocked to the ground and Caleb swept by again, slapping Seth in the face, his right cheek now a bright pink colour as Max roared a laugh.
“Come and catch me then, Cal!” Seth cried, leaping to his feet and running into Caleb’s room, slamming the door shut before Caleb could get through so he crashed into it instead.
Caleb swore then shoved into the room and Max and Xavier ran after them as Seth howled a challenge.
I was left alone with Darius in the corridor and the silence rang in my ears like a bell chiming out a death toll for our friendship.
I cleared my throat, taking a step backwards as he glanced after his friends, figuring I’d make this easier for him and get out of here.
“I’ll er…catch you later?” I said and Darius frowned, stepping toward me as I prepared to leave.
I lingered there for a second, wanting to say so many things and yet finding my voice locked up in my throat.
I turned to leave, but he spoke my name in a way that seemed laced with a thousand hopes and regrets. “Lance?”
I turned back, my eyebrows rising as the space between us seemed to shrink a little. “Yeah?”
“You know it wasn’t all fake, right?” he asked, his eyes burning with the flames of his Order.
My heart sank, because I knew what was coming. The apology, the acknowledgement that yes, we had been friends in some ways, but not like he was with the Heirs. He’d want space, time to get used to a life without our bond, but with those things would come distance. And I just didn’t know if we’d recover from it.
“Yeah, I know,” I said on a sigh. “But I also know that I’m a reminder of your father’s chains now. So enjoy your freedom, Darius. Really. You deserve time with people whose company isn’t forced upon you. I swear I don’t begrudge you it.”
Hurt flashed across his eyes as he took another step toward me. “Is that what you really think, brother?”
“Don’t you?” I asked, my fear over the answer to that spinning a razor-sharp web inside my chest.