Chapter Thirteen

Smoke filled her lungs and intense heat grazed her skin. Rayne shot her eyes open, coughing harshly to disperse the smoke from her chest, her vision foggy from sleep. She recalled laying in the deep comforts of silk sheets in her chambers of Lord Adkas's home, but the scene before it was not of lavish styles of her room, but of flames that reached up to the heavens, and dark clouds forming over her head. She felt the dirt and grass beneath her hands as she pushed herself to her feet, laying her eyes upon a familiar burning building. Her chest tightened in anguish when painful screams filled her ears. Her feet began to move toward the structure when a shadow figure appeared from within the flames, stumbling forth and collides with her, forcing her onto her ass with a grunt. She glanced down at the individual that collapsed on her, and felt her heart sink. A bald headed man lay in her arms, blood streaming from his left ear and the corner of his mouth. He wore an orange Gi that was scorched from the fire, but what caught her eye were the three arrows buried deeply into his back. Rayne's breath quickened as panic started to set in, rolling the man to his side, his eyes opened to slits as he looked up at her. His lips moved, but his words were deaf to her ears. His eyes glazed over and his body went limp.

"No!" she cried out, shaking the man's shoulder, but to no avail. The screams within the building continued, and glutteral laughter followed. Footsteps crept forward through the haze, three shadows coming out of the smoke and fire, two were orcs that were fully armored in plate with longswords in their hands. A human male stood between them, a short bow in his hand. He wore black leather armor stained with blood, a black cloak shredded at the ends. Her gut churned at the sight. He smirked down at her, his eyes hidden in the shadows of his cloak, but she felt the darkness, and from the darkness tendrils lashed out at her.

A loud crash disturbed Gideon to waking up, his mind slightly hazy from the liquor the evening prior, but a thud from the room beside him got him to his feet. The room was dimly lit by the small hearth across the room, stars decorated the night sky when he made his way over to the door that blocked him off from Rayne's room.

"Winters?" he knocked gently, listening closely to her coughing and gasping, "I'm coming in." he declared as he threw open the door. He was greeted with a room only lit by the moon and stars outside. Her bed vacant, but the blanket hung half way off the bed, and a shadow was curled up beside it, coughing and gasping. Gideon covered the space in wide steps, kneeling beside her.

"Winters, are you alright?" he rested his hand on her back, feeling her shirt soaked through with sweat.

"So much... smoke... can't... breathe..." she gasped between words. Gideon raised a brow, looking around the room, sniffing the air, but he didn't inhale smoke or even see any that she spoke of.

"Winters, there isn't any smoke. You were probably just dreaming." he tried to sooth her, but her body began to tremble beneath his hand. He sat there, unsure of what to do. This was a woman that didn't like the same attention that other women he was familiar with did. He let out a slow breath and closed his eyes, pressing into her back firmly. A second later, there was a soft purple glow beneath his palm and it absorbed into her body. He felt the trembling slowly ease when the purple glow faded, and the coughing subsided. She sat up slowly, trying to catch her breath.

"It's cold." she whispered, and Gideon nodded, rising to his feet and went to her hearth. He threw in fresh firewood, and fumbled around until he came across the tinderbox tucked off to the side. After a few attempts, a small flame kindled in the wood. After a minute, the fire grew and heat filled the room. Gideon nodded to himself, and made his way to the balcony door, pushing on it to confirm that it's locked before walking back over to her. Rayne had finally gotten off the ground and sat on the edge of her bed when Gideon sat beside her.

"What spell was that?" she asked hoarsely. Gideon cleared his throat, looking away from her to a bowl on the nightstand with a small cloth next to it. He took the cloth and dampened it.

"It helps calm those that are feeling a strong emotion, and from what I saw, you were feeling several." he stated, bringing the cloth to her head. The cold, wet cloth made her jump, but a sigh of relief escaped her lips.

"It was just a dream." she spoke softly, but there was a hint of confusion in her voice. He held the cloth to her head, staring at her as she stared at the ground. She wasn't fighting him, she was too exhausted to fight him.

"I won't ask what it was until you are comfortable to discuss it." he said, and the only sound for awhile was the crackling of the hearth. Her breathing leveled out finally.

"There was a fire." she started slowly, reaching up and taking the cloth into her hands. Gideon looked at her.

"Winters, you do not have to tell me anything, you know that. I don't want to pry into whatever you're keeping from me." he told her once more, making sure she understood, but he was concerned for himself. The longer he continued to be in her company, the greater the odds he might develop feelings for her. That wasn't going to work out for either one of them. His chest tightened up slightly at the thought. Why does it bother him then?

"No. We need to talk. Not just about this." she spoke in broken sentences, rising to her feet and went to the wardrobe to change out of her shirt. His eyes followed her as she dug out a shirt from her bag and proceeded to take off her shirt with her back to him. He felt heat rush to his groin as her bare back was shown to him. Light scars scattered over her back, ranging from small thin lines to thick deep cuts. He gripped the blanket tightly as she pulled the new shirt down over herself. She glanced back at him, catching his alluring gaze and realized he wasn't wearing anything above the waist, and his hair tussled from sleep. She scoffed softly.

"You expected me to look away?" He ran his eyes up her body slowly when she approached him, picking up the damp blanket and tossed it beside her door. She sat further away from him on the bed.

"Never. I know how a man can get when a woman undresses in the same room as him," she looked over to him, but her eyes rested on his pants, before she looked away, "but this is a mission, and I don't like to mix business with pleasure. Nasty deal."

"Because you did it with the prince?" he said scornfully.

"I did, and had this been just a lonesome travel, we'd probably be in bed together," she threw back at him, and from the corner of her eye, she spotted his grip on the bed tighten to the point that his knuckles turned white, "the dream." she changed the subject, but his hand remained clenched on the bed.

"You said there was smoke." he reminded her and she nodded slowly.

"My temple was set ablaze one night. I was out in the training yard when the attack happened," she began, clasping her hands in front of her as she leaned forward, her eyes focused on the floor. Gideon listened intently. "The moment I got close to the building, smoke filled my lungs. I couldn't breathe," she hesitated, "I couldn't go into the temple. I listened to the screams, but I couldn't save them," her voice trembled lightly, her hands started to shake. Gideon reached over, resting his large hand over hers. The firmness and knowing he was there set her mind at ease enough to continue.

"Out of the fire came my mentor. He collapsed into me, and was dead before I could react. He had arrows embedded into his back. He said something to me that changed everything," she looked up at Gideon, and he recognized the coldness in her eyes, but he also saw the flicker of hatred and fear mingle into it.

"Did he tell you to run away?" he asked as she got to her feet, pacing in front of him.

"It wasn't to tell me to flee. It was a warning," she remembered the man's words clearly now, "Ravnyk came, and he brought the darkness with him." she spoke the warning, a chill running down her spine that put her on edge. Gideon inclined his head as he pieced everything together.

"Wait, so back in the forest before the twin elves showed up, you said that you knew something about the Dark Lord. Is it this Ravnyk character that you speak of?" he asked.

"Wow, so you can put a puzzle together." she mocked, and he got off the bed, confronting her.

"This isn't a joking matter, Winters. Ravnyk is building an army, and you apparently knew more than you were letting on. How much more are you keeping from me?" he demanded, towering over her, but she didn't falter. She met his gaze with the same annoyance and anger that burned in his.

"Even if I told you everything, what the fuck are you going to do about it?" she barked at him, feeling the static between them rise.

"I have a Kingdom to protect. Women..."

"Come on, oh great knight," she coaxed him, jabbing her finger into his chest. Gideon reached up, grabbing her hand, forcing her to step back until her back was pinned against the wall and he pinned her hand above her head. She glared up at him, feeling the tension radiating between them, "so what? You'll save the women, the children, men, their grandparents. Oh, don't forget their cats and dogs to." she spat at him, and his grip tightened on her wrist.

"I am willing to throw my life away for those people if it meant they lived to see another day. Those children would have another day to enjoy their childhood, those women get another day to gossip with one another about their no good husbands. Those men get another day to go home to their wives, and those grandparents get another day to watch their grandchildren grow up. Unlike you, I don't get the type of satisfaction with gold like you do," he sneered down at her. She glared up at him, clenching her free hand into a fist, and punched his sternum. He grunted, the grip on her wrist loosening. She slipped it free, forming her other fist and slams it into his jaw. Another grunt escapes him as he stumbles back from her, holding his jaw. As the space between them opened, Rayne stepped forward, twisting on the ball of her right foot and as she spun, brought up her left foot and slammed it into his chest. The force surprised him and he fell back onto the bed. Before he could process what was happening, Rayne had straddled him, pressing a dagger into his throat. He inhaled sharply, looking up at her, holding his hands away from her.

"You don't know anything about me, and just when I decided to actually speak up," she bit back the rest of her words, her hand shaking causing the dagger to slip and cut his throat lightly. He didn't wince, he continued to lay still, but he calmed down. "It's never about the gold. Just because I work as a mercenary, doesn't mean my mind is always set one thing."

"What could your mind ever be on? From the first day I saw you at the tavern, you were beating the shit out of three men. You don't show more emotions aside from being irritated and angry," he stopped as he gazed up at her, seeing her face more clearly as the sky outside took on the shades of dawn. She was gritting her teeth so hard that tinge of blood painted the corner of her lips. "You're right," she flinched, "I don't know anything about you aside from what I've observed, but I do know that you have a kind heart to those that need kindness," she slowly pulled the dagger away from his throat, allowing him to sit up. He rested his hand on the one that held the dagger, slowly taking it from her and tossed it aside out of her range. His other hand reached out, grazing his fingers gently against her cheek, making her gasp softly, "You hold your own, even when the odds are against you. You distance yourself so you don't have to experience losing someone again."

"Shut it!" she yelled out, but she couldn't argue with him, he was right. She felt her heart slowly shatter piece by piece when he broke it down for her. She shifted to slide off the bed, but he grasped her waist, his hands holding her firmly in place.

"Are you scared of me?"

"Scared of you?" she laughed sarcastically, "I can kill you if I wanted to."

"You won't do it, you had the chance back at that village when Ignaar poisoned me, but instead you gathered ingredients to save me."

"I didn't want him to have the luxury of your death while he burned in the levels of Hell."

"Will it satisfy you?" he asked, grabbing her hands and placed them on his throat. She watched as he released them, returning his hands to her waist, "I know you are capable of doing it." he stared into her eyes, determination settled in his. How did it come down to this? All she had was a nightmare, and he gives her the opportunity to kill him here and now. Her eyebrows twitched, her thumbs pressing gently into his throat, but not applying enough pressure. Her hands were small, they could barely wrap around his neck if she tried. She could be alone again, enjoy the peace and solitude with the gold she has. She could escape all of this and let Xerath burn the world to ashes, or let Ravnyk color the world in darkness. That thought unsettled her. If she were to run away, he would win.

Rayne retreated her hands from his throat, moving them to his broad shoulders. He shivered slightly at the caress, but his eyes never wavered. No, she couldn't kill him. He fought bravely and without hesitation against those bandits, and his loyalty was undeniable. She wanted to save him, that she knew now. At this moment, she couldn't deny it any longer. She ran her fingertips over his collarbone, a soft groan leaving his lips.

"Don't play with fire unless you want to get burned." he groaned, his hands fumbling with the edge of her shirt, his fingers rubbed against her bare, soft skin. The tension was there, but who was going to surrender first? She leaned in, kissing the knight deeply, wantingly, and he returned it.