The Ultimate Sacrifice

  I pulled away and suddenly the campus reappeared. “What the hell?”

  He smiled unsurely. “I told you. I can take you anywhere.”

  “You’re a dreamer.”

  “Yes.”

  Just then the bell rang signaling our curfew to return to our own rooms. We stood and he walked me back to my building. “Think about it, Kassia. I can take you away…even if just for a little while.”

  I nodded and while my body and heart yearned for another kiss, I turned and quickly entered my dorm.

  Mira, Auralee, and Noe were anxiously awaiting for me to fill them in on my night. Of course, Auralee and Noe knew quickly. Poor Mira had to wait for me to actually respond. I filled them in on my evening with Daxton. “A dreamer? Wow…” Mira played with her hair. “There are a couple of them here, right?”

  “Yeah, girls I think. I’ve never been close enough to them to find out what it was like,” Noe responded.

  “Auralee, can you ever see or hear what they’re dreaming?”

  “Not like you’re asking. I don’t think. Maybe if I knew it was happening, I could try.”

  “What was it like?” Mira asked.

  “Like I was really at the beach. I could smell the salty air, feel the warm breeze, and see the sun setting. It was a scene from my dreams.”

  “That’s cool,” Noe said.

  “It was, but freaky too. We were physically here, but we were there too. It was weird.”

  After a few more minutes of talking, Noe took Auralee’s hand, and snuck back to their room.

  Unfortunately, Daxton’s dream earlier didn’t take away my nightmares that night. I woke to a quiet room and breathed a sigh of relief. Mira was sleeping and I was still me. I tried to go back to sleep, but instead I tossed and turned. I finally got up and went to the window seat.

  Before doing a sweep of the courtyard like I usually did, my eyes shot over to the window I had seen Daxton at. He wasn’t there. I wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or sad. I guess I felt a little of both.

  * * *

  A few evenings later, I saw him sitting by the tree in the courtyard. I walked up to him. “Okay.”

  “Okay? Okay, what?”

  “Take me away.”

  He smiled. “When?”

  I thought about it. “No time like the present.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Is there some place quiet we can sit?”

  There were a lot of people outside tonight, so I looked around trying to think of a place we could go. “Behind that building, there’s a garden. We can go there.” I started walking, and he followed me.

  The garden was full of flowers and vegetable plants. There were some benches scattered around it, so I sat down on one of them. Daxton sat facing me. “So, how do we do this?” I asked.

  A smile spread across his face making his dimple appear. “Close your eyes,” he whispered. Slowly, I did. Without another word, he took my hands, and immediately we were somewhere else. This time it was high on a mountaintop. We could see everything for miles and miles. The sky was a deep blue. The trees below greener than I had ever seen them. As I glanced around I noticed the air felt thin.

  “Amazing!” I whispered. “Can we talk when we’re like this?”

  “Obviously,” he answered.

  “Can other people hear us?”

  “No.”

  “Can you only go to realistic places?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “What about a fantasy world? Like purple trees and unicorns?”

  Our surroundings changed, and now we were in a place where the trees were purple and a unicorn drank from a nearby brook. “Awesome!” In the dream world, I let go of his hands and walked around exploring. Everything felt so real. Carefully, I walked up to the unicorn. She turned toward me, and I was able to pet her. She felt soft and silky.

  I walked back to where Daxton was standing and sat down. The grass was blue, the sky pink. Daxton sat down next to me. “Do you feel okay?” he asked.

  As odd as it all was, it was relaxing. I felt calm and peaceful here. “I feel great.”

  “Good. Can I show you anything else?”

  I thought about that for a minute. “No. I think I need to process this first.”

  Our eyes met and I felt myself blush. With the back of his hand, he softly brushed my cheek. With his finger, he lifted my chin up just a little, and then he traced my lips. He looked into my eyes as if he was asking for permission. I parted my lips and leaned closer to him. Our noses almost touching, I could feel his warm breath. Slowly, with the anticipation growing, our lips met and he gently kissed me.

  When he pulled back, I opened my eyes checking to see if he was done. He was giving me his quirky smile. We were back to reality, back to evening time on campus. “Did we really just…kiss?” I asked.

  Without answering me, he leaned in faster this time, brushing my lips with his; waiting for that signal my mouth would ultimately give. I could feel my heart racing and my breathing quickened, as did his. I could feel his tongue just touch the outside of my lips, exploring a bit. I surprised myself when I let out a little moan. His fingers were in my hair now, dancing upwards as the kiss grew more passionate. And then almost as quickly as it had started, he pulled back a little, taking my lip with him for a second, leaving me wanting more.

  My body was burning with power and I kept my eyes closed. I was scared if I opened them, I’d hurt him. I tried to settle the power back down inside of me. It scared me, how my power was taking over when I wasn’t mad. This was completely new territory for me, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it.

  “Are you okay?”

  I held up my finger so he’d wait a minute. Just breathe. When I was sure the power was gone, I opened my eyes and nodded.

  “We should go. We’ve been out here a while.”

  Speechless, I nodded again. He walked me back to my building. “Thank you,” I said to him, “for sharing your gift.”

  “For you, anytime.”

  Upstairs the girls were all over me for every detail. I felt bad that Mira was the only one who wouldn’t know unless I told her. “I can’t believe you got to go to dreamland.”

  “I can’t believe you wanted to go somewhere with purple trees!” Mira laughed.

  “But, those kisses…He likes you.”

  Auralee scoffed. “A lot!”

  After their appetite for details was satisfied, we all went to bed.

  I slept better that night, but not through it. I found myself at the window again, but this time it was closer to dawn than midnight. When I sat down, he was there in his window. He held up his hand and I mine, and then he disappeared back into his room. Strange. The rest of the yard was quiet.

  The next night as I was walking from the dorm to the dining hall, Arian jumped out from behind the bushes. “Jeez,” I jumped. “What do you want?”

  “What are you doing to Daxton?” she asked.

  My eyes widened. “What?”

  “He’s drawn to you. Won’t stop talking about you. He’s never been like that before.” She walked towards me.

  “I didn’t do anything to him. Maybe he likes me?”

  “Why would he like you? You’re a self-centered bitch.”

  A surge shot through my body. “Excuse me?”

  “You and your table, you and your friends, you think the world revolves around you,” she taunted.

  I narrowed my eyes as the power grew. Breathe, just breathe.

  “You need to leave him alone.”

  Don’t give in. Don’t hurt her. I wasn’t sure how long I could do this. Where was Mira?

  “Arian! What are you doing?” I heard Daxton’s voice. When he saw my face, his eyes grew wide and concerned. “Arian, get out of here!”

  Inside my head, I screamed at him to get out of the way. I didn’t want to hurt him, but I knew I’d lose control if I said it out loud.

  He put his hands on my cheeks and our world faded. We were fl
oating in the air, up near the clouds. “Relax Kassia,” he told me. “Let it go, let the anger go. She’s no longer here. There’s no threat.”

  Looking in his kind eyes, I saw my eyes all wild. I took some deep breaths and soon felt my body relax. “There you go. Feel better?”

  “How did you know this would work?”

  “I didn’t.”

  “But, you could have been hurt.”

  “I don’t think you could hurt a friend.”

  “I’m glad you’re confident in what I can and can’t do. I’m not so sure.”

  He laughed. “Are you ready to go back?”

  “Not especially, but I figured we’ve got to look pretty dumb standing in the middle of the yard.”

  “Probably.” The clouds disappeared and I was standing again on the ground. There were a few people around staring at us. “Where were you going?”

  “To get a snack.”

  “Let me walk you there.”

  “Sure.”

  He walked with me to the dining hall, sat with me while I ate, and walked me back to the dorm. “Have a good night.” He leaned in; his soft, supple lips touched mine gently. He smelled sweet tonight, his lips tasted like cookies. The kiss left me feeling tingly inside for the rest of the night.

  * * *

  I wanted to go out on a real date with Daxton, but because I was grounded, I couldn’t. I thought about sneaking out, but more than likely, somebody would tell. I would have to involve Mira.

  “Mira, I need a favor.” I used my sweet, innocent voice.

  “What?”

  “I need you to ask Zane out on a double date with Daxton and me, and tell Eaton you’ll supervise me in town.”

  She started laughing. “I was supervising last time! I didn’t do a very good job. You think he’ll forget that?” She took her hair out of the clip it was in and brushed it out.

  I twirled my hair around my finger. “Can you at least try?”

  “It won’t work. I’m telling you, there’s no point.”

  “This sucks.”

  “This is where I’d say ‘I told you so’, but I’ll refrain since you’re my best friend.”

  I picked up the pillow next to me and threw it at her. “I wish I had a different gift,” I said sadly. I walked over to the window seat and sat down. “I feel trapped.”

  Mira threw the pillow back at me. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself. If you want a double date, then you’ll get it. But, it might have to be on campus instead. Or would you rather go out alone since the only reason to double date would be to get off campus?”

  Now, I really did feel bad. “I always want you with me, Mira. You’re like my other half. I’d love for you and Zane to go out on a double date with us. But, Daxton and I have done the dining hall date already, what more is there?”

  Her eyes twinkled. “Wait and see.”

  * * *

  The next day at breakfast, Mira surprised the boys. “Kassia and I are inviting you both out for dinner tonight.”

  Daxton and Zane looked at each other and then back at us. “You’re asking us out?” Daxton inquired.

  “Yeah.” She nodded.

  “I thought you were grounded, Kassia.”

  “I am,” I responded.

  “We’re doing something on campus.” Mira took a sip of her orange juice.

  “Okay.”

  “Is that a yes?” Mira asked, impatiently.

  “Yeah, that’s a yes.” Zane smiled from ear to ear.

  “Excellent. We’ll pick you up at seven.”

  “Okay.”

  After classes were over, Mira and I walked back to our room. “So, what am I supposed to wear to this date tonight?”

  “Clothes,” she responded sarcastically.

  I picked up a pair of socks and threw them at her. “C’mon!”

  “When have you ever needed help getting dressed?”

  “When I don’t know what I’m doing that night.”

  She walked over to our closet and pulled down a pair of jean capris, then proceeded over to my dresser and yanked out a white shirt. “This. It’s simple, but pretty. And bring your sweatshirt.”

  I raised my eyebrows and smiled. “Thank you.”

  After I got dressed, I fixed my hair up away from my face, and put on my make-up — mostly eye shadow and lip-gloss. Lastly, I squirted a little bit of lilac body spray on my chest.

  We walked over to the boys’ dorm where Daxton and Zane were waiting. They both broke into big grins when they saw us. I hurried to Daxton and pulled him against me, hooking my fingers through his belt loops. Feeling his breath against my lips, I kissed him passionately.

  I pulled away just in time to see Mira slowly walk up to Zane and smile shyly. She reached down and took his hand. “This way,” she said, leading the way.

  We followed her in back of the school towards the garden. I stopped abruptly when I spotted what she had done. “Wow…”

  She had a huge blanket spread out on the ground surrounded by faerie spheres. These were somewhat smaller than a soccer ball, lit up by faerie light. The light glowed a warm, off white color.

  “How did you get your hands on faerie spheres?”

  “I know people.” She smiled, proud of herself.

  As we approached, I noticed rose petals thrown all over the blankets. There was some soft music coming from her iPod. It was perfect — cozy, private, and romantic. I flashed a smile, letting Mira know I approved. I leaned over and whispered in her ear, “I love it. Thank you.”

  She nudged me with her shoulder. “I’m glad.”

  After we ate, we laid back on the blanket to gaze at the dancing stars that were illuminating the velvet, moonless sky. There was a slight breeze and the rustling of the leaves could be heard, but not seen. Being in Daxton’s arms, underneath the entrancing night sky was astounding, and I found myself wishing I could stay in that moment forever.

  Daxton ran his fingers up and down my arm making me tingle inside. “You’re so beautiful.” He brushed my bangs out of my eyes with his fingers. Then they were tracing my lips. I kissed each one as they passed by. There was a heat radiating between us, making every inch of my body want him to kiss me. My gaze moved from his eyes to his lips and back again, trying to make him very aware of what I wanted.

  His lips grazed mine, ever so slightly, and I whispered his name, “Daxton.” I cupped his face with my hands and allowed my fingers to travel to the back of his head where they knotted in his hair. The music faded and when I couldn’t stand it anymore, I pulled him to me and pressed my lips to his. He kissed me back harder, making me feel like I was the only girl alive.

  My heart soared, and I knew this was right. There was no doubt in my mind that he was the one for me. I had fallen head over heels for this guy in just a short time. In fact, time could stand still right now and I’d be perfectly fine with it.

  We pulled apart and he nestled his face in my hair. I stole a glance over at Mira, who was making out with Zane. I smiled, happy for her. She deserved love too, and I knew Zane loved her. It was about time she realized that she loved him back.

  It was then that he breathed into my ear, which sent fire through my body. Instantly, I could feel an incredible passion inside me ignite and power consumed me. Gasping, I quickly scrambled to my feet and ran to the trees.

  “What happened? What did you do to her?” Mira was yelling.

  “I didn’t do anything!” Daxton shouted back.

  “Kassia! What’s wrong?” Suddenly, Mira was next to me. I was shaking. “Did he hurt you?” I shook my head. “Then what?”

  Breathe. After a few deep breaths, I responded, “When we’re…intimate, my power…rises.”

  I could tell she was trying not to laugh now. “Are you serious?”

  I nodded, closing my eyes.

  “Okay. Breathe through it. Feel it settling down.” She took her time with me and helped me relax. “You okay now?”

  “Yeah.”

  ??
?You might want to bring that up with Dr. Frost. I won’t be around every time you’re making out with a guy.”

  Mira went back to the blanket and sat down with Zane. I was too embarrassed to move. How did I let that happen? How could my body lose control over something so wonderful? Did that mean I’d never be able to be with him?

  “Kassia,” he called, walking towards me. I hid behind a tree. “Come on out. It’s fine. Remember what I told you? Remember I said I didn’t think you could hurt me?” he asked. “I believe that. I don’t think you could, besides, I can whisk you away if I need to.”

  “It’s too dangerous.”

  He was in front of me now, his hair tousled, and his eyes full of love. He didn’t give me a chance to react; he placed his hands on my hips and squeezed me close to him. I tried to back away, but he held on tight. He wasn’t forceful at all, just firm. His eyes searched mine, asking for permission. I sighed lightly and nodded, knowing there was no way I would say no to him — not now, not ever.

  He kissed me again, gently at first and then more passionately. He stopped for a second, glancing in my eyes again, he kissed my neck and then nibbled on my ear. I could feel my body burning again and I wanted to push him away. “Trust me,” he whispered.

  I took a deep breath, my body shaking. His eyes locked back onto mine and he kissed me again. The power felt like it had reached its limit and I was truly scared. My eyelids fluttered closed, and I felt like I was spinning. I opened them again and somehow it was like we were dancing, but we were in and out of different places…a beach, a meadow, a forest, a cavern, even a waterfall…each for only a couple of seconds.

  Finally, he pulled away and we were back behind the school. The burning in me was gone and I was full of happiness and love. Out of breath, I shook my head, not really understanding what was going on. “What was that?

  “See?” he whispered. “We belong together.” While not an answer to my question, it was something that I truly believed.

  We walked hand in hand back to the blanket. I lay down next to Mira who was gazing at the stars again. I took her hand in mine and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Thank you,” I told her.

  “For what?” she asked, turning her head so our foreheads were touching.

  “The best night ever.”

  “What are best friends for?”

  Chapter Six

  “I’m going into town to get the car fixed,” Mira informed me Thursday afternoon.

  “Oh.” I looked down, sad that I couldn’t go.