Page 28 of Unbroken

“Now tell me why there’s ruins of a library in the middle of the woods.” She smiles and turns around, her neck craning back to gaze up at the bright blue sky and the vast empty shell of what once was an ancient library. Tall arched windows surround the large space that once was a place of knowledge. Along the walls climbing high into the sky were rows upon rows of books shelves, full of petrified books. Some so old that a mere touch will have the pages crumble between your fingers. I know from experience. Trees grow through the foundation, big thick roots crawl along the floors. Long green vines and moss have reclaimed the stone shelves and marble walls, while huge pieces of the gabled ceiling litter the walkways.

“According to Ms. Fields, the Academy sits on multiple ley lines. A strong conduit of magic flows underneath the ground we stand on. Hence why it easily accepted your Earth Elemental magic to heal itself, well, at least, I think. But this wasn’t always an Academy. All the ruins around campus tell a story of many different overlapping interdimensional bubbles from different times in history. That’s why the architecture of each ruin is from different historical periods. I’ve counted Greek, Medieval, and Victorian to name a few, that were once temples, schools, even residences. This place exists because there was once another magical Academy here thousands of years ago. Whatever happened to the bubble that held this place, it cut off this building in haste as the pocket it existed in broke down. All the titles, the ones that are still legible, are magic related. These grounds are one big enigma, there are still so many unknowns. I think that’s why it was so easy for my mother to exploit it, to turn it into someone’s worst nightmare with her dark influence. So, you see, when Michael destroyed the wards around us, this magically protected world began to die. Who knows how long it would have taken for it to fall apart like the others that stood before it? You saved this place, Micah,” I say as I walk over to one of my favorite spots and sit on what I can only assume was once a window seat.

“How do you know all of this?” she asks as she continues to peruse the shelves closest to her, leaning forward to look at books that lost their titles long ago.

“I spent a lot of time in the library. We all did. Anything to escape our mother. Below the dark, broody, stabby exterior, honestly, all three of us are a bunch of nerds.” Micah snorts.

“I’m starting to see that,” she says as she climbs up a broken set of stone steps leading to the second level. “So, you brought me here because. . .” she lets her words trail off in order for me to fill in the blanks as she waits expectantly.

What do I say? I want to share my world with you. I open and close my mouth, hesitating, then second guess myself, deciding against those exact words. Why am I so nervous? “I’ve never brought anyone here before. This is my special place. Well, Ty and Trys know about it. Oh, Ms. Margaret, Ms. Bertha, and Ms. Fields the librarian. Not even my mother knew this place was here,” I say as I watch her walk back down the step toward me. Her braids are pulled back in a ponytail, her beautiful face on display, no makeup, just pure Micah. I love her this way. Her powerful toned arms hang loose at her sides, her blue tank top and yoga pants cling to her curves, making my mouth water. How I thought I could abandon this woman, reject her, is beyond comprehension. I was a blind fool.

“Is this the only special place you want to show me or is there more?” Her eyes sparkle with a little hint of mischief as she steps between my spread legs. I lean back against the wall and gaze up at her.

“I have one more spot I think you might like.” I wrap my hands around her thighs and pull her closer. Her breath hitches as my thumbs brush the underside of her ass. “But I can’t promise to keep my hands off you when we get there.” I quirk my eyebrow as she rolls her eyes in exasperation.

“No promises.” She takes a deep breath. “Just action. Now show me,” she says as her eyes drop to my mouth then back up at my eyes. Giving her thighs another squeeze I stand, leaving no space between us, I let her feel every inch of my body against hers. I want her to feel the effect she has on me as I press my hard length to her stomach. I want her, but I want her to want me first.

“Come on.”

Entwining our fingers, we carefully maneuver our way through the library, climbing over fallen structural parts of the building. Once outside, I continue to walk through the labyrinth of ruins along the outer edge of the campus boundary. If you look closely, you can see the shimmering flicker of the faulty wards.

“You think the wards will be back to full strength soon? If Michael has scouts out there they’ll be here in no time before they alert him to my presence, or Marcus’s. Maybe, I should—”

“Stop. Micah, you have enough to worry about. Allow yourself this moment of peace because it’s fleeting. I think you need to let our Deputy Headmaster do his job. Let him take care of you. Let us take care of you,” I say sincerely.

“We just got back. There’s so much to plan for, so much I still don’t know about what we are up against, about me. I don’t want to be caught off guard again. Too many people I care about are at risk. I can’t lose any more people, Rodyn. I can’t.” Micah shakes her head adamantly as she walks beside me, the slight panic in her voice makes me pause. I turn and take her other hand in mine. I lean down until I am eye level with her, making sure I am all she sees.

“Breathe.” I keep my voice calm and squeeze her hands as an attempt to ground her. Micah blinks and I nod. “Yes. That’s it.” I want to reassure her that everything will be okay but I won’t lie. We don’t know what Michael is up to behind the protective barriers of Caelum Academy. We are going in blind. Bishop thought Lucifer would help but it’s up to Bishop to gather Demons to his aid when the time comes. If not, we will be outnumbered. It will be up to Micah to free the Light Guardians, to even the odds. It is a lot of pressure.

“Whatever happens, remember we do it together, all of us. I may not be able to wield your power but, baby, I will give you all my strength if you ask it of me. I know my brothers, Lyrik, Rook, and Esme will do the same.” I drop one of her hands and go to turn around, but she stops me.

“You’re good at this, Ro Ro.” She smirks, teasing me, the sound of my nickname on her tongue makes my heart happy.

“It’s amazing how profound you can be when you’re allowed to think for yourself,” I say, sobering the moment with another truth. Another realization that I was never really in control, just going through the motions set in place for me by my crazy-ass mother.

“Yeah, I know a thing or two about controlling mothers.” Micah sighs as the sound of rushing water greets us. Her eyes widen at the sound as she looks to me to answer the imploring question on her face.

I don’t say anything else, keeping my next destination a secret until the big reveal. I pull her towards the rocky outcrop jutting out above us with its own natural arch to walk under.

“What—”

“Just wait,” I say, cutting her off as we walk under the arch and into a beautiful oasis. Water crashes down into a circular pool of water. Steam rises invitingly from the crystal blue water; a crude ledge of rocks surrounds the small lagoon with high grass and low shrubs along the perimeter. I’ve only been here a few times with my brothers. The woods became more dangerous with all my mother’s pets roaming around. We haven’t really ventured this far into the woods in years.

“A hot spring? What the hell, Larrieux?” She playfully smacks my shoulder. “You all have been holding out on me. How is this place even possible?” She holds up her hands before I can answer her. “Don’t answer that. I get it. I think I do. This interdimensional bubble stuff is a mindfuck for real.”

I wanted to tell her Ty and Trys hadn’t had time to bring her here, with all the shit that’s been going on. But I keep it to myself. “It’s magic. Who knows where this little piece of paradise came from? This entire pocket of land is like a magical, mystical mystery.” I stifle my own nerdy use of alliteration as Micah looks at me as if I was a Cerberus with three heads.

“You really are a nerd.” She chuckles and walks toward the pool. “There is nothing in here that’s going to kill me, right? I mean, Sanquin Lake is possessed, I only got near it with Lyrik and something wanted to eat me.”

I frown at the mention of the lake, hoping like hell that the entity was purged along with all the other evils when the wards were destroyed.

“Nope. You’re safe. It’s just water,” I reply as she stuns me by removing her tank top revealing a black lace and satin bra. I stare transfixed, watching her bend at the waist as she slides her yoga pants down long, thick legs, her ass on display, begging for my touch. Micah lays her clothes over a larger boulder and sits on one of the rock ledges and eases herself into the water.

“Holy mother of moons”, she groans, and my dick twitches at the sound. “After all the training and sparring, this is Heaven,” she says, closing her eyes as she submerges her entire body into the heated water.

“Rodyn.” Micah opens her eyes and watches me. “Are you coming in?” she asks. I don’t give myself a chance to overthink it before I pull my t-shirt over my head, kick off my trainers and joggers, leaving nothing but—

“Fuck,” Micah whispers, making me smirk. Yeah, I am completely naked, opting to go commando when I got dressed in the Underworld earlier.

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