Page 72 of The Stone Survival
“Why do they always fall over when being chased by the axe murderer?” Ginia asked, clearly annoyed. “Look at her! Get up! Stop fucking rolling about like that!”
“Ginia!” Palia said. “No cursing.”
“Urgh!” Ginia sat back in her seat, shaking her head. “Oh for fucksake, just get up. He’s bloody walking toward you. You can run.”
Palia winced. “This is why I don’t like to watch movies with you.”
“Just like old times,” Touron said.
“I agree with Ginia,” Derek said. “She should stand up and run away. This makes no sense.”
“She’s supposed to be crippled by fear,” Sharniza explained.
Beside me, Curi leaned closer. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Serath?”
“He’s…coping.”
We hadn’t spoken much to the group about the Ubron and Serath dynamic. They were still working it out. “Serath spoke to Ubron. They’re figuring things out. They’ve set boundaries.” Boundaries where Ubron had promised not to touch me in any intimate way and to announce when he was in possession of Serath’s body. “It’s going to be okay.”
“Yeah, it is,” Curi said.
“Why is she just standing there!” Ginia pointed at the screen. “I can’t do this. It’s giving me anxiety.” She jumped up and headed for the kitchen. “Do we have any ice cream?”
Movie night went on till almost four in the morning, and for a little while I truly forgot about the pending storms in our lives. For a little while, things felt like the early days when my only concern had been finding out what happened to Romi.
Afterward, I found Serath in the observatory, watching the fading stars.
“Hey, you coming to bed?”
He held out his arms, and I climbed onto his lap. “Was movie night fun?”
“Yeah, it was.”
“What did you watch?”
“Two romantic comedies and some slasher movie that was also a comedy.”
He ran his fingers through my hair. “Are you tired?”
I tilted my head slightly. “Are you?”
He kissed my jaw. “No.”
I lifted my chin to give him better access to my neck. “Good.”
He gently gripped my jaw and brought my mouth to his. His kiss was soft and tentative, a slow burn exploration of my mouth that promised more.
“Let’s go to bed,” he said against my lips. “I need to be inside you.”
“Yes please.”
He stood with me still in his arms, and I snuggled against him, my gaze drifting to the window and the academy grounds below us.
What was that shadow on the path headed this way? “Serath, someone’s coming here.”
