Chương 16: Chapter 16

The drive to Arcane was not too long. Meghan slept on Anaya's lap and Khai sat in the front passenger seat. He turned his face to look out the window, but in truth he just looked at Anaya from the mirror. She seemed to be fighting sleep, letting out soft yawns every few minutes.

George parked his car and picked up Meghan in his arms again. "I'm going to take her back to my room tonight. I'm sure hers is a complete mess." He told Anaya. Then looking at Khai, he asked "Do you mind walking her back?"

Khai's heart was leaping, but he adopted a serious look as he nodded to George.

"Goodnight Georgie" Anaya smiled.

"Text me when you reach your room. I'll blast your phone if I don't hear from you in ten minutes Ana, I mean it."

As they walked back towards her room, Khai searched for ways to extend their time together. "Are you hungry?"

In truth, Anaya was a little hungry, but she did not want him to think she had an inordinate appetite. Khai, however, was quick to read her.

"Well I am. Do you mind if we stop by the café?"

"I have noodles and chips in my room…." She was worried she was being too forward. Was she wrong in inviting him to her room? Surprisingly though, Anaya did not feel unsafe. On the contrary, she was hoping he would say yes so she could spend more time with him.

"Perfect, let's go."

"Your friends are really fun. I had a great time tonight."

"If you're still up for it, Shooters is a great club. We should definitely all go next weekend."

Anaya nodded, looking up at him with a soft smile. Khai's night just kept getting better and better. His footsteps got lighter as he walked with Anaya.

"Anaya, why are you…?"

"Just call me Ana, Khai." She chimed, cutting him off mid sentence.

He almost tripped over in joy, but steadied himself, suddenly growing stiff. He was mortified that he was acting like a love struck teenager.

"Okay, Ana." He smiled at how her name rolled off of his tongue. "What scares you about the dark?"

If he knew what really scared her, he would probably never speak with her again. Ana quickly looked for a reasonable explanation, failing to come up with anything decent. "You know, just being alone. Defenseless." She muttered the last word to herself.

Khai observed how she turned uncomfortable and decided not to push her. They walked quietly side by side, until they reached her room in the women's dormitories. She promptly texted George as they climbed up the stairs to the first floor where her room was.

Khai took a deep breath as he entered her room. Stepping in with her, he noticed that it held a sense of warmth, just like she did. She picked up the kettle and filled it with water before turning it on. From a small cupboard under her desk, she pulled out two cups of noodles and a half eaten bag of chips.

"I got it." Khai said. He pulled out the chair from her desk and made himself comfortable. Pulling open the bag of chips, he offered it to her.

"I'm going to go get changed into something more comfortable." She refused the chips and disappeared into her closet. She pulled out a t-shirt and pants and made her way to the bathroom.

Khai tried his best to calm his racing heart. He furrowed his eyebrows in disgust when his groin tightened at the idea of her changing a few feet away from him. Whistling a low tune as he stared at the books on her desk, trying his best not to make her uncomfortable.

Ana splashed water on her face, trying to cool it. She was aware of Khai's presence in her room and it made her feel strange things. She struggled with her top for a long time before awkwardly managing to get it off. She slipped into a t-shirt too big for her and a pair of linen pants. She then brushed the knots out of her hair and looked in the mirror. Without a stitch of makeup on her face and her loose clothes hiding her curves, she looked much younger then her age.

When she walked out, Khai was pouring hot water into the second cup of noodles. He gave her a brief look, and then walked to the window, cracking it slightly open so he could let some air in.

"Ana, you need to change your dressing, don't you?"

Ana looked at him in surprise. Her heart fluttered, knowing that he remembered Maeve's instructions. "I can do it after you leave." She recollected how uncomfortable blood made him. While she thought that was strange for a Wahren, she did not want to trouble him.

"The noodles should take a while before we can eat it. Let me help you." He insisted.

She hesitated before accepting his help. Pulling out the first aid box from under her bed, she promptly handed it to him.

He picked up the chair and placed it closer to the bed, where she sat. Holding her hand gently, he started to peel the gauze. When he discarded it, he saw the cotton soaked in small spots of blood and winced slightly.

"Look away, I can do this part."

"No, it just troubles me that I didn't stop your fall Ana. I usually have very quick instincts."

"What else?" Ana asked, trying to distract him as he poured saline over the wound to get the old cotton off smoothly. "I know Wahren's have superior abilities. Do you know how to fight well?"

"I'll be captain by the end of this term." He replied to her, preoccupied with dressing her wound. He held a tray under her hand and slowly poured the saline. After carefully pulling the cotton off the wound, he drenched a new pad in saline and gently cleaned the area.

Ana watched his face as he continued. He looked devilishly handsome, his ruffled black hair fell over his forehead in subtle waves. His thick dark eyebrows were slightly knit together in concentration. As her eyes moved down to his lips, she let out a soft breath. She was suddenly overcome with the urge to hold his face in her hands and stroke his tan skin. Her attraction to him was palpable and she was worried he would see through her.

A flash image of Sean's face abruptly came to her mind and she flinched.

"Sorry, did I hurt you?" Khai asked as he saw her expression change. She didn't know it, but he felt her staring at him and could feel her pulse quicken under her wrist where he held her. He was quietly enjoying her attention, until he suddenly felt her flinch.

She shook her head and gave him a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. He went back to applying the ointment, being extra careful this time.

Ana's mind wandered to the fear she felt when Sean got close to her. She was frustrated that she felt this way. She could think of nothing in peace, as long as this fear existed in her mind. Sean could not have this kind of power over her.

Khai was almost done wrapping her up when he heard a surprising question.

"Can you teach me how to defend myself?" She asked him hesitantly.

He looked up at her in confusion.

"Y-you must be good at combat. I was wondering if you could teach me how to defend myself, if it isn't too much trouble. I know we have basic defense classes, but they don't start for another five months and I want to learn sooner than that." She rambled nervously, hoping she wasn't asking for too much.

"And why would you need to do that?" He asked her, his deep voice holding other questions that he wasn't asking.

"I-I'm just scared of animal attacks."

"Animal attacks?"

"Mhmm, animal attacks. A deer or a bear could ambush me when I take a walk in the forest..." Her voice faltered. She cast her eyes down in resignation, knowing she was making a complete fool out of herself.

Khai blinked, trying to comprehend what she was saying before he saw that she was embarrassed. "When do you want to start?" He smiled at her.

"You're going to teach me?" She said, her eyes brightening at him readily agreeing.

"Deer attacks can be lethal. I'm going to make sure you can bring the deer down, not just defend yourself from it." He declared.

Ana laughed and he laughed with her. His hand went up on it's own, tucking her hair behind her ear to gently stroke the soft skin on her cheek. Ana turned red at his sudden action and stopped laughing. Realizing what he had done, Khai stood up with a mortified expression, coughing to conceal his embarrassment. She fanned her face to cool it down as he turned to fumble with the cups of noodles.

"The food's ready." He said, playing it off as if nothing had happened.

"Oh good, I was actually hungry." Ana gave him a shy smile. She blew on the hot noodles, devouring the entire cup in no time.

Khai finished his share even faster than she did and took the cup from her hand. He went to the bathroom and rinsed the empty cups before discarding them in the trash. As he walked out, he saw Ana concealing a yawn.

"You need to sleep now. It's late. I'll see myself out." He said.

She nodded, suddenly feeling a pang in her heart, just like when she got up to leave him from the party. She wished he could stay over and speak to her all night, but he must be just as tired as she was.

He tucked her in, pulling the duvet up to her shoulders and then turned the light off. Moonlight streamed into her room through the windows, casting a soft glow on her pale skin.

"Goodnight Ana." He said softly and then turned to make his way to the door.

"Goodnight, Khai." He heard her in a low voice as he quietly closed the door behind him.

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