Chapter 31 Ashlyn

What started out as a day of empowerment had quickly become an evening of chaos and mayhem. With the millions of rumors floating around the Dome, it was more difficult than usual to regulate my emotions.

"I heard Arya demanded to be the director of the school."

"Someone told me they're shutting down the Dome, and everyone has to go home."

"Caesar went full gryphon on Lord Dracul and was sent to military prison."

None of the stories made sense, and I knew most of it was total bullshit. But still, I needed answers. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, and everyone's idiotic ravings only made it worse.

The school was overrun with military soldiers, and I decided to find my father. If anyone would be able to tell me the truth about what was going on, it would be him.

As I made my way down the stairs from the avian common room, I saw him marching past…with Caesar and Mr. Inari carrying suitcases in front of him, the lot of them surrounded by a host of guards. What the hell?

I skipped down the stairs and ran to catch up to them. "Dad, what's going on?"

He looked at me but didn't stop or slow his stride. "I'm escorting Misters Rex and Inari to the platform."

"Okay, I can see that, but why?" I demanded, my short legs practically jogging to keep pace with the entourage.

Caesar didn't look at me, and neither did anyone else. They all wore somber expressions. Something was definitely wrong.

"There's been a change in leadership," Ignaeus said. "As Mr. Rex has proven unfit to direct the school, General Dracul has taken the position upon himself."

"Unfit? What the hell does that mean?"

"That's none of your concern, Ashlyn," he said dismissively.

I ran in front of him and came to a stop, forcing him to stop, too. "The hell it isn't. Caesar has done great things for every single person at this school, including you. Or have you forgotten that you owe your teaching position to him?"

Ignaeus didn't respond, only scowled down at me.

"It's okay, Ashlyn," Caesar said. "Everything is going to be fine. Just taking a sabbatical, that's all." The sad look he gave me said that we both knew this was a lie.

But what could I do about it? Even if I was the lieutenant general's daughter, I had no authority of my own. I was just another student.

My father pushed past me and continued to escort the two professors to the main entrance as I just watched helplessly.

"Ashlyn."

I turned to see Niko coming up beside me. My heart did that stupid skitter thing again, and I frowned in denial of its presence.

He just stood next to me, and we both watched my father usher Caesar and Kai out the vault door.

"This is bullshit," I muttered.

"They found video footage of Caesar having secret meetings with a vampire in a nearby diner," he informed softly. "And General Dracul discovered text correspondence with said vampire dating back months."

I folded my arms and jutted my hips. "I bet it's all bullshit."

"Actually, Caesar admitted to it," Niko said. "He said this vampire was a rogue, helping him against Hadrian."

I considered that for a moment. Caesar, trust a vampire? From what little I knew about Caesar, I did at least know how much he hated vampires. Was there actually any truth to this?

Even if there was, I didn't necessarily see the harm in it. It would be smart for us to have a vampire spy on our side. Caesar, of all people, would be diplomatic enough to see the value in that, despite his prejudices. Apparently, no one else could see past theirs.

"He doesn't deserve to be booted out for that," I mumbled as the crowd in the Great Hall got thicker.

"I agree," he mumbled back. "Can I talk to you in private?"

I looked at him sideways, debating whether or not to indulge his request. "Fine," I eventually agreed.

He tipped his head toward the library, and I reluctantly followed him through the mass of students.

The library was mercifully empty, the hum of gossip silencing as the door closed behind us. I already felt better being away from all that. But being alone with Niko in this nostalgic space had my guard rising to my defense. He continued toward our secret spot, but I stopped.

"Okay, what's this about?" I asked, refusing to go any further until I knew his intentions.

He spun and came back toward me, the vulnerability and sincerity on his face chipping away at my walls.

"Well, I guess we can just do this here," he said, looking around the library for signs of eavesdroppers. "I was an idiot, Ash."

My heart fluttered again, but I kept my expression blank with a touch of snark. "Go on."

He chuckled, a nervous wobble to the sound that admittedly tugged on my heart. "I should never have let you walk away in anger, should never have suggested any kind of break. I thought it would be easier for us to handle the distance, but I was so wrong."

"Especially considering you've spent most of your internship here at the school," I quipped. "I can't seem to get rid of you."

He grimaced. "I know, and I had no idea things were going to turn out that way. But I should've trusted that not even months and miles apart would shake what we had. What I hope we can have again."

I arched an eyebrow at him, keeping my lips in a flat line even as my pulse was escalating with hope.

"I'm so sorry for everything I did," he went on. "I'm sorry for storming out on you, for acting like a jealous asshole about Jackson and saying the things I did at the ball. I didn't mean any of it, and I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you if you're willing to give me a second chance."

My walls had pretty much disintegrated to dust at this point, but I stubbornly wasn't willing to give in so easily.

"How do I know you won't dump me again at the first sign of trouble?" I asked, hands on my hips. "How do I know that you'll be serious this time?"

He twisted his lips, looking sadly down at me, and he looked so damn adorable. "Well, I guess you don't. The only thing I can do to prove it to you is to show you. I can make you all kinds of promises, tell you that I haven't stopped thinking about you since the day we met, tell you how amazing and beautiful and strong I think you are, and that I'm crazy in love with you, but those are all just words. I'd much rather show you how true all of that is. If you'll give me the chance."

Ah, hell.

I turned away and rolled my eyes to divert from the fact that they were misting over. "I mean… I guess we can try and see what happens."

He gently cupped my chin and tilted my face in his direction, and I blinked away the tears that began to build after his confession. He chuckled. "I love you, Ashlyn Summers."

Before I could say anything in response, he pulled me against him and crushed his lips to mine, erasing all sass and rebuttal from my mind. We fit so perfectly. Not just physically, but personality-wise. He was the stoke to my fire, the calm to my storm, the light to my dark.

And nothing fueled my desire like he did. Even though Jackson excited and thrilled me at times, that was little more than a candle flame to the roaring pyre Niko ignited in me. And if I wasn't careful, it was going to burn us both right here in the library.

I pulled away from his mouth. "I'm sorry, too. When you suggested the break, I freaked out, lost my temper, and acted like a spoiled child. I should've listened to you, talked through it with you, assured you that I wasn't going anywhere. And I'm sorry about Jackson. I shouldn't have tried to make you jealous."

"It's okay," he said, cupping my face with both hands. "We both made mistakes. We just need to learn from them and move past them. Will you do that with me?"

I nodded, loving the feel of his warm hands on my face. "Yes."

He smiled, then slid his hand down my arm to take my hand and tugged me toward our secret spot behind the bookshelf.

"Wait," I protested. "Here?"

"It's our spot, Ash," he said seductively. "I want to officially claim it as ours."

He scooped me and carried me across the library, and I giggled with slightly embarrassed excitement as we moved into our private little space.

He set me gently onto the bean bag, and I didn't even mind the cloud of dust that escaped at my landing. He took off his shirt and lowered himself on top of me, and I greedily opened my mouth to his deliciously hot kisses. His tongue was like a solid flame against mine, the pressure of his desire on the apex of my thighs making me burn inside.

My hands couldn't get enough of exploring his chest, his abs, his smooth, muscular back. But I wanted something else more. I had gone too long without him, craved him and yearned for him even in my rejection, and I didn't want to go a second longer without giving myself to him.

I raked my hands down his back and around his rippling waist to the button of his pants. As soon as his fly was down, he aided me in tugging down his pants to free his rigid cock, and I hastily shimmied my own pants down, kicking and squirming to get them down past my ankles while he pulled my shirt up over my head.

And then he plunged into me without pomp or circumstance, and I wrapped my arms and legs around him to pull him in deeper, shivering with unmitigated delight as he filled me completely.

"Yes, yes, yes," I whimpered as he relentlessly drove into me, the friction of his cock along my inner walls a pleasure I could barely tolerate, even as I wanted more. His hands traced lines of fire along the flesh of my hips, thighs, waist, and breasts, intensifying the raging inferno inside me.

The heat of his body scorched me everywhere we touched, and I couldn't get enough of that glorious warmth. The pleasure inside me built to a fever pitch, and I thought for sure that I was going to either erupt like a volcano or melt under his radiance.

The world beyond my closed eyelids seemed so bright, and when I lazily opened my heady eyes, I gasped.

Our bodies were literally on fire. Both of us. His phoenix was burning through him as mine was burning through me, and yet neither of us were charring or blistering in the flames. Where they should have seared and blackened, they only licked and caressed. And the penetrating heat of his cock in the depths of my body delivered the greatest pleasure of all.

"Niko," I whispered breathily.

He lifted his head from the crook of my neck and paused his movements as he saw what I saw.

"Whoa," he whispered, then he looked down at me and winked. "I always knew you were hot."

I rolled my eyes and giggled, then looked down at the bean bag beneath me, which oddly wasn't burning.

"Flame retardant," he whispered.

I raised a brow at him. "Did you plan this?"

"Not in those terms. I just thought it would be smart to be prepared when I first showed you this place, just in case."

I bit back on a smile. "Shut up and fuck me."

He grinned wide before descending on my mouth again and thrusting into me with renewed fervor.

And even though he was driving my body crazy with ecstasy, I tried my best to quell my fire, to keep it contained only to us. The last thing I'd want was to get caught burning down the library while having sex with the general's assistant. But I almost didn't care.

The general was going to burn the entire place down metaphorically anyway. At least like this, I was getting fucked in a good way.

And damn, was it so, so good!