Zoe's only wish is to be able to run barefoot through grass, but she knows it'll never happen. Ever since she was born, she's been unable to touch anything living without it instantly dying. It's a curse she would do anything to get rid of, but that...
I had absolutely no idea where Felix was taking me. He had made a quick phone call as we had left the restaurant, but he had stayed inside and told me to wait for him outside as to not ruin the surprise. We walked to where ever we were going. He had been quick with taking a hold of my hand and weirdly enough I hadn't felt the need to resist. Walking next to him and holding his hand felt so natural and right. My hand belonged in his, just like my heart belonged with him. I really would never be able to let him go now. I had tried to say goodbye once. I would never do it again.
After ten minutes of walking, I started to get impatient.
"Are we getting close?" I asked.
He smiled at me. "Yes."
"And you're not going to tell me what we're going to do?"
He laughed. It was such a beautiful laugh that made me feel like I could fly. "You'll know soon enough."
"Exactly, so why not just tell me?"
"Impatient I see."
I could see how the hand not holding mine twitch in my direction. Probably he wanted to touch me in some way, but he seemed to realize himself that he shouldn't.
We walked for one more minute in silence before he turned us towards a door and my jaw dropped. Ash and Iron was the name of the place and what you could do there was...
"Axe throwing?"
He laughed again. "It's gonna be fun. I promise."
I bit my lip. So much could go wrong with me around sharp object. It was so easy for some part of my clothing to rip. It could even happen without me noticing.
"It'll be fine," he reassured me and walked in ahead of me. I probably would have turned and walked away if it hadn't been for the fact that I was there with Felix. I knew that the magic of the bond was what pulled me towards him at first, but I was pretty sure it was more than that at that point. He just had a kindness about him that I wanted to have all around me. Kindness was such a rare thing.
"Felix!" the man behind the counter said with a huge smile on his lips. "Long time no see."
The man peered at me and I could see the curiosity burning in his eyes. My cheeks became warmer under the stare.
"Is the lane free?" Felix asked.
"Yes, yes! Number four is all yours."
Felix led me to a room to the side of the entrance. There were eight lanes there. All about 15 feet long and separated by wooden walls that went all the way up to the ceiling and at the end of each lane was a circular board that you were meant to hit.
The man followed behind us and gave us some instructions on safety and technique. Or rather he gave it to me. It was clear that Felix knew very well what he was doing.
Once we were alone, Felix prompted me to try. My first throw didn't even make it halfway to the circle I was supposed to hit.
"It'll take a few throws to get the hang of it," Felix reassured me.
He let me throw four times in a row and on the last one the axe made it to the circle, but it was the wrong side that hit it.
"How are you supposed to actually make it stick?" I complained and Felix got a smirk on his face.
He got the axe and took the position to throw. "You just need to have the right arm movement," he said before throwing and making the axe stick right in the middle of the circle with ease. It looked like he did nothing harder than throw a ball for someone to catch.
"I'm never going to be able to do that," I said, shaking my head.
He got the axe again and put it down on the floor next to me before positioning himself behind me. He placed one hand on my hip and the other around the hand that I used to throw the axe with. There was only an inch or so between his chest and my back and how I wanted to just lean into him. My heart beat fast.
He moved my arm back and then forward slowly until it was at an angle where the axe could be thrown.
"There. You want to throw the axe at this angle," he said.
"Okay," I said in nothing more than a whisper.
I felt his hand around my hip tighten. His other hand let go of mine and moved along my arm. Goosebumps erupted on my arm were his hand moved over my clothes. I found my back connecting with his chest without knowing if I moved backwards or he forward. His hand, that didn't move along my arm, went to land on my stomach and my free hand ended up on top of it. How I wanted him to kiss my neck.
And then he dies.
I cleared my throat and took a step forward. He immediately let go of me. I thought my heart would jump out of me and as I concentrated on breathing normally instead of the shaking mess it had become.
"Try to throw now," Felix said and his voice was as shaky as my breathing.
I took a couple of seconds to pretend to aim, but really I tried to compose myself. Of course, my throw wasn't a success. It rather was my worst throw yet.
"Can you throw again? Just so I can see," I asked simply to earn a moment to collect myself before trying again.
We kept on going for about twenty minutes. It was mainly me throwing and Felix encouraging and instructing me. We made sure to not touch again. After twenty minutes I finally managed to get the axe to get stuck inside the circle, albeit on the edge of it instead of the middle.
"I did it!" I yelled and started jumping up and down. A huge smile was on my face and I wouldn't have been able to make it disappear even if I had wanted to.
I looked at Felix and he had an equally big smile on his face, but instinctively I knew it wasn't because of my success but rather because he was happy to see me happy.
"I knew you would manage," he said and a blush spread across my face.
I threw five more times. Hitting the circle three out of those throws before we called it quits.
"How and why did you learn to throw?" I raised my curiosity as we left the place.
"My dad took me to learn as soon as I was old enough. He's really into teaching me all different types of things like this," Felix answered with a shrug, his gaze seemed to watch something far, far away.
My stomach tightened again. I had completely forgotten that my curse wasn't the only thing that complicated things.
The witch and the witch hunter's son. Talk about Romeo and Juliet.
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