Read Of Heroes And Villains (Book 4) for Free Online Page B

overdue.
    “You could be taken by surprise.”
    “I’ll be okay.”
    “I asked Arimus to go with you.”
    “Well, then I’m still going alone. There’s no way he’s going to take time away from Lady Ashalynn.”
    “He’s already agreed. I asked very nicely, and you keep on forgetting that he is my father.”
    “Still kind of weirded out by that,” James chuckled, walking up to his wife. He took her face in the palm of his hands and locked his eyes with hers. “I don’t want you to worry about anything. It’s probably nothing.”
    “You hope that it’s not,” she said. He gave her a quick peck on the lips and then let her go. She took a step backwards and leaned up against the wall by the window. “You’re restless. I can see it grow within you with each passing day.”
    “It’s just fighting against what I was, that’s all,” James replied, casting his eyes to the corner. “I don’t want to pretend as if I can’t fall back into old habits. When I learned about the Sages, I suddenly had a goal to work toward. Once I achieved it, there was more to keep me going. I met you. I was accepted by the others. The mission we went on was horrible and scarring, but it was also exhilarating and adventurous. I love the peace that we have, but I would be lying if I said that the old James, that slacker James…doesn’t rear his ugly head up once and a while. I don’t want to get too relaxed.”
    “I could send you on more missions.”
    “But then I would be away from you,” he replied, walking forward, and taking her hands into his. The warmth coming from them made his body go numb. She still overwhelmed him—with a simple touch. Visions of holding her tight through the night threatened to break his duty. He shook his head slightly and took a deep breath.
    “Well,” she said. “The Academy will be open soon, and you’re the headmaster. So try to get back quickly. They need you.”
    “I will,” he promised. He bent down and gave her a tender kiss upon the backs of each of her hands, but then she ripped them from his grasp and leapt onto him. Throwing her arms around his neck, she kissed him so hard and so urgently that it scared him. Suddenly, he was beginning to wonder if the mission before him really would be simple, and if he really would be back in Catherine’s embrace so soon. He could not drop his guard. It didn’t matter if every mission in the last five years had gotten easier in succession. It didn’t mean that it would always be that way.
    When their kiss was over, he didn’t say another word. He just left, choosing to let their last exchange give him further strength and expediency. With his mind only on her, he would move a lot quicker. Also, he wanted time to mentally prepare for his upcoming role as headmaster. It was lot of responsibility, and he had no idea what his actions would have on the incoming students.
    What could he teach them that they hadn’t learned already? He couldn’t exactly go off of his time in the Sentinel Academy. He couldn’t teach them to release their eidolons when they already knew how. That was one of the prerequisites to being accepted into the Sage Academy, after all. He couldn’t simulate the Infantry exam for it would be far too easy for just one Sage, let alone a team. There were no villains to fight. No conflict to discuss. Nothing to prepare for. Deep down, he was afraid of looking like a joke, and an Academy that was supposed to be professional and prestigious, would just end up being all about play.
    He had been thrown in the fire. Any and all of his strength and techniques had been born out of necessity, and they were no longer a secret. Even manifestation, the technique that Chloe had revealed to him—was documented in detail within the history books. So what else did he have to offer besides sparring practice?
    James stretched once he exited the throne room, listening to the musical number played by the insects on the meadow’s edge. He