The Witch of Anima

A smile appeared on his face, and he gently placed a kiss on the inside of my wrist, and my heart skipped a beat when he did this. "I am," he whispered, rubbing the back of my hand, leaving behind sparks in his wake. "I am real. I have always been real."

"But you weren't able to leave?" I asked, and he shook his head, no. I furrowed my brows and studied him. "Have you told anyone?" I asked, and he shook his head, no again.

"You were my secret," he said, moving a hand through my hair and pushing some of it back behind my ear. He cleared his throat and licked his lips, and I had to keep myself from looking at them, wondering if he tasted just as good as he did in my dreams. "I didn't want to tell anyone that you were my Fated."

I slowly nodded. "That place..." I trailed off, my voice barely becoming above a whisper.

"Is real, too," he said while he nodded. "It's my house, and it is on Anima."

"So, I can visit there in person?"

He nodded. "You can," he confirmed.

"How was I able to visit there when I was asleep?" I asked.

Xander cleared his throat and looked away. His green eyes turned darker and looked more like a forest than the jade that I had fallen in love with. He shifted on his butt, and pain became written on his face. "When you almost succeeded in killing yourself, you transported your spirit form to Anima, to me," he said, his voice grave. He cleared his throat and shifted on his butt again and didn't meet my gaze while he let our hands fall onto his lap.

"How?" I asked, and he shrugged because he had no idea how I had done that. I looked at my lap and bit my lip. "I wanted to die," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. I cleared my throat, and my bottom lip quivered. "I wanted to die and end the pain that I felt."

He sighed and nodded. "I know," he said, his voice also becoming a whisper. He stroked my hand, and sparks followed its path. "I am glad that it didn't work." His voice cracked, and I could tell that he was in pain, especially since we were meant for each other.

I bit my bottom lip and looked down. "I'm sorry," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "I-I-" I grimaced and shook my head. "I didn't know..." My voice cracked, and a wave of guilt washed over me. "I didn't know about you."

Xander sighed and shook his head. "Don't be," he said. He looked up and looked at me, his eyes a darker green. Anger filled them, and they shone like the gems that they were. "Don't apologize over what you didn't control over." He set his jaw, and it shook while he let go of my hand.

I bit back a scowl because I had never liked him setting his jaw like that and stroked his jaw, hoping to get him to stop setting it like that. "You know that I don't like it," I mumbled when he studied me with his dark green eyes.

Xander sighed and relaxed his jaw. He nodded and cleared his throat. "I know," he confirmed. He cleared his throat again and hesitated before he pulled me to him, and I let him. He buried his face into my hair, and I laid my head on his chest and closed my eyes, enjoying his warmth and comfort. "But I can't help it," he mumbled, "especially when it could have been easily avoided."

"How?" I asked. I cocked my head and looked up from my position on his chest. I studied him and raised an eyebrow. "How could it have been easily avoided?"

"Your parents could have told you about this sooner," he said. "They could have told you that you were unique and that you would have powers." He rubbed a finger against my arm, and sparks followed his path while I involuntarily shivered at his touch. He didn't notice me shivering but studied me, his eyes finally turning a lighter green while the anger left. "They could have let you live on Anima and learn your powers."

"And, I wouldn't be your secret," I reminded him, and a small smile flickered onto his lips. I bit back a sigh and closed my eyes. "I don't think that this is a secret any longer," I mumbled, and he hummed in agreement against my head.

"Are you ok with that?" Xander asked. "I have a feeling that you had never told anyone about me either."

I bit the inside of my cheek and shook my head. "I didn't," I confirmed. "I didn't know if you were real or not and didn't want my mom to figure out that I was in l- that I was seeing someone even if it was in my dreams." I sighed and shook my head. "I didn't really have anyone to talk to about all of this."

Xander hummed and nodded his head, not questioning what I was about to say instead of "seeing someone." He caught my slip up; I knew that he did; however, he wouldn't say a word about it unless I bring it up, and I knew that. "Did anyone know that you knew about your powers?" he asked.

I bit the inside of my cheek harder and didn't answer that question. I wanted to tell him that Mr. Ayra knew about my brother and me, but I didn't want to get him into trouble. I had a feeling that he wasn't supposed to have us know about his powers when we weren't "called to Anima yet," whatever that meant.

Xander studied me and nodded his head, and I felt that he figured out that Mr. Ayra was the only one who knew about us knowing our powers. "Does he help?"

I nodded. "At least try to," I replied. I cleared my throat and shifted on his lap to get comfortable. I took a deep breath and let it out with a soft whoosh, happy that I couldn't hear any thoughts any longer. "He's been a lifesaver more or less, but don't tell him that I said that."

He chuckled, and my heart melted at the sound. An easy-going smile was on his face while he looked at me, studying me with no mask covering his feelings. "And why not?" he asked, and I could tell that he was amused. "Why can't I let him know that you think he is a lifesaver?"

I looked at him and narrowed my eyes, and his smile turned innocent. "His head will be bigger than it is now," I replied, and he snorted. "And I don't need that to happen."

"Why not?" he asked.

"I'll never hear the end of it." I shook my head and scowled. "Trust me. He won't let me live it down, and I will never admit to it."

He raised an eyebrow. "But he does know that you care about him. Correct?"

"He should," I replied. "Yes, I might not say it, but he should. He knows that I am grateful for him and for everything that he had done to help me."

Xander nodded and looked satisfied with my answer. "Good," he said. He shifted more to get himself comfortable and let out a small, happy sigh. "Because he should know that you do care, even if you won't admit out loud."

"And your lips are sealed?" I raised an eyebrow and cocked my head.

He chuckled and nodded. "My lips are sealed," he confirmed. "Promise."

I smiled and kissed the edge of his jaw, and his heart skipped a beat while he took a deep, shuddering breath. "Good," I said, my voice barely above a whisper, and I didn't move my face from near his jaw. "Then, it means that I don't have to ignore you."

Xander didn't reply to my teasing about ignoring him if he told Mr. Ayra that I cared about him. No, he turned me around until I was facing him and clutched my face with his hands. He studied me and leaned closer until there was an inch between his lips and mine. He didn't move from his spot, and I knew that he wanted me to close the distance between us.

So, I did what I wanted to do the first time that I had seen him here. I gently pressed my lips against his and kissed him.