I looked away, grateful it was dark outside. Why couldnt I forget whatd happened in Gatlinburg? Its probably more than just that. Shes a pure. Where one of us would be trained to pay attention to details, to gain as much information as possible, she wasnt. Shes just like a normal girl. And if the attack happened at night, she probably thought it was a nightmare. Waking up to something like that? I couldnt even imagine. I stopped. He was staring at me strangely. What?
Its just that youre thinking along the right lines.
I couldnt keep the goofy grin off my face. Im that awesome. I know.
His lips twitched as if he wished to smile. So, how much trouble are you in?
Grounded basically, but I guess I got off light. I was still smiling like an idiot.
Yeah, you did. He looked relieved. Try to stay out of trouble and please dont sneak around the grounds. I doubt the daimon is still here, but you never know.
Drawing in a deep breath, I folded my arms over my chest. Aiden?
Hmm?
I stared at Aidens boots. They were shiny, never scuffed. Its starting, isnt it?
Youre talking about what your mother told you, arent you?
She said this is what they would do. And Erics still out there. What if hes behind this and?
Alex. He leaned toward me. We were close, but not as close as wed been in the gym. It doesnt matter if its Eric or not. Well make sure this doesnt happen again. You have nothing to worry about.
Im not scared.
Aiden reached out, brushing his fingers over mine. It was a brief touch, but my body tingled nonetheless. I didnt say you were scared. If anything, youre too brave.
Our gazes met. Everything is changing.
Everything already has.
Later that night, I tossed and turned. My mind wouldnt shut down. The daimon attack, the apple assault, bitchy furies, the impending Council session, and everything else kept cycling in one giant, endless cluster. Each time I flipped over, I grew more irritated at the prospect of another sleepless night.
The trouble sleeping had started about a week after returning from Gatlinburg. Id fall asleep for an hour or so before a nightmare crept into my dreams. Mom was usually in those nightmares. Sometimes I relived fighting her in the woods; sometimes I didnt kill her, and other times it was just me and Daniel, the daimon with the too-friendly hands.
Then there were the dreams where I wanted to be turned into a daimon.
Id flipped onto my stomach and shoved my face into the pillow when I felt a strange tingling in the pit of my stomachlike the butterflies right before a first kiss, only much, much stronger.
I pushed up and squinted at the clock. Past one in the morning, and I felt wide awake. And hotreally hot. Thinking the temperature controls mayve gone all wacky again, I got up and opened the window by the bed. Cool, damp air rolled in from the ocean, providing some relief. I didnt feel like Id crawl out of my skin at any moment, but I still burnedlike all over. I ran my hands over my face, aching in a way that reminded me of the time Id spent with Aiden. Not our training sessions, oh nobut the night before Id found Kain, the night Id lain naked in Aidens bed.
But I remembered more than the physical stuff. Words Id never ever forget in a trillion years you got inside me, became a part of me. No one had ever said anything like that to meno one.
I glanced at the clock again, sighing. Fifteen minutes went by, then twenty minutes, then half an hour. Finally, I stopped paying attention to the time. My heart pounded until I squeezed my eyes shut. I could almost see Aiden now,
feel the soft
brush of fingertips and hear those words again. Then, without any warning, the itchy feeling vanished. The cool air coming in from the window suddenly felt brutal.
What the hell? I flopped onto my back. Hot flashes? Really?
It was a long, long time before I fell asleep.
CHAPTER 3
EVERYTHING DID CHANGE THE NEXT DAY.
Olivia and I shared a trig textbook in class, trying to figure out the difference between a sine and cosine. Considering wed be spending the bulk of our adult lives hunting and killing daimons, learning trigonometry seemed pretty pointless, so we really didnt apply ourselves.
I drew a pair of humongous boobs on the free space above the formula and labeled them Olivia. She immediately scratched her name out and scribbled Alex.
I snorted, looking up just in time to see Mrs. Kateris, a pure-blood with enough degrees to be teaching at Yale, twist around and frown at us.
Great, Olivia muttered from behind her hand. If she picks up this textbook and asks what were doing again, Im going to die. Seriously.
I yawned loudly. Whatever.
Mrs. Kateris placed the chalk down and clapped her hands. Miss Andros and Miss Panagopoulos. She paused long enough for the entire front of the class to twist around in their seats and look at us. Would you like to share?
I like how she says your last name, I murmured to Olivia at the exact moment our classroom door swung open and a small fleet of Guards entered the room.