All of memy heart and my soulwould always belong to him.
And I was foolish to believe otherwise, to even entertain a different scenario. I thought of Seth then and that ache in my chest spread, turned inward and burned like a daimon tag. Whatever I had going on with Seth wasnt fair to him. If he truly cared for me, he expected to have some kind of hold on my heart and feelings.
Careful not to disturb Aiden, I reached down to the hand that rested on my hip and spread my hand over his. Id remember this morning forever, no matter how short or long forever turned out to be.
Alex? Sleep roughened Aidens voice.
Hey. My smile was watery.
Aiden stirred beside me, lifting up on one arm. He didnt speak as he turned his hand over and clasped mine. His silvery gaze moved over my face and he smiled at me, but it never reached his eyes. Itll be okay, he said. I promise you.
I hoped so. Telly wouldve left by now, without me. I bet he was ticked. There was no way of knowing what hed do now. And if anything happened to any of them, it was on my head. I rolled onto my side, but the position was a little uncomfortable since Aiden still held onto my hand.
You hate thisthis not doing anything when you feel responsible for whats happened.
I sighed. I am responsible for this.
Alex, you did it to save your life. This isnt your fault, he said. You understand that, right?
Do you know if Telly has left? I asked instead of answering.
I dont know, but I assume so. Before I came here last night, Linard had said he hadnt left the main island since he was at the Covenant.
You guys have been watching him, too?
We needed to make sure he wasnt up to anything. The Guards who serve Lucian who remained behind have been an asset. Telly has been watched so closely I know he had steamed lobster for dinner last night.
I frowned. Last night Id had a cold-cut sub. You all should start your own spy business.
Aiden chuckled. Maybe in a different life, and if I got cool gadgets out of it.
I cracked a smile. The 007 type of gadgets?
He has this BMW R1200 C motorcycle in Tomorrow Never Dies he said, sounding wistful. Man, that bike was sweet.
Never seen itthe movie.
What? Thats sad. Well have to fix that.
I rolled over. The smile Aiden wore now reached his eyes, turning them a soft heather gray. I have no desire to watch a James Bond movie.
His eyes narrowed. What?
Nope. Those movies sound boring to me. So do Clint Eastwood movies. Yawn.
I dont think we can be friends any longer.
I laughed and his smile spread. Those dimples appeared, and oh man, itd been so long since Id seen them. It felt like forever. You dont smile enough.
Aiden arched a brow. You dont laugh enough.
There hadnt been much to laugh about recently, but I didnt want to focus on that stuff. Aiden would leave soon and all of this was like a fantasy. One I wasnt
ready to let go of just yet. We stayed like that for a little while, talking and holding hands. When the time did come to face reality, Aiden climbed out of the bed and went into the bathroom. I lay there with a goofy grin on my face.
This morning had been full of opposites: sadness and happiness, desperation and hope. All of those varying emotions shouldve left me exhausted, but I felt ready to go running or something.
And I never felt ready to go running.
A knock at the door drew me from my thoughts.
Thats probably Leon, Aiden said from behind the bathroom door. The rest of what he said was drowned out by a rush of water in the sink.
Groaning, I got out of bed and pulled my sweater around me. The clock in the living room said it was only thirty minutes past seven. I rolled my eyes. Second day of winter break and I was out of bed before eight in the morning. There was something cosmically wrong with that.
Coming! I yelled when he knocked again. I opened the door. Good morning, sunshine.
It was Linard who stood in the hall, his hands clasped behind his back. His eyes drifted over my head, scanning the room. Wheres Aiden?
In the bathroom. I stepped aside, letting him in. Did Telly leave?
Yes. He left just at dawn. Linard turned to me, smiling. He waited, like he offered, but you did not come.
I bet he was pissed.
No. I think he was more disappointed than anything.
Too bad. So sad. I hoped Aiden hurried up, because I really needed to brush my teeth.
Yes, Linard said. It is too bad. Things couldve ended easily.
Yeah I frowned. Wait. Wh
Linard moved fast, like all Guards were trained to. There was a brief second when I recognized that Id been in this position before, except that time thered been adrenaline pumping through my veins. Then red-hot pain exploded just below my ribs, near the power rune, and all thought fled. It was the kind of pain that was sharp and sudden, stealing your last breath before you even realized youd taken it.
Stumbling backward, I looked down as I tried to pull air into my lungs and make sense of the nerve-racking pain firing through my body. A black dagger was slammed all the way to the hilt, imbedded deep within my body. In a far corner of my mind, I knew that this blade wasnt an ordinary dagger. It was dipped in somethingmost likely Titan blood.