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She sighed, figuring she might as well talk to him, or this car ride was going to feel that much longer. “It’s for my migraines. Indecisive weather doesn’t exactly agree with my body.” Not that the weather was indecisive out here; there wasn’t a cloud in sight, not even the slightest chance of a storm or a sprinkle of rain.
And yet that pain still crept up on her, persistent as ever.
“Barometric pressure, right?”
She blinked at him, unable to hide her surprise. “You’re the first person to not stare at me like I’m a freak for saying that.”
He grunted. “People have been staring at me like I’m a freak my whole life.” He kept his eyes on the road. “I’ve also had my own…challenges. Nothing really surprises me anymore. Especially not barometric pressure—that one’s easy.”
“Not easy to deal with, though.” She shook a chalky pill into her palm, closed the cap, and threw the bottle into her purse before dumping it on the floor again.
“What else helps?” he asked, surprising her again. “Aside from medication.”
“Water.” She grabbed her bottle out of the cup holder. It was nearly empty, barely enough to swallow her pill. “And ice.” She added, “Massages help too.”
He snorted. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Eww!” she gasped. “As if I’d let you touch me!”
When he glared, she took her shot.
“Your face is going to get stuck like that,” she warned.
He shook his head, muttering too quietly for her to hear as he returned to staring at the stretch of road.
Silence resumed. The hum of the tires on flat, sunbaked pavement was relentless. Shay watched the red dot on the screen, wondering if that damned motel was ever going to show up. She was so parched, it felt like the pill had lodged itself halfway down her throat. Anxiety began to breathe down her neck, filling her thoughts with worries about Athene and the other members of the Riptide finding out where she was and what she was doing.
And who with.
She eyed Roman. “Is your aura hidden?”
He snaked his finger under the collar of his shirt and pulled up a chain with a tiny pendant attached, a closed eye engraved in the center. “You really think I’d be that stupid?”
Shay shrugged.
He tucked it back under his shirt. “I’ve had a price on my head since I was sixteen. My aura hasn’t been visible for a day since.”
“That must cost you a fortune.”
“Would you put a price on your life?”
“Some people say you don’t care whether you live or die.” It was one of the many, many rumors she’d heard about him.
“Do they?” The question was flat.
“Yup.”
Roman thought about it. “I’ll say Pax’s life, then.”
“Pax?”
“My little brother. Until he turns eighteen, he needs me. So I need to stay alive until then.”
“Where is he now?”
“Probably wondering why his brother ditched.” The way he said it told Shay that he was worried about Pax, though from the look on his face, you’d never guess.
She stared out the windshield that was covered in dust, the bright sun highlighting every speck of dirt. “I didn’t realize…”
