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“Miss Sorenson!”
I turned, forced to pull my attention away from Marc and Kayli, wondering what was in store for them.
I glanced at the others, wondering why I was called in ahead of them. I moved toward Dr. Roberts, who held the door open for me.
I should have been happy to get this over with.
THE COUNCIL
I wasn’t sure if it was the same cabin as last night. They all looked the same to me. Inside, it was the same setup, with the eight bunk beds, all in a row, some stripped down to the bare mattresses, some neatly made. The air was a mix of musty mattress and perfumes, their colognes. The mix was a little much for my nose at first, and I smothered a sneeze quickly.
In the middle of the cabin were five folding chairs, all in a circle. All but two were occupied, and Dr. Roberts made his way to one of the empty ones, holding the back for me, looking at me expectantly.
“Would you like to sit, sweetheart?” he asked, his tone much gentler than the one he’d used with Marc.
In the other chairs sat Mr. Duncan, and Mrs. Rose, wearing casual clothes. Mr. Buble wore a suit today, all black, with a black tie and a white shirt. This seemed to be his regular outfit and reminded me so much of Mr. Blackbourne. Always dressed more formally than everyone else.
They all had pleasant but tense smiles as they waited for me to sit.
I went around the chair and sat, my back to the door. Dr. Roberts waited until I was settled before he lowered himself to the last empty seat, the one next to mine.
I crossed my legs, fighting the urge to fidget.
Mr. Duncan’s large stomach protruded even more as he leaned forward. “Good morning,” he said in a friendly voice.
I bowed my head toward him. “Good morning,” I said softly. I couldn’t help but remember what had happened the night before, causing my cheeks to feel like they were roasting. A light sweat started at my brow, even while the room was a little chilly. I was sure they all knew what I’d confessed to, even if they hadn’t been there to witness it for themselves.
What a bumbling idiot I’d made of myself.
Mr. Duncan’s eyes were very friendly, as were Mrs. Rose’s, and Dr. Roberts’s.
Only Mr. Buble looked dour. He had a polite-enough smile on his face, but otherwise, he was unreadable. He had his hands in his lap, legs crossed.
Mr. Duncan spoke after a long pause. “Normally, we’d start with talking about your week here and how you thought it went, but I understand your circumstances are…unique. I hope the girls you’ve been staying with haven’t done you any harm.”
I shook my head quickly, and without anyone there to talk for me, I needed to explain. “Please,” I began. “Carla and Lake and the other girls are wonderful people. They did nothing wrong. No one did.”
“We understand,” Mr. Duncan said. “I just wanted to be clear and make sure.”
“I want to assure you, this doesn’t change things,” Dr. Roberts said. He smiled softly. “We hope the experience hasn’t scared you from us.”
“No, I…” I paused suddenly, the air changing around me.
Sweet spice scent found me. It was faint, but it was there. Distracted, I turned my head, but the door was still closed. Was one of the others wearing a similar scent?
“What is it?” Mr. Duncan said. “Is something wrong?”
I shook my head, but couldn’t say anything. My hope was suddenly dashed and my heart sunk, realizing I must have been delusional. “I thought...someone...”
“Don’t worry,” Dr. Roberts said. “No one will intrude if that’s what you’re worried about.”
I sighed. “No,” I said and looked at the ground. “I just thought Kota Lee was here.”
“He’s not hiding in here,” Dr. Roberts said with a smile. “If that’s what you’re saying.”
I was about to say of course he wasn’t when the door behind us opened. I turned again.
Kota stood in the doorway, holding the handle, leaning in. His eyes were dark, the shadows underneath them worse now.
I couldn’t judge his mood, but he didn’t look at me. My heart wanted to thunder in my chest and yet explode at the same time. I pressed palms to my lap to stop shaking. He was here.
Would he tell them what happened?
“I’m sorry to intrude,” he said. “But...I wasn’t sure if I was running late, and then I was about to knock when I heard my name.”
Mr. Duncan’s jaw dropped open, as did Dr. Roberts’s. Mrs. Rose had her hand over her mouth.
Mr. Buble raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me she’s psychic now, too.”
Kota’s eyebrows shifted together and then he gave me a puzzled look before he looked back at them. “I don’t understand.”
“She knew you were here,” Dr. Roberts said. He smiled at me, a bright twinkling in eyes. He slapped his palm against his knee. “Tell us how you did it.”
“I...” I stammered out. My mind went blank.
“She can smell us,” Kota said quietly, still holding the door open. I looked at him and this time, he was looking at me, a small smile lighting up his face. “You could put her in the dark and she could tell if one of us is around just by scent.”
I swallowed, nodding, afraid to say anything, scared I’d burst into tears just because he was there.
I still didn’t dare hope, but I was yearning to tell him everything inside my heart in that instant. He was stunning to me, with those green eyes, the way his hair was combed neatly. He was so strong, so smart. He had to know I cared about him and I would never hurt him on purpose.
Had the guys managed to find him? Did he know everything now?
The council stayed quiet and I’d almost forgotten about them until Dr. Roberts started to laugh. “Oh my god,” he said. “This girl...I’m telling you.”
“She could smell you from the other side of the door,” Mr. Duncan said. He waved Kota in. “Come on, you might as well join us.”
Kota stepped inside, closing the door behind himself. He came around the circle and sat on one of the beds nearby, looking from me to the council. “Don’t let me interrupt anymore.”
“Well we can’t pretend we’re not interested in getting her involved in our Academy right away,” Mr. Duncan said, his eyes on me. “You’ve shown so much potential this week.”
Mrs. Rose signed. “You became a great leader to the girls, despite your feelings. You never let on to the others, either.” She smiled. She pulled out a notepad and pen she had in her pocket. “I hope you understand, I did have to say something to the girls. Remember, we have to trust people with our feelings, right?”
I nodded. They knew.
I lowered my eyes. I’d hoped they’d never tell the other girls, and now I was afraid they thought I was weird or that I thought something was wrong with them. What else could she say?
“They told me they were worried something was wrong last night,” Mrs. Rose signed. “Carla said something was wrong. I think they might have known. Please don’t worry. They all have similar stories.”
“Don’t look so sad,” Mr. Duncan said. “We had to tell them why you were missing, and the truth is normally the best way, especially among the Academy family.”
“You did a great job bringing those younger girls back around,” Dr. Roberts said. “They aren’t members yet. They still have a lot to learn, but they’re young and they’ve got time. And now they’ve got each other to talk to about the Academy when they go home.”
“A
nd the good news is,” Mr. Duncan cut in, “Carla and Lake told us this morning that they’ve decided to become a team. They aren’t sure if they’ll stay together forever, but they asked if having a starter team was good enough.” He chuckled. “And of course, it is. Those two have a fine future together. A little yin and yang never hurt anyone.”
I was relieved that the others had gotten what they needed. I lifted my head up but still kept my eyes down.
“Anyway, on to you,” Dr. Roberts said. He ducked, leaning forward to catch my gaze, and I picked up my eyes. He straightened when I was looking at him. “Don’t be shy. This part is painless.”
“The question is,” Mr. Duncan said with a smile, “what do we do with you, knowing what we know now? Normally, we’d ask you to try out different teams. You can always pick your team, of course, but we like to put you with a group that would fit with your special talents. We would have asked you to join with Carla and Lake since you seemed to get on very well.”
It was on my tongue to ask to stay on Kota’s team, but with him right there, and not being aware of his feelings, or what, if anything, he’d been told, I thought it best to stay quiet for now.
At this point, my fate rested in him. He had the right to tell me I wasn’t Academy-worthy, or that he didn’t want me on their team and to suggest another one.
Kota coughed, shocking me out of my thoughts as to what I could say. I couldn’t help but lift my eyes and look at him, but his focus was only on the other members.
“If you don’t mind me speaking,” he said quietly. “I don’t want to speak for her, but I’ve got an option if she’d like to hear it.”
“Of course,” Dr. Roberts said, a small smile on his face. “We’re here to discuss all options.”
This was it. He was going to tell me to join Carla and Lake.
“The truth is, with all of her talents, we’ve been lucky she’s been working with us on our current assignment,” he said. “She’s almost the center of our operation. We’re also still working out her family situation, which is a little more complicated than we’d realized.”
Hope started to rise through me. Was he really saying…
