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CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Walk with me,” Amanda said, shooing us off the couch. It didn’t sound like a request, and I hopped up, relieved to be dealing with an Initiate who wasn’t such a raging bitch.
Emma was more hesitant. “Not me. I have to catch up on reading. ” She hefted her bag up as evidence.
I hoped she was right—that she did have work to do and wasn’t just making excuses to hide in her room.
Amanda gave her a weighty look. “Fine, dolly. I’ll talk to you later. ”
I dropped my bag off in my room, and Amanda and I headed toward the small cove where many of our training exercises were held. The winding trail was gorgeous in a bleak, miserable sort of way, all craggy and rocky, the faraway water shimmering an eerie silver in the Dimming’s half-light.
I caught my toe on a rock, cursing under my breath as I stumbled. “Why don’t they just give us cars or bikes or something?” The cove lay about a mile down the coast, and, aside from the few SUVs the Tracers were allowed to drive, the sole mode of transportation was our feet.
“They’re an old-fashioned bunch, our vampires. ” Amanda smiled, and it struck me how pretty she was, all angular lines, flawless dark skin, and shoulder-length dreads. Lately, her expression had been tight, but now that we were away from everyone else, she was relaxed enough to let a little of her true self glimmer through. I wondered how much of her tension stemmed from her relationship with Ronan.
We rounded a bend, spotting Masha and her crew about a quarter mile down the path in the distance. “Oh, fabulous,” I said, slowing down. “Maybe I should join you at the cove. Masha and her crew can waterboard me in the surf. ”
“Don’t give them any ideas. ” But then her smirking expression grew serious. “Look,” she said, slowing her pace to match mine, “you have a knack for trouble. And now you’ve caught the fancy of some real aggros. ”
“I’d hoped my relationship with Alcántara would protect me. ”
She stopped in her tracks. “That right there. That’ll get you killed. ”
“But he’s shown me attention. ”
“We’re discussing Alcántara. ” She enunciated each word slowly and clearly.
I bristled. “I know whom we’re discussing. I might be younger than you, but I’m not a total imbecile. ”
“I see. ” But the tone of her voice indicated otherwise. “Dammit, Drew. I saw this coming. You have got to mind yourself. ”
I had the nagging feeling that, despite her years on the island, Amanda still didn’t quite get it. “Don’t you think his attentions might, I don’t know, protect me?”
“Attentions?” She grabbed my arm, hard. “What attentions? Has something happened?”
“No,” I hedged, but she heard the hesitation in my voice.
“No, nothing happened, or no, you’re not going to tell me?”
Her fingers were cutting into my arm, and I flinched away. “Fine,” I admitted, rubbing my arm. “I think he almost kissed me. ”
She glared, so I rambled on in my defense. “Seriously, Amanda, I think the fact that he likes me might protect me. ”
“Bollocks. ”
“Bollocks nothing,” I said, my tone as sharp as hers. “I’m serious. I think it’s worthwhile to operate within the system. ”
“You can succeed here without kissing any vampires. ”
We’d reached a fork in the trail. A smaller, rocky path unfurled below, leading to a thin stretch of beach. A half dozen Guidons were already there, doing wind sprints on the sand and push-ups in the surf, looking generally badass.
Movement in the water caught my eye. It was Ronan, surfing. I felt Amanda notice him at the same time, and we watched silently for a pregnant moment. The waves were big today, not foamy and choppy, but crisp swells colored a deep gunmetal gray in the sunless daylight. He’d caught a big one and was riding it into shore. It was like witnessing grace and power combined.
Amanda marveled. “Bloody fantastic, isn’t he?”
As he reached the breakers, he dove off his board into the surf. He emerged from the waves, carrying his huge longboard as though it were merely a bit of driftwood he’d snatched up.
