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I knew it was someone magical from my family. There wasn't a stench. It would be nice when I could effortlessly jump to a third-story window. I would never climb those stupid steps again.
An unexpected voice suddenly sent a wave of butterflies rippling mercilessly through my stomach. "It's just me."
Tallis.
I sat straight up as my heart all but stopped beating, stumbling over itself to find a feasible rhythm. It couldn't decide if it wanted to stop or beat too fast.
"Hey. Is everything okay?" It wasn't like him to be in my room these days, so it worried me a bit.
"Yeah, I was just checking on Amelia and you. How's she taking it?"
Be mature, Aria. Don't act like an idiot.
"Surprisingly well. I think she's more excited about having a family than worried about the supernatural drama. She's going to adjust well."
He nodded slowly, seeming lost in thought.
I stared at his heavy eyes, and tilted my head as I spoke. "You look tired."
He wiped his eyes and yawned. Then he put his hands behind his head while he answered, "I am tired. I stayed out all night last night chasing down leads as to what Graven might be after. They were all dead ends though."
He yawned again, and I moved over in the bed.
"You can lie down. I promise I won't touch you. I was about to go for a swim anyway."
I knew my face had to look as pitiful as my voice sounded. His answering rejection was swift.
"I have to get home. Mom is incredibly excited about finding an empath and now she wants to make all of us study up. I'll see you tomorrow, though."
As disappointment settled, I stared down at my lap. "I'm not going to school. Iris thinks it would be unsafe with Amelia just coming into power and bonding to me. We don't really know that much about her power yet. She feels it would be safer for her and me to just stay home. There're only three days left anyway."
I looked up as he frowned. This sucked. Both of us wanted each other, but magic refused to let it happen. It wasn't fair, and I was starting to hate something that was going to be a part of me for all eternity.
"Well, I'll probably swing by tomorrow—just to check in."
I smiled. He could just call. Hope was a dangerous thing in the hands of the heartbroken, and I had a lot of hope in that moment.
"Yeah, that sounds good."
He walked away from me and leapt back out of my window. I couldn't help but get up and hurry over to watch. I stood against the wall and tried to stay out of sight.
Then that hope rose up just a little more as I watched the reluctance he carried himself with, because he didn't want to go. There had to be a way, and I had to find it.
"Aria? Are you ready to swim?"
Amelia sounded excited as the moonlight streaked down on the pool below. The sparkling reflection looked like there were diamonds floating on top of the water.
"Yeah."
I grabbed the towels as we walked down the stairs. Everyone had gone out to eat while we were napping. Mom had left a note to tell us Taryn was there if we needed any help. She said there were other guards posted all along the perimeter, making sure that no one breached it.
I felt safe and comfortable as we headed to the pool. It was rare that I had the house all to myself. I was glad that Amelia and I got to have some one-on-one time.
I was surprised that Henry had gone as well. He had been pretty adamant about staying close to Amelia. I only hoped he didn't hurt her the way Tallis was hurting me.
I tried to stop thinking about anything so heavy. I was worried Amelia might feel it, and I wanted tonight to be fun for her.
She was very inquisitive as she asked all sorts of questions about the magical realm. I had very few answers, considering how new everything still was to me.
