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With a deep breath, I continue, “They train in case they are gifted with the sight when they turn twenty-one. They learn how to take down demons, monsters, and creatures that go bump in the night. This way, if they have the sight, they’re ready to fight, and if they don’t, they go home a little stronger, but it’s no use if they can’t see the opponent in front of them.”
I continue on another deep inhale, “Your parents dying explains why you didn’t show up when you were eighteen. You had no one to bring you to us, but now that we know you have the sight, we need to get back and start your training immediately. You're not safe out here when you have no clue how to fight the enemy.”
“You will also learn how to harness your special power,” Phoenix said as Diana scrunched her nose again.
Damnit, if this woman keeps doing that, she will have me wrapped around her little finger in a heartbeat; I just can’t help it. She’s too fucking adorable for words. “Along with the sight, everyone is gifted a special ability to help them in the war with evil.”
“What’s your gift?” Her eyes were full of curiosity as she ran her gaze over each one of us, including Onasis, who caught her eye in the rearview mirror.
Apollo gave me a hard stare from the front seat as he answered her question. “All in due time, Diana, we still have a ways to go, and you look exhausted. That’s enough information for now.”
“How long is the drive to the institution?” She asked as a yawn overtook her. It’s like she was drained of energy; I don’t blame her. It’s a lot to take in, and given what she just went through, she’s probably still shaken up. It’s tough when you face your first demon, and with her never having any knowledge of their existence, it was likely a shock to her system.
“A few hours,” I said as I pulled her into my side. “Lay down and get some rest! That window does not look comfortable, and you look like you'll fall over any second.”
She laid her head on my thigh and brought her feet up on the seat to curl underneath her. She looked so young and fragile; I vowed at that moment to figure out what happened to her parents.
I could already tell Diana was going to shake up our team, and damn did we need it. She was exactly the person we needed to complete our group, and I’ll make everyone else see it, too. There is so much fire in her, and I’m chomping at the bit to learn more.
Thank you was the last thing I heard her whisper before sleep took her over. I can’t imagine the trauma she just went through; it definitely has to be draining. I just hope her dreams don’t get plagued with nightmares like ours so often do.
Chapter 3
Diana
Iblinked my eyes a few times to try and get my bearings and figure out what in the world happened.
Well, you're currently drooling all over a guy, so there’s that.
Ooh fuck, I quickly wiped at my mouth; I wasn’t drooling, stupid voice in my head. It was at that moment I realized the car had stopped. I glanced around, but it was empty other than me and Atlas.
I looked up at him through my lashes. His head was tilted back on the seat, eyes closed, and his chest was moving up and down in a rhythmic tone. He looked so peaceful I itched to reach up and brush the black curly lock from his face. His scent was a mix between a tart, crisp apple and the smell of rain during a thunderstorm.
His eyes chose that moment to pop open, the most beautiful gray settling on mine. They weren’t a boring light gray like mine; it was like the sky right before it turned black with a storm approaching, with silver dancing through them like lightning.
Will you stop staring at the man and listen while he talks!
I scrunch my nose and give him my best puppy dog eyes ever. Silently pleading for him to repeat what he just said.
“Were you listening to a single thing I said?” He asked, staring at me dumbfounded.
“Nope, I was too busy getting lost in your eyes.” I felt all the blood rush to my face while I brought my hand up to slap over my mouth before more words could escape. Ooh fuck did that seriously just come out of my mouth. What the hell? The word vomit can go away now!
Chuckling and shaking his head, he so graciously repeated himself. “We’re inside the confines of Enyo. The others went to get you sorted out with a room, clothes, toiletries, and your schedule. It might take a minute to get your room situated. We weren't expecting anyone new to join the institute until next year. That is until you went off like an explosion on the magical map we have to track the gifted, drawing us your way.”
I tilted my head to get a better look at him, scrunching my nose. I tried pulling my fingers through my hair, but it was useless. I needed some serious conditioner and a long detangling session. “I lit up on a map?”
Shrugging, he replied cocky as fuck. “Yeah, the map shows where all the gifted are when they turn twenty-one. It’s like a natural tracker, so we can always locate you, send backup, and not have to question where help is needed when we disperse people. Your dot lit up half of Tennessee. The institute is in New Orleans, so there’s a lot of beacons over this way, and yours put them all to shame. Yours was a dull light a few days ago, which is unusual, so we were already on our way to investigate. Then you lit up, engulfing half of Tennessee in the brilliant shine.”
“So what does that mean?” My voice was so quiet I didn’t recognize it.
I just don’t understand any of this.
Demons weren’t real.
This had to be a dream I would wake up from at any moment.
“It means,” he huffed, looking conflicted on what answer to give me, “That you have an extraordinary gift, and it could be what tips the scale in our favor.”
