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I slowly turn to face my friends, searching for the right words.
“Are you... together now?” Max asks me with a horrified look.This must be weird for her.
“Uh... yeah,” I admit. Standing behind me, Ayden puts his arms around me and leans his head against mine, and I can feel his hands through my top. Not very helpful when I’m trying to concentrate.
“How long has this been going on?” asks Lucia.
“Uh, honestly, not long,” I admit. “Since last night.”
Max’s eyes widen. I know how it must sound.
“Okay,” she mutters.
“Even when I was trying to steer clear of him,” I say, “I couldn’t get him out of my head. And last night... I wasn’t doing great... and he was there for me.” Man, is it awkward saying all this in front of him. A sidelong glance at his face tells me that he finds this very entertaining. “Anyway, I realized it was stupid to keep running from my feelings and decided to give things a chance.”
Max looks back and forth between Ayden and me and simply mutters, “Uh-huh.”
I can see that Kate has doubts about the relationship, but I expect she’ll keep her misgivings to herself.
“Uh, okay,” Lucia mutters, trying to break tension in the air. “This is a surprise. But I’m happy for you guys.” She doesn’t sound convinced, but I don’t care.
“Wanna get out of here?” Ayden asks me. His voice tickles the back of my neck.
I nod and say to the others, “See you guys tomorrow.”
I can feel their eyes on my back, and I understand their amazement. But I don’t want to worry about that right now. And although it was pretty clear what my friends think, their reaction doesn’t seem to bother Ayden.
He kisses my hair and starts talking about other things. He tells me about his day, his training, and a really boring meeting with the hunters.
“Charles was there too. But he wasn’t part of the lastdeployment, so there was no report from him – which is a shame because they’re often really entertaining.”
I raise my eyebrows and look at him inquiringly.
“Oh, you know how he likes to talk. He always exaggerates and turns everything into a compelling story. He’s hilarious.”
“Don’t make fun of him,” I admonish him in a mock serious tone. “Mom seems to really like him. So don’t question her taste.”
He holds up his hands defensively. “I wouldn’t dream of it. And he’s actually a nice guy.”
“The main thing is that he makes Mom feel good, which he does.”
Ayden nods and asks. “So how was your day? How was training?”
I tell him about the class in general but quickly come to the main point.
“Kate finally learned to access her power.”
I tell him how it happened and wait for his reaction. I know it’s painful for him to be reminded of Ty.
“I’m glad she and Gray have strengthened their bond, and it’s cool that he has a new element. I know they’ll never forget Ty, but they need to move on with their lives, as hard as it is.”
I squeeze his hand and lean my head on his shoulder. We arrive at his room. He opens the door, and I’m surprised to see that it’s not locked.
He responds to my questioning look with a shrug. “I hardly ever lock up. Nobody here steals anything, and there’s only ever been one break-in.”
I remember that day well. Chiara critically injured Grace in order to get her hands on a key. “How’s Grace doing, by the way?” I ask.
“She’s in a rehab clinic. She seems to be doing better, and it looks like she’ll make a full recovery. But she doesn’t want tocome back here.”
