Page 131 of Caelum

That is, even if we could fight in thiswar anymore.

Everyone knew missions were handed out from HQ, and Caelum was that.

The moment we escaped this place was the moment our ties were cut with this Academy—how that thought fucking hurt.

Even though I wanted to blame it on her, because it was her fault, I couldn't. She had no control over this, no say in it either. I was well aware of that and I wasn't about to blame her for something she hadn't asked for actively.

I was rather proud of myself for thinking that way too.

How evolved of me.

Speaking of…

“Is there anything you can see that you might think would interest me?” I asked, the words hesitant for once.

But she'd been talking about this eighth soul, and I'd never heard of anything like that before in my life. If I hadn't felt her power, hadn't seen her strength, in many ways she could have been human. But she wasn't.

Part of me wondered if that eighth soul was an extra piece of humanity, but it wasn't. We’d never be that lucky. So, it was down to us to try to coax out whatever that eighth soul was while trying to tame the other seven. Make her look normal long enough so we could gradually allow our true powers to manifest at the Academy, then escape the place that had been home since we were teenagers.

Yeah, all in a day’s work, or what?

“When you told me what I was looking for, it made me feel claustrophobic,” she admitted.

I frowned at that but didn't say anything, curious what she meant. She hesitated because I knew she expected me to say something, but I had nothing to say. Nothing to add. She, on the other hand, was a different matter entirely.

“I’ll bite,” I muttered eventually. “Explain.”

“Well, you made it sound like the seven entities were in this really tiny space, and it felt like some sort of internal fight. Like shoving sausage meat into skin then popping a bit of the skin when it oozed out.”

My nose wrinkled. “You got all that imagery from my description?”

She nodded. “Yeah. But it isn't like that.” Her eyelids fluttered open, and those delicious eyes of hers gazed into mine. I wanted to deny the power they packed, but I wasn't about to lie to myself. I was the only person I was ever honest with, whatever the consequences, but Eve, with all her irritating earnestness, did affect me. As much as I wanted todeny it, and would, it was hard not to suck in a sharp breath when I felt those beautiful orbs pierce me to the quick.

She whispered, “Each one seems to have equal space. They’re all in their rightful place.”

I shook my head. “That isn't possible. Today, your Were is in charge, isn't it?”

She started nibbling on her bottom lip in a way that was far too enticing. “Yes, she is,” she told me, her tone lacking the hesitation I'd anticipated.

Okay, so what she was telling me was that her Were shared the soul house, but it was a completely different setup compared to mine.

Was that a woman thing?

Or just an Eve thing?

I had no way of knowing. Most of the females on campus I'd been interested in hadn't held my interest because they had large brains. Large other things? Yeah, sure. But on this front, I couldn't give a fuck.

Wearily, I scrubbed a hand over my head, recognizing I needed to get a haircut soon. My hair had grown far too long, but when I looked over again, I saw that Eve’s eyes were on me, watching the motion of my arm as I brushed through my dark, black hair. There was a curious innocence to the glance, but also a sensuality that hit me.

Because it pissed me off, I shrugged away what appeared to be the early embers of attraction—how could either of us be attracted to one another when we loathed each other’s guts?—I wasn't sure.

“Can you at least connect with the Were? Find out more from the soul, maybe?” I suggested, trying to get any information at this point.

She fell quiet again, but this time, when she began prodding, something strange happened. Her skin began to ripple, and I recognized the signs enough because I was close to my own shift. It would be the first time I ever turned into another animal, and I was looking forward to it more than I was looking forward to anything in my life.

For so long, the animal had been in control of me while never being able to manifest itself. That wasn't unusual. Until our souls had decided which one was the strongest, we had no way of knowing what we were. But in this? No. Something was happening, something I couldn't understand.

Her body seemed to charge with tension, her limbs growing firm with overly tensed muscles. She began to quiver as a fine tremor took over her body. It had nothing to do with the cold either. It was relatively warm at the moment, and there was no need to be shivering in the middle of the garden which was always warmed by the sun.

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