Page 44 of Firestorm
Aiden’s tousled red hair fell forward into his eyes, and he pushed it back before flashing me a tentative, dimpled grin. Why couldn’t he smile likethismore? He looked much more like a hopeless crush than the predatory womanizer I thought him to be.
“Okay,” I said.
“Wait, what?” Aiden looked shocked.
“Okay. Dinner.” I said, sounding harsh again. I still needed to speak to my brother.
“Okay. Dinner.” Aiden repeated, his whole face lighting up in a way that had my heart clenching. “You won’t regret it, I swear.” Then, before I could stop him, he surged forward, planting a soft kiss on my cheek before turning and jogging away while laughing.
I stared after him, blinking dumbly as I lifted my hand to touch my cheek where Aiden had kissed me.
I sort of felt as if I was floating. Did everyone feel this way about a crush? Why had I even been freaking out before?
I gasped out loud.
Right. Class. That lesson. The telekinetic.
Zephyr.I cringed. Even in my mind, I sounded shrill. All my fuzzy post-Aiden feelings were gone.
Skyes!He sounded excited despite the near-screech I’d called to him with.How are things?
Zephyr. Are you sure mom only had Ben and Levi as her Links?
Silence greeted me for several seconds, and my heart clenched.
Positive. They never mentioned another person. I don’t remember anyone else, either.
I breathed out a sigh of relief as I came to my dormitory door. I pushed inside, closing and locking the door manually behind me. I still wasn’t brave enough to use my affinity while alone on campus, especially not with a shadow traipsing after me.
You sound upset. What happened?
In class today. We were discussing…
I glanced around my empty room, heaving a deep breath and forcing all my concentration into keeping my mental walls strong.Zephyr waited patiently for me, as usual.
We were discussing dangerous telepaths and telekinetics. They mentioned a man. The leader of the Pilgrims.
Zephyr was silent for a moment.The fucker responsible for the massacre?
Yes,I replied.Someone mentioned his name. Wayra.
No fucking way.Zeph sounded shocked.There can’t be any relation.
They say he was a telekinetic,I ran my hands down my face.They said he could liftbuildings, Zeph. And he shares our name?
Skye, relax, you can’t lift buildings,Zeph’s tone was reassuring and not at all condescending. While my big brother was an asshole a lot of the time, he’d always known exactly when and how to comfort me.
Tears prickled at the backs of my eyes. I missed him. I really needed a hug. If I weren’t such a coward, I could just go to him now, get my hug and be back within the hour.
You can’t lift buildings, Zephyr projected again, sounding more unsure.Right?
Actually I…I think I could.
Silence answered me for nearly a minute. I almost began to worry our connection had been cut off somehow.
You think mom lied about her Links.Zephyr’s voice was quiet. I knew this would hurt him. It was hurting me.
What are the odds?I whispered.
