Page 612 of Shadowblood Souls
“Yeah.” Nadia twists her hands together in front of her. “I—there’s a boy at the other school—he’sreallycute, and nice and funny… He asked me to go out on a date with him!”
Her voice hitches with excitement on those last words, and my worries subside. She’s not upset, just nervous.
And I’ve got to say, it’s good to know she can make that kind of connection again, even if she doesn’t know she’s had it before.
I grin back at her. “That’s awesome! Where are you going?”
“We haven’t figured that out yet. I…” Nadia bites her lip and looks at the ground before meeting my eyes again. “Are you sure Ishouldgo?”
I cock my head. “Why wouldn’t you?”
“I just…” She sighs. “I mean, I’m not like him. I’ve got powers he’d think are crazy. How could I ever tell him about that, or this?” She swings her arm to encompass the entire school.
That is a problem we haven’t really needed to deal with yet. After they got settled into regular life and we were sure they had control over their talents, Nadia and a few of the older teens wanted to try out a typical high school. We arranged for them to attend the nearest one, about an hour’s drive away, for thesecond half of what we’re saying is their senior year. But they’ve avoided revealing much about their life outside of school.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “But I think that’s something you’d have to take as it comes. Maybe it would be okay once you get to know him better, if it seems like he wouldn’t freak out. And if he’s the kind of person who would freak out, then you’ll figure that out and stop hanging out with him. But you can give it a shot.”
As soon as the shadowblood rampage stopped, the groups of vigilante monster hunters and the military patrols some countries had started up quickly dissolved. The official story now is that the destruction was caused by a terrorist group that must have imploded internally.
Like Rollick said once, humans have a large capacity for explaining away anything they have trouble accepting is real. But we’re still being very cautious about using our abilities anywhere someone not in the know might see them.
Nadia lowers her gaze again. “You don’t think it might be dangerous? Forhim? I know I haven’t hurt anyone again, but everyone always says it’s harder if you’re feeling more emotional.”
The question hits me like a gut punch. I take a second to gather my thoughts before answering.
“The teachers here have been testing your reactions when you’re emotional, right? And that’s been fine.”
She nods.
“And your temper has evened out a lot since you took the antidote that Rollick’s people made. You haven’t noticed any side effects since then, have you?”
A few months ago, the scientifically-inclined shadowkind that the demon brought on to study Balthazar’s and Engel’s notes finally came up with a treatment for the shadowbloodsBalthazar pumped up. From what we’ve seen, it’s taken the edge off their aggressive tendencies.
And after that victory, we wiped every shred of the Guardianship’s research on creating shadowbloods out of existence.
Nadia rubs her mouth. “Nothing except that my powers are a little duller than before. Actually I’m not totally sure Icouldhurt anyone with them. My light hasn’t gotten bright enough to burn in a while.”
That was the other consequence of our “antidote”—one the shadowbloods all accepted when they agreed to take it. All of them still have more power than they did before Balthazar’s intervention.
I watch Nadia’s expression carefully. “Does it bother you that your talent has gotten weaker?”
She pauses to really think about it. “No. I wouldn’twantto burn people. And if I needed to protect myself, temporarily blinding them works just fine.”
Her wry grin with that observation tells me she really is okay.
I grasp her shoulder again. “I think you should give it a try. See what could happen with this guy. That’s the whole reason we’re here and learning everything we can, right? To find out what our lives can be.”
The tension fades from Nadia’s stance. She leans into my comforting hand for a moment. “Yeah. You’re right. I bet it could be really good.”
“You know what else could be good?” I glance around the courtyard and lift my voice. “Who wants to go clubbing tonight?”
Heads whip around, and a cheer goes up from the older teens. Way back when we first took them under our wing, I told them we’d try for at least a home dance party, and since they’ve gotten more stable, we’ve headed to Santa Fe for a proper night out on a few past visits.
It isn’t only the shadowbloods who enjoy the dance club. When we arrive in Santa Fe late that evening after dinner and a long drive, several of the shadowkind spill out of the darkness in the cars to join us—as well as Toni, by Pearl’s side. One being with a talent for illusions makes sure the bouncers see us all as being of age, though we monitor the teens carefully to make sure they aren’t ingesting anything risky.
The music sweeps around me, and I give myself over to the beat. These days, I don’t need a drink to gather the courage to dance among company.
My guys form a circle around me, acting as a shield from unwanted interest from other parties. Jacob shoots a glare at one man with a leering glint in his eyes who tries to push his way over to me, but the dude gets the hint fast enough to avoid broken bones.
