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  “You don’t want to do that, E. I’ve been walking all day with that thing strung over my shoulders. I must stink,” Aiden insisted as he pushed her away.

  Eren smiled and licked her lips as she looked up at him. “I don’t mind.”

  His eyes grew wide and he cocked his head. “Really?”

  Nodding, Eren rose onto her toes and kissed him. It started gentle but turned into something almost desperate as they clung tight and tried to meld into one another. The kiss lasted so long that it really couldn’t be considered just a kiss. But Eren didn’t care. She felt Aiden’s power rise up and touch her lips. A moment before she could breathe it in, they were interrupted.

  “Sorry, but this is for your own good,” Fane said.

  They broke the kiss and turned. Fane stood at the edge of the deck with the garden hose in his hand. Eren had time to turn her head away before he opened it up and sprayed them both with cold water. Laughing and throwing their hands up to protect themselves, they ran after him. A long water fight ensued that left the four of them soaking wet and laughing until their sides hurt.

  Shaking her head, Aunt Sylvia finally stepped out onto the deck and threw towels at them. “You kids get in here and get cleaned up before dinner. Boys, hit the showers.”

  Starving as she was, Eren was the first to jump to her feet. Drawn in by the delicious aroma wafting out the door, the others were quick to follow. The dining room table was covered in butcher paper and the carcass of a half carved deer was spread across it. Her stomach churned, taking her appetite with it. Uncle Alin smiled and nodded to them as they walked past, a carving knife in his hand. Grandfather and Aunt Sylvia labored over cooking pots in the kitchen, but not even the aroma wafting from the saucepan could revive Eren’s hunger.

  Disturbed, she rushed to follow the others upstairs. She and Caitlin waited in the loft while Aiden and Fane took turns taking showers. It wasn’t easy to let Aiden go, dripping wet as he was and looking amazing. Fane had added a couple of plush chairs to the loft which she and Caitlin sank into. Eren wasn’t surprised in the least to find that Fane had also added a row of bookshelves the entire length of the loft wall. They were short because of the angle of the ceiling but still held probably a few hundred books.

  Before Uncle Alin and Fane moved to town this loft—along with the attached bedroom and bathroom—had been Eren’s. She liked what Fane had done with the place. It fit him perfectly. She and Caitlin hardly had time to start talking about the boys before they returned from their showers.

  Eren was slightly disappointed to see Aiden had found a t-shirt to put on. There wasn’t as much room next to her in the big chair as she had originally thought and she had to sit half on Aiden’s lap when he sat beside her. About that, she was not disappointed.

  Not really wanting to talk about her own week, Eren said, “So tell us all about the hunting trip.”

  The guys took turns giving them details, nearly talking over one another in their excitement. Aiden’s face lit up when he talked about the sweat lodge and other Mayan rituals her grandfather had shown him.

  He turned to her with bright, eager eyes. “You’ve got to start teaching me to speak the Maya dialect your family speaks.”

  “It’s hard,” Eren warned, trying to hide a smile.

  “I don’t care. I want to learn all about your culture.”

  “Alright, but tell me more about the hunt.”

  She asked about every sight, smell, and sensation, encouraging him not to leave a bit of it out. But he did, she could tell by the way he hesitated a lot. His shocked expression told her that he had expected her to be bothered by the hunt. If she was going to be truthful to herself, she was surprised that the description of the hunt didn’t bother her.

  It was sobering to know how worried he was about her reaction. She had to start loosening up and embracing channeler life.

  Or did she?

  Quieting the voice of resistance inside her was getting harder. The last thing she wanted to do was push him away because of her squeamishness, which was apparently far less than even she had expected it to be. That bothered her.

  “I know you wanted to leave this part out Aiden, but we have to tell them about how I shared my power to heal you,” Fane said.

  Head sinking, Aiden sighed. So he had left something out.

  With a hand covering her gaping mouth, Eren listened in horror as Fane told them how the huge bull had slammed into Aiden’s back so hard it had shoved it’s antlers into him and broke its own neck. Her horror turned to fascination when Fane described sharing his own power with Aiden to heal him. Aiden refused to look up at Eren, but she didn’t want to see his face right now. She wanted to see his back. Fane said he’d seen muscle and bone shining from within the holes the buck had made.

  Eren pushed Aiden’s shoulder until he turned sideways and then she lifted his shirt. There were four pink circles of tender, new skin, but otherwise no sign of injury. Caitlin leaned. Gently, Eren ran a finger over the pink circles. Aiden shuddered beneath her touch but she could tell it wasn’t from pain.

  “Wow,” Eren and Caitlin murmured almost in unison.

  “I thought we couldn’t be hurt so easily,” Eren said as she let his shirt fall back down.

  “Believe me, it didn’t feel easy,” Aiden said.

  He lifted his eyes to her. They were filled with such guilt that Eren leaned forward and kissed his cheek to ease his mind. It was very hard not to flip out but she didn’t want him keeping things from her because he was afraid of her reaction. However, she was definitely going to have a talk with her uncle and grandfather.

  “Our power doesn’t reach its full strength until we’re almost twenty. Until then we can be hurt by just about anything if the accident is bad enough. It helps us blend in with normal people while we’re young,” Fane explained.

  He sounded like grandfather when he talked like that and it almost made Eren smile. With his brains and smooth talk she thought he might just make a good teacher. If any of them had a chance to be anything but soldiers that was.

  “Yeah and even after that, we still have to concentrate and use our power to make sure we don’t get hurt,” Caitlin said.

  There was so much Eren wanted to say to Aiden at the moment but she wasn’t about to say it in front of their friends. Instead, she gave him a very serious, very scared look. This was the first time she had really thought about losing him, about having to live without him, and she didn’t like it. Even if she gave up her power, she didn’t want to give him up and losing him would be even worse.

  Brow furrowed, Caitlin shook her head. “But Fane’s not a healer channeler.”

  “He didn’t heal me, just lent me his power so I’d have the energy to heal myself. It was pretty cool,” Aiden said.

  Tucking a lock of dark hair back out of her face, Eren fixed Aiden with a confused look. “I didn’t know that was possible.”

  “Neither did we. Apparently only a bonded Society can do it,” Fane said, eyes wide and bright.

  Eren wanted to respond but she couldn’t, her throat refused to let any sound out.

  Aiden’s eyes widened and he smiled. “There’s something else I wanted to talk to you guys about. I know it’s a little early, but Eren’s college pamphlets got me to thinking.” He paused and turned to Fane. “I hate the idea of starting college while you’re still here finishing high school.”

  “Me too. Then our schedules will be off for the next four years,” Eren said.

  Fane’s jaw clenched as he swallowed hard and his eyes widened, catching the light. He exchanged a look with Caitlin, one that Eren was pretty sure meant they’d talked about this before.

  “Go on,” Caitlin said.

  Aiden’s gaze shifted back to Eren. “So I was thinking that E and I could take a trip to Ireland to find that uncle of hers. Then maybe we could go to Mexico and see what else we can find out about the Rectors who can use both sides of their power. When fall comes, the four of us could start c
ollege together.”

  From the slightly apologetic look in his eyes, she could tell he’d been hoping to talk to her about this first. Not wanting him to be sorry at all, she beamed at him.

  “I love it. Let’s do it,” she exclaimed.

  “That would be excellent, but, I’ll be able to get my diploma in only a year and a half,” Fane said with a smile pulling at his lips.

  “That’s perfect. Then we could meet you guys in Mexico,” Caitlin said.

  They all started talking at once. Little would make Eren happier than for all four of them to be able to go to college together. This way her Society would only have to be apart for a short time. Only a small part of her felt strange to think of them that way, as her Society.

  Aiden’s idea to take her to Ireland touched her more than she was willing to show. Impossibly, he became more amazing all the time. Maybe giving up her power wasn’t the right thing to do.

  They talked about every imaginable detail of the trip from what they’d do in Ireland to where they’d meet up in Mexico. Then came the part Eren had been dreading.

  “How was your week?” Aiden asked.

  She tried to stop it, but she couldn’t. Her face fell. All the happiness drained from her and dread rose up in its place.

  “E? Did something happen?” Aiden asked.

  Eren opened her mouth and tried to speak but her voice caught in her throat. She shot Caitlin a desperate look and thankfully it was all the prompting she needed.

  “Someone was in Eren’s room while she was gone. They moved some things but didn’t take anything. Then, she was followed one night after she walked me home,” Caitlin said.

  “What?” Aiden demanded.

  His power spiked, feeling like a tremendous pressure in the air, and suddenly his skin was hot against Eren’s. She refused to look up at him. Leaving the access hatch unlocked had been so stupid.

  “We think it might be Bridget. Well, not directly, but someone spying for her. The person’s energy signature is still on one of the pamphlets. It’s faint but definitely not Bridget’s. I still think she’s involved though,” Caitlin said.

  “It wouldn’t surprise me, and for her sake, she better not be behind it,” Aiden snapped.

  “We should have a chat with her after we check out that energy signature,” Fane said, sounding calm and collected compared to Aiden, even though his voice was on the verge of anger as well.

  Both he and Aiden stood up.

  This was precisely why she hadn’t wanted to tell them. Having one—or worse, both of them—talk to Bridget and tell her to back off would be kind of humiliating. It would make it look as if she couldn’t handle herself. The last thing she wanted to do was look weak in front of Bridget. It would only give her that much more reason to try and move in on Aiden.

  “No, please don’t. I can handle her. I never should have left the hatch unlocked. It’s alright, really.”

  “It’s not alright. I won’t have her terrorizing you after all you’ve been through,” Aiden said, his tone softer now.

  Fixing what she hoped was a brave look on her face, she looked up at him.

  “She’s hardly terrorizing me. I can handle her. Let me, please,” Eren said, trying for arrogance and falling terribly short.

  It was hard to lie to Aiden; she did feel terrorized. The intrusion and stalking had her losing sleep at night. The part of her that was still scared over all that had happened last fall wasn’t convinced all this was Bridget. She was a bitch, but she didn’t seem smart enough to come up with something like this. However, Eren didn’t want to cause Aiden any more stress either; she wasn’t the only one who’d been through a lot lately.

  “Alright. But only if you agree to let me talk to her if anything like it happens again,” Aiden said.

  “Of course,” she agreed, hating the words the moment they left her mouth.

  As much as if pained her, she wouldn’t be able to tell him if anything else happened. She couldn’t take the chance of him losing his place to live because of her. No matter what, she would have to find a way to deal with Bridget on her own.

  “Train hard and fight hard, for the combat

  circle will determine your place in the Society.”

  ~from Life In A Society

  Chapter 26

  Leaning heavily upon the porcelain sink, Eren splashed water on her face and did her best to wash the taste of vomit from her mouth. At least she hadn’t got any on her uniform. That would have been too much. It was bad enough that two other girls in the bathroom had heard her retching. She wanted to crawl under the paper towel dispenser and disappear. Despite Caitlin’s reassurances that she was going to do stellar, she couldn’t kick this queasy feeling in her stomach. What she wouldn’t do to have Caitlin’s Zen-like attitude about fighting. And Caitlin wasn’t even a warrior channeler. It made Eren feel beyond inadequate.

  Glancing in the mirror, she dabbed at her face with a damp paper towel and tucked a lock of long black hair behind her ear. More than a little of it had slipped free of the braid but she didn’t have time to fix it. Taking a deep breath, she turned from the mirror and rounded the corner to the dressing area of the girl’s locker room.

  Caitlin stood in front of her locker putting the finishing touches on her lips. For her, the hard part was over. The Irish girls had already fought. The healer channelers barely made her break a sweat. She won all but her last match, which, unfortunately, had been with Bridget. By the deep crease between her eyebrows and the fire in her eyes, Eren could tell she was still pissed about that. It wasn’t that she had to be the best, Caitlin wasn’t arrogant, it was just that she had really wanted to kick Bridget’s butt.

  While Eren felt bad for her, she wasn’t entirely disappointed. Bridget had to win so Eren could eventually fight her. After all the practice with Caitlin, she felt confident enough in the Irish style that she thought she could get the job done. She was already better than Caitlin. Problem was, she had to beat the champion of the Maya girls first; Patli. Just thinking about that made her stomach start to flip again.

  “You done hurling?” Caitlin asked as she closed her locker and turned.

  “God I hope so.”

  Caitlin put her arm around her and led her toward the locker room door. As she pushed it open Eren’s stomach threatened to betray her again. Taking deep breaths, she willed the nervousness away. If she could control channeling with her mind, she should be able to control a queasy stomach. That thought helped, a little.

  “It’s like that the first time. Just seek your calm center,” Caitlin said.

  That was precisely the problem. Her center was anything but calm. Eren tried to focus on her breathing exercises that helped control blood flow. Seeing as she couldn’t hold it together for a simple sparing match, she felt like a complete failure as a Rector. She didn’t understand how she could ever lead and protect others if she couldn’t even keep her lunch down.

  The bleachers on the opposite side of the gym were packed and Eren tried not to think about why. There were two rings with matches already underway. A third, empty ring gaped at her like the mouth of the abyss. Her eyes flicked from it back to the bleachers. The people weren’t just here to watch their friends or classmates compete. They were her to watch her, the mixed blood who was rumored to possess the ability to control both sides of a channelers power. It kind of ticked her off. What was she, a freak for people to stare and point at? It’s not like she could use both sides of her power during a match anyways so she didn’t see what the big deal was.

  Straightening her back and squaring her shoulders, she tried to look proud instead of scared as she walked across the gym. The anger helped fight back the nausea quite a bit. It also helped to imagine that everyone was looking at the stunning blond walking beside her instead of at her. She simply refused to shoulder the weight of their stares.

  One set of hazel eyes among the crowd drew her attention; Aiden’s. He smiled and her stress dissolved beneath a wash of his
power. How it could reach her from such a distance, Eren had no idea.

  Beside Aiden sat Fane, a huge smile on his face, pride lighting up his brown eyes. Her power stirred at that look. This wasn’t about a sparring match, or even beating Bridget. It was about becoming good enough to protect the people she loved. Fane’s big, innocent smile drove that realization home. For the safety of her Society, she had to do this.

  Feeling sure of herself for the first time all day, she strode up to the empty ring and bowed to the corner judges. When they acknowledged her, she walked into the ring and took her place behind a yellow line of tape on the floor. A moment later, her opponent entered the ring, a girl whose brown skin and black hair contrasted sharply against her white uniform. Unlike Eren, this girl was pure Mayan. Her face was more round than Eren’s, and her skin was several shades darker.

  Fury twisted the girl’s features and Eren didn’t have to guess why. She’d heard other girls whispering in the locker room. None of them wanted to fight her. They considered it an insult that a mixed blood was even allowed to compete. That had more than a little to do with Eren’s hurling.

  At the judge’s command, Eren and the girl bowed to one another then dropped into ready stances. Eyes fixed upon her opponent’s, Eren began to notice things about her. The girl’s clenched fists shook and she couldn’t keep her eyes still. Eren’s grandfather said roving eyes were the sign of an insecure fighter, not to mention they would telegraph her every move.

  “Begin!” the judge yelled and blew the whistle.

  Practicing the patience she’d been taught, Eren waited for the girl to come to her. Eren threw a series of light-contact round kicks that hit the girl in the stomach. The girl moved to block but it was as if she was moving in slow motion. Before she could recover, Eren punched her in the kidneys, ducked below a clumsy swing, and struck her across the back with the blade of her hand. The girl spun, sweeping for Eren’s knees. Her arm was too high, leaving her side wide open. Leaping easily over her leg, Eren darted in and landed another light punch to her mid-section.