Salvaged Soul (The Ignited Series Book 3) (21 page)

In compromise, we kissed. A lot, and for a long time. At some point, we made our way to my bed. Since we both knew it couldn’t go any further, we had fun exploring. Honestly, we were getting pretty good at that stuff, and it only made me wonder how much better it could get. Based on the way he could curl my toes with a simple kiss, I would bet on it being pretty awesome.

Eventually, Nathan announced the need for a time-out. As much as I hated hearing that, I knew it had been coming, so I didn’t protest too much when he launched himself off the bed and snatched his shirt up off the floor.

I made a face as I sat up. “You could leave it off.”

He shot me a grin before slipping the shirt over his head. Completely clothed again, his eyes leveled on me.

“So I suppose it’s time to get back to business?” I sighed as I reached for the vial where it sat on the bedside table.

Nathan sat on the edge of the bed, close but not too close to me. He always maintained a safe distance for a while after we kissed, like he didn’t quite trust himself yet. This time was no different.

Except it was completely different. He seemed to understand that, and his hand squeezed mine in encouragement. It was what I needed to take the final step.

It worked for Lillian.

That was what I told myself as I gulped the liquid down. I puckered up, expecting an unpleasant taste, but found it slightly sweet. Like sugar water.

Nathan took the empty vial from me with a satisfied smile and laid it on the table.

“Stay with me until I’m out?” I asked.

“How about I stay all night?” He propped a pillow against the backboard and reclined back with his legs stretched out. He looked up at me and opened his arms in invitation.

I snuggled into his chest as the first yawn hit me.

“Told you it wouldn’t take long.” Nathan’s chuckle vibrated me—serving as a lulling motion that nearly pushed me over the edge into sleep. I fought to hold on, just a bit longer.

“You’ll check . . .”
On me
, I wanted to say, but it took too much effort. 

“Every day,” he promised. I felt his fingers slip through my hair as his lips grazed my forehead.

And that was it.

I slept.

Chapter 21

{Nathan}

Kim poked her head in the room about an hour later, and gave me
that look
. The same look she had given me from day one, like she had known about Kris and me all along, and though she didn’t really care, she insisted on enforcing some ground rules. That included not allowing me to spend the night in Kris’s room. When she knew I was there anyway . . .

“I’m not leaving,” I told her with the perfect balance of respect and authority.

Neither of us moved as she stared at me for several heavy seconds. “I could get into trouble for this,” she finally said.

“You won’t.”

Her mouth curved into a skeptical frown, but she shut the door without another word.

A few hours later, I found out what Bruce had meant by restless, zombie-like activity. Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, Kris scared the hell out of me when she got up, I thought, to go to the bathroom. Half way across the room, she stumbled and fell on her face.

The door swung open. Kim took one look at Kris on the floor and me scrambling to free myself of the bed sheets wrapped around my legs, and shook her head in disapproval.

“Could you help me?” I shot at her.

Kim helped Kris to the bathroom while I busied myself with straightening the sheets I had made a mess of. Kris came out walking like a drunk zombie a few minutes later, and fell into bed with the grace of a two-ton elephant.

The transition she was going through reminded me of the five-day transformation all hybrids took when they started development. Only this one lasted three days, and the sedation was a lot heavier. On the bright side, this transition didn’t include a raging fever and uncontrollable vomiting.

Kris made it through the rest of the night without another incident, and was sleeping soundly when I left in the morning. Kim promised to check on her periodically throughout the day. She wasn’t thrilled when I told her that I would be back to spend the night again, but I didn’t care what she thought. I planned to stay the next two nights with Kris whether Kim liked it or not.

My first stop was to Jared’s office, where I demanded to resume control of my two combat classes. He was surprised by my request. Considering I hadn’t wanted the classes in the first place, so was I, but after seeing Kand’s teaching methods, I didn’t really see that I had much of a choice. I certainly wouldn’t let Kris go back to the class three days from now if he remained on as the instructor.

I promised to have a list of names for the mission to Jared by the end of the day, then I went to relieve Kand of his duties. Fortunately, he didn’t put up much of an argument. He left without a bloody nose, and I taught the morning combat class.

By now, most of the students had heard about yesterday’s events, and had come to their own conclusions about the nature of my relationship with Kris. I didn’t let some of the crude and wildly inaccurate comments I overheard bother me. Considering how often we were seen together, and our kiss on the beach, I knew it was only a matter of time before speculation started. At least this way, everyone understood one thing: Kris was with me, and unless some idiot wanted to go through me first, she was not to be messed with.

I had intended to swing by Kris’s room over lunch, but got stopped by Jared outside the mess hall. Supervisor Jeffries was breathing down his neck about the mission, and he couldn’t wait until the end of the day for names.

We both grabbed a sandwich to go, and spent the next hour brainstorming in his office until we had assembled a team we were both satisfied with. The list of names was sent to Jeffries for approval. By the end of the day, the individuals selected would be notified, and the mission details would be worked out.

Jeffries’ urgency to push this mission along so quickly worried me, but I didn’t have the authority to question his intentions. Or the power to change anything.

I left Jared’s office, and glanced at my watch as I stepped outside. I had half an hour before my afternoon combat class started. I could swing by Alec’s room to see if he was awake yet. Or I could swing by Kris’s . . .

I hurried through the lobby of the girls’ dormitory, and took the stairs two at a time the whole way to the top floor. Thanks to all the work I put in to staying in shape, I wasn’t even winded by the time I got to Kris’s door.

“Nothing to report,” Kim announced.

I didn’t bother to tell her I wasn’t there for a report, and let myself in the room. Kris lay curled on her side, exactly where I had left her that morning. Her hair was strewn over the pillow in a beautifully haphazard way, her face relaxed, her lips a kissable soft pink.

I hovered over her, looking for any signs that she knew I was there, but saw none. That didn’t stop me from doing what I came here for.

I leaned down to rest my forehead against hers. “I don’t know if you can hear me or not, Kris,” I whispered, “but I want you to know I love you. More than you will ever know.”

I heard the door open behind me, and sensed Kim’s eyes on me as I pressed my lips to Kris’s. Just for a second, just enough to let her know I was there, if she were aware at all. Actually, the kiss was probably more for me—just enough to get me through the next few hours until I could be back here with her again.

I turned to find Micah shooting daggers at me. Kim stood behind him in the hallway with an irritated scowl on her face. Richie hovered just beyond her.

“Kim, he’s not to be let in here until she’s awake again,” I ordered. “No. You know what? Not even then.”

“I’m not here for her, asshole,” Micah jeered. “I’m looking for you.”

I smirked. “What could you possibly want me for?”

“Alec’s awake. Thought you would want to know.”

Okay, that changed things, but I didn’t let him know that. I kept my cool.

“And?”

Micah shrugged. “Nothing.”

I moved to the door, forcing Micah and Kim out ahead of me. With one last look at Kris, I shut the door. Without waiting, I moved down the hall at a fast pace, forcing Micah and Richie to hurry to keep up.

“What do you mean by nothing?” I questioned Micah over my shoulder.

“I mean there’s been no change. He claims he doesn’t feel any different.”

At least he didn’t wake up worse . . .

But no, that wasn’t the way it was supposed to work. He should have woken up freed of the evil lurking within him, freed of a future as a Skotadi. Like Lillian. He wasn’t supposed to wake up . . . the same. Because that meant Kris would wake up the same too, and that couldn’t happen.

The door to Alec’s room was open when I got there. Bruce stood in the doorway, his big frame blocking the entrance. He moved aside when he saw me approach, and I caught the grim look on his face.

Alec stopped mid-pace in the middle of his room when he saw me. “Someone has got some explaining to do.”

“No change, huh?” I asked as I entered his room.

“Oh, no,” he said. “There’s been a change alright.”

I glanced at Micah, whose brow creased in confusion. “What?” I asked Alec.

“This.” He pointed to his face, more specifically his eyes.

Instinct and training forced me to take a step back at the same time Micah muttered a string of curses behind me. I never took my eyes off of Alec’s, and I didn’t know how I hadn’t noticed them sooner.

Alec’s eyes were ringed in gold.

Skotadi gold.

Despite the change in his eyes, Alec claimed he felt no different. Most importantly, he didn’t have an overwhelming desire to maim every Kala on the island—well, no more than he had before drinking the potion. Looking at him as he sat on the edge of his bed, I felt no more threatened by him than before. He still looked like the same Alec to me.

Regardless, I had no idea what to do about his eyes, so I sent Micah and Richie to get Jared.

“Well . . .” Jared crossed his arms as he looked down at Alec. “Let’s keep this turn of events between the six of us for now, until we know more.” He turned to Bruce, who stood in the doorway. “In the meantime, be extra vigilant, and let me know of any . . . concerns.”

“Whatever,” Alec grumbled. “I told you I feel fine.”

“Yeah, well . . . until we know why your rings changed from black to gold, security is going to be a little tighter around you,” Jared returned.

Alec shook his head, and looked at me. “Probably should have Kris hold off until we know more.”

Jared and I shared a look, which both Alec and Micah caught.

“Tell me she didn’t,” Alec said.

At the same time, Micah lurched toward me, perhaps with the intention of hitting me, but Richie wisely intercepted him with a forearm to the chest.

Jared pinched the space between his eyes. His voice sounded as strained as he looked. “We couldn’t let her wait any longer for her own safety.”

“Bullshit,” Micah spat. “What are we going to do when she wakes up looking like that?” He pointed a finger at Alec.

“Hey, Golden Boy,” Alec returned, taking a few steps toward Micah. “Why don’t you go f—”

Jared stepped between the two of them, placing a hand on Alec’s shoulder. “Easy,” he said, then turned to Micah. “Aren’t you able to sense Skotadi?”

Micah nodded. “That’s right.”

Jared lifted a brow. “Well?”

Micah crossed his arms. “He doesn’t feel any different.”

I had almost forgotten about Micah’s strange built-in Skotadi radar. Kris and Alec had never set it off before. That had to be a good thing that Alec still didn’t set it off. While we could all agree that something had changed, it didn’t seem to be anything really significant at this time. Alec was still Alec, only now with Skotadi gold eyes. It seemed he hadn’t been freed of his Skotadi like we had hoped would happen, but at this point, I was glad it hadn’t turned out worse.

Kris was going to be pissed if she also woke up with her eyes ringed in gold, but I would deal with her in a few days. Hopefully by then, we would have a better idea of what had happened to Alec.

It was a miracle that I walked into class only five minutes late. I wasn’t in any mood for the whispers I heard as I walked in. I wasn’t in the mood for anything. Period. I made the students work on group drills so I could hang back with minimal interaction. That left me to my thoughts and laundry list of problems to deal with, but after an hour and a half, I hadn’t come up with a solution to any of them.

And I still had the mission to deal with yet. By now, most of the team Jared and I had chosen should have been notified. Next, we would work on a plan of execution, but with all the distractions around me, I had a hard time concentrating on what needed to be done.

For now, I wanted to get back to Kris and forget about everything else for the rest of the day.

As I packed my bag to leave, I spotted Lillian standing outside the door as the students filed out of the classroom. Her guard hovered nearby, prompting the students to stare as they passed.

I took a deep breath to prepare myself, and followed the last student out the door.

Lillian glanced up with a timid smile as I approached. “Do you have another class coming?”

I shook my head. “I’m done for the day.”

She brightened, and I saw the start of a real smile. “Do you have a few minutes? Maybe we could go for a walk?”

My heart hammered in my chest,
hard
. I wasn’t ready for this. Not yet. On some level, I had hoped they would keep her in quarantine longer, so that I could avoid seeing her again and avoid the conversation I knew we had to have. Because no matter how stable she appeared, I didn’t think she would be ready for what I had to say to her.

Though after already telling her I was done for the day, I had no excuse not to talk to her. “Yeah, sure. We can go for a walk.”

I let Lillian lead the way, and wasn’t surprised when we ended up on the beach. She had always loved walking on the beach. We had done it often. Then, it had felt natural. Now, it felt awkward.

I glanced at her, and wondered if she felt it, too. Her face remained an empty canvas, but I knew from experience that didn’t mean much. Lillian was good—almost as good as me—at masking her feelings. Right now, she was doing a good job of it. I, on the other hand, was not.

I clenched my hands to keep them from shaking.

“I keep waiting to wake up from this nightmare,” she said. “I keep waiting for the moment that I realize I didn’t actually lose seven years of my life.”

She looked at me, and I nodded like I understood. But I didn’t. How could I? I might have been lost for a portion of those seven years without her, but eventually, I had moved on. I wasn’t in that daze of mourning anymore. But she was. Only for an entirely different reason.

I watched as tears welled up in her eyes. My hand twitched with five years’ experience at being the one to wipe her tears away. I kept my hands fisted at my sides, knowing that wasn’t my place anymore.

I knew then . . . that she knew. Maybe not
everything
, but she knew.