Authors: T.M. Franklin
“You’re doing well,” he said. “There’s no use trying to hide anything.”
“I’ve got nothing to hide.”
“I know,” he said quickly. “I’m just saying, it wouldn’t do any good . . . if . . . you know, you decided to.”
She took a bite of her sandwich, chewing hard in aggravation. “Well, I won’t.”
“Good.”
“Good.”
The afternoon passed with more of the same—more questions, more answers, more notes jotted in the doctor’s pad. Ava noticed a mirror hanging on the wall behind him and realized that the whole session was more than likely being recorded, as well. The invasiveness irritated and angered her, but she tried not to let it show.
She had to make a good impression. Make them realize that she wasn’t really a threat.
Caleb had told her it was only a matter of time before they realized she had abilities. Once that happened, the Council’s response would be quick and decisive. First, she’d be contained. Then, most likely, she would be dealt with.
Ava wasn’t certain exactly what that would entail, but she preferred not to dwell on it.
Her only hope was to prove that she was no threat to the Race, and her quick wit and non-violent nature were her only tools in that fight. Well, and Caleb, of course. She knew he would do or say whatever he could to help her. He also said Rafe would be on their side—as well as the other woman on the Council, Naomi, who Caleb said was sympathetic to humans and could very well be working with the Guardians, although nobody could prove it.
Which left Madeleine, Andreas, and the rather frightening bald man she’d learned was Kaeden Cross. He had a strong distaste for humans—and as a result, Half-Breeds—and was known for his rather hard-lined attitudes when it came to dealing with them.
Caleb was pretty sure he would not be on their side.
Andreas was a toss-up. His greatest motivations were political, so he’d pay particular attention to public opinion before making his vote. Caleb’s mother, on the other hand, put the good of the Race above all else. If Ava could convince her that no harm would come to her people, she might have a chance.
The only problem was, she wasn’t exactly sure how.
“You all right?” Caleb asked as they walked back to his house that evening, a bag of takeout dangling from his fingers.
Ava hadn’t been able to stifle a hysterical giggle that there was actually a Chinese restaurant down the street from the Council Arena. It just seemed so . . . normal.
When she had said that to Caleb, he’d rolled his eyes. “We are normal, kind of,” he’d said with a shrug. “And we like Chinese food as much as the next person.”
He watched her expectantly, and she realized she hadn’t answered his question.
“Yeah. I’m fine. Just tired.”
Caleb nodded. “I know. That’s part of it, actually. It’s more difficult to hide things when you’re exhausted.”
“That seems a bit cruel.”
“Make no mistake, Ava, cruelty is not a concern,” he said gravely. “You have no rights here. Not really. Protection of the Race comes first.”
“And you’re supposed to be so evolved,” Ava retorted as they turned up the walkway to Caleb’s front door. “No Geneva Convention for humans, I guess.”
“I didn’t say it was right,” Caleb replied. “And if the Guardians have their way, it’ll change someday. But for now, this is the reality.”
He unlocked the door and they entered the house, moving into the kitchen, both lost in thought. Caleb retrieved a couple of bottles of water, and they sat at the table, foregoing plates and eating out of the boxes, chopsticks clicking lightly. Ava munched on chicken with broccoli, her mind whirling with what she’d already been through, as well as what lay ahead.
Caleb frowned, wiping his mouth with a napkin. He reached into the takeout bag and pulled out a handful of fortune cookies, spreading them across the table in front of Ava. “Let’s try fine-tuning your telekinetic power,” he said.
Ava looked at him skeptically over a mouthful of noodles. “But I’m tired.”
“I know. But we don’t have much time. You need to improve your control.”
Ava huffed, setting her food aside. “What do you want me to do?”
Caleb cleared away the rest of the food boxes to give her room to work. “Try stacking them. Or levitating them. Something slow and easy.”
Ava stared at the fortune cookies, and after a moment, they flew up and into her waiting hands. She grinned triumphantly.
Caleb shook his head. “I know you can do that,” he said. “That just requires a burst of power. I need you to try and regulate it. Keep the power at a slow trickle.”
Frowning, she placed the fortune cookies back in a line, her hands flat against the table on either side of them. She took a deep breath, imagining the cookies floating lightly into the air. A familiar tingle that she now recognized as her ability surged through her and one of the cookies jumped.
“Easy,” Caleb encouraged her in a quiet voice, resting his fingers over hers on the table. “Try to stay calm. It’s like a faucet. Try and turn it down a bit.”
“Easier said than done.”
“I know. I’ll try to help you.”
Ava nodded, rolling her shoulders and focusing on the cookies again. She tried to do as Caleb said, regulating the tingling with her mind. She could feel
something
radiating from Caleb’s fingers, another tingle, but different—almost like another frequency—and she realized he was using his power to help her keep control of hers. For a long moment, nothing happened, and then, slowly, one of the cookies rose up in the air, balancing on top of another.
“Good,” Caleb said. “Keep going.”
Ava kept her focus, Caleb’s touch somehow helping to both relax her and sharpen her concentration. The cookie swayed slightly, but kept its spot on top of the other, and gradually, a third lifted, carried by an unseen force to balance on top of it . . . then a fourth.
“I’m doing it,” Ava murmured excitedly, turning her attention on the last cookie. The tower wobbled slightly, and she fought to keep it steady as the fifth cookie rose ever-so-slowly to perch on top.
“Good job,” Caleb said. “Now I’m going to pull back. Try to keep it balanced.”
Ava nodded as Caleb eased back, his fingers leaving hers. She felt the withdrawal of his power like the air had been sucked from the room, and the tower swayed.
“You can do it,” he said, tension evident in his voice. “Stay focused.”
Ava fought to regulate the power rushing through her. She held it back, allowing barely a trickle to reach the tower of cookies and hold it steady. Breathing slowly, she focused on that trickle, but after a moment, she faltered, and the power began to seep through the cracks in her control. Ava gritted her teeth, trying desperately to fill the cracks, but suddenly it burst through in a massive flood and the cookies flew apart, hovering in the air for a moment before violently smashing together. They fell to the table in a pile of crumbs and torn cellophane, and Ava stared at the mess for a moment before her head fell to the table in defeat.
“Crap,” she muttered. “I’m never going to get this.”
“You will.”
“But not in time.” When Caleb said nothing, she looked up at him helplessly. “What am I going to do?”
Caleb reached out, taking her hand in both of his. “It’ll be okay. We’ll think of something.”
“How?” she asked. “They’re going to figure out I can do things, Caleb. And they’re going to know I don’t have much control over it.
“Are they . . . are they going to—?”
“Don’t.” Caleb moved to sit next to her at the table, still holding her hand. “Don’t think that way. I won’t let anything happen to you. I swear it.”
Ava felt a rush of warmth at his words . . . at his touch. She didn’t doubt that Caleb would try to protect her, but she worried about what that might mean.
“I don’t want you to get hurt,” she said quietly.
“Don’t worry about me.”
“But—”
“Ava,” he said firmly, squeezing her hand. “I’ll be fine. You need to trust me on this. If things go bad, I’ll do what it takes to protect you, and I
can
do it. I’ve been around for a while, you know? I know what I’m doing.”
He leaned in slightly, and for a moment, Ava had the crazy thought that he might kiss her.
And just as crazily, she almost wished he would.
He eyed her steadily, his breath barely teasing her skin. Ava’s mouth dried, and she licked her lips nervously. His eyes dropped for a moment, registering the movement, then abruptly, he sat back in his chair, his jaw clenched. Ava held back a whimper of disappointment.
What did she think would happen? Her life wasn’t a movie. It was a mess, and the white knight wasn’t going to ride in to sweep her away to a happily ever after.
Or kiss her. Apparently.
“Okay,” she said, pulling her hand gently from his grip. “Okay. Well, I vote that we don’t let it get to that. Which means, I should probably try again, right?” She looked away from Caleb’s intent gaze, reaching a shaking hand toward an extra pair of chopsticks and laying them on the table in front of her. “Slow and easy, right?” she asked, faking a confidence she didn’t feel.
Caleb moved to sit across from her again. Hesitantly, he reached out to touch her fingers.
“Right,” he said. “Slow and easy.”
Chapter 15
Ava’s second day of testing went much like the first, at least as far as Caleb was concerned. For the most part, he waited in the antechamber as Ava went from doctor to doctor, sparing him a quick smile or nod as she passed in an attempt to reassure him.
He didn’t feel that reassured.
Ava was nervous enough already, so he tried to keep up a brave front, but in reality, he was worried. She was doing a good job of hiding her abilities from her examiners, but he knew it was only a matter of time before she was discovered. The medical tests would prove her Half-Breed blood without a shadow of a doubt. And Ava still did not have the control over her gifts that he’d hoped.
Not that it was her fault. Even when trained since childhood, it took years to gain the kind of mastery that might have hope of swaying the Council in their favor. And Ava had only been at it for a few weeks. Caleb had known it was a long shot, but he really didn’t see any alternative once she decided she would no longer run.
Sadly, it was looking more and more like that might be her only option. Caleb just hoped he could fulfill his promise to her and get her to safety when the time came. Despite his bold talk, he knew it would take everything he had—and everything Ava had, for that matter—as well as a boatload of luck for them to escape New Elysia with their lives. Still, he hadn’t been lying when he told her he knew what he was doing. He’d been plotting and planning since before they’d arrived, and if the Council decided that Ava was too big a risk, he would put his plan into action.
It would mean cutting all ties—to New Elysia, to his friends, to his mother. He could never return to his home, the only true home he’d had for more than fifty years.
But he would do it. They’d make their way to the Guardian colony and start a new life. Ava would be safe and he . . .
Well, Caleb wasn’t exactly sure what he would do. He supposed he’d make sure Ava settled in all right—she was his responsibility, after all—and then move on. Maybe spend some time in Europe. It had been a while since he’d been back to Ireland. Perhaps returning to the rolling emerald landscape and quaint villages where he’d spent his first years as a Protector might help him put the whole situation behind him.
Or maybe he’d just brood on the moors like a modern-day Heathcliff. Caleb half-laughed at the idea, but for some reason, the thought of leaving Ava behind left him a bit unsettled. He wasn’t exactly sure what was wrong with him. Ava was an assignment. Sure, he liked her, but his willingness to stand by her had more to do with his growing disillusion with the Council than anything about Ava personally. At least, he’d been trying to convince himself of that. Ever since he almost kissed her.
What was he thinking?
Caleb’s gaze lifted from his clenched hands to the closed door where Ava was undergoing the last examination of the day—more psychological testing, he believed. His foot tapped nervously on the carpet, and the leather squeaked as he shifted his position on the waiting room chair.
No. His job, his
duty,
was to keep Ava safe. That was all. There was no room in his life—or in hers, either—for any romantic complications. Their situation was difficult enough without adding that to the mix.
Not to mention it was dangerous. Forbidden by the Law.
It was the intensity of their circumstances leading to heightened emotions, he reasoned. It was only natural that two people going through a stressful time might turn to each other for consolation.
But it wasn’t real. And as the older, more experienced of the two, it was Caleb’s responsibility to keep it all in check.
Yeah. He could do that. He was a professional.
The door opened, and Caleb shot to his feet as Ava emerged, rubbing a hand over her face. She smiled wanly at him as he approached.
“How did it go?” he asked.