“I’m okay,” I promised.
He nodded at me before focusing on my mother. “Sorry for getting her back late,” he said, “but it was nice to meet you.”
She smiled. “Nice to have a face with a name.”
“Talk to you later, Jessica,” he dismissed himself only to linger. Then, his hand rose in a wave, and he stepped off the porch. He didn’t look back. He focused on his car, and I waited until he got inside it to drive away before I shut the door. I locked it as his Charger roared down the street.
“He seems…nice,” my mother finally spoke.
“He is.” I moved toward the stairs. “I’m going to lie down—”
“Are you two dating?”
I wasn’t prepared for the question.
I gripped the railing of the stairs. “What?”
She pointed at the door like he was still there. “Is Eric your boyfriend?”
“Why would you think that?” I managed, unable to answer her. Eric and I had yet to discuss how we would tell my parents. We hadn’t had time to.
Her arms folded around her middle, as if she were hugging herself. When her hip cocked to the side, she blew her bangs out of her face. “Jessie,” she spoke as if she were going to scorn me. “You can tell me anything, you know.”
“I know that.”
“So—”
“We’re dating.”
She didn’t seem surprised. “Did he give you the ring?”
My hand curled like I could hide it.
The side of her lip pulled up. “You thought we wouldn’t notice?” My father knew, too. “That looks quite expensive.”
“Mom—” I paused. “Can we talk about this later?”
For a millisecond, I thought she would argue, but she didn’t. “Sure, honey. Just get some rest.”
I started to leave again only for her to call after me, “Jessie?”
When I stopped, the window at the top of the stairs caught my attention. The sky was blue for once. It would be one of those rare warmer days in winter when afternoon hit. It might even be sunny. “Yes?”
“Be careful, sweetheart.”
I looked downstairs. From where I stood, she seemed short and young, like a woman I had never met. “Why do you say that?”
She smiled. “I know what it’s like to be young and in love,” she said, but she stumbled over the L-word. “You’re only seventeen.”
“I know.”
“And Eric is, too.”
“He’s eighteen,” I corrected, somehow feeling like his age justified what I knew about him. He had been through more than anyone I knew. He was straightforward and delicate at the same time. Both of his identities—Shoman and Eric—were unique, but he knew who he was in both. When I first met him, he was everything I wanted to be. Over time, he showed me how I wanted to be myself, and that was how I fell in love with him. Sometime between the river and the sky, my identities had grown into me in the same way his words had grown into my soul.
“Eighteen, seventeen, twenty-five,” she listed ages for the simple numbers they should’ve been. “You’re still children, and he has a reputation—”
“Mom,” I interrupted, knowing what she must have thought about the reckless, rich kid. I had heard enough rumors to understand her thoughts. “He’s a good person. You’ll like him. I promise.”
Her eyes never moved from mine. “Have him over for dinner soon.”
I didn’t fight her request. “I’ll ask him when he’s available.”
“That would be nice.”
I nodded in agreement, but it was difficult to feel like I was being honest. Between training and the failed war, I wondered if Eric and I could hang out together like a normal couple. Normal didn’t seem like a possibility. It never was.
5
Eric
“I didn’t exactly want to leave you there,” I spoke through gritted teeth as sweat dripped down my brow.
“I was fine,” Jessica responded, attempting to hit me with her powers again, but I blocked her with one arm.
For weeks, we had trained together, but it was different today. For once, Urte didn’t hover nearby, taking notes or bellowing instructions. We were alone.
“He never showed up.” Jessica refused to say Darthon’s name.
As my hand rose, she disappeared into a cloud of smoke, reappearing from the wall behind me. She tackled me to the ground and pinned my shoulders against the floor before I sensed her. She was a fast learner. She always had been.
“That’s not exactly the point,” I retorted, trying to roll out from under her, but she shoved her knee against my shin. I winced. “Do you have to be so forceful about it?”
When she laughed, the pressure released. “I said I wasn’t going to go easy on you, and I don’t want you to go easy on me either.”
“I wasn’t,” I admitted as I shoved her off and leapt to my feet.
“You’re cheating.” Her body moved into position, shoulders straight, knees bent. Even in the fluorescent lighting, her purple eyes flashed.
“You shouldn’t have relaxed.”
She didn’t respond with words. This time, her fingers flicked, and a shadow spewed across the floor. Before I could pull away, it latched onto my legs and flipped me into the air. My back hit the ground, and air burst out of my lungs. Her foot landed on my chest in milliseconds.
“You should stop talking,” she said, breaking her own rule.
I grabbed her ankle, but my hand went through her. I was pinned.
“If you were a human, this would be a different story,” I grumbled, knowing we were far from it. She was as strong as I was when we were shades. It didn’t matter that she was smaller or even a girl. Her strength was equal to mine, and she was faster, too. Planning was the only advantage I had. Urte had years to teach me strategies. Jessica had weeks. And my favorite move was already in process.
Use everything around you that you can.
Earlier that day, we had practiced with targets, and one disk wasn’t in complete shards. “I guess you win this round.” I started concentrating on my senses and threw them out. The air I controlled grasped the disk, lifting it into the air to soar toward her back.
Spinning around, she caught it with one hand. “Please.” She broke it in half before tossing it to the ground. “I can feel your senses.”
I took the moment to grab her leg, the one she had forgotten about. It solidified under my hold, and I yanked her down before rolling on top of her. When she tried to disappear, I grasped the shadows to keep them whole. Her arms were beneath mine, and her face was pressed against my chest. She squirmed for a second before she gave up. “Not fair.”
“I know,” I said, “but fights aren’t fair.”
She moved again, barely, but she moved. “I can handle myself in a fight.”
“You’re okay in a fight,” I teased, watching the aggravation flicker over her gaze.
She squirmed again, trying to kick my leg with her boot. “Okay?” she repeated. “Just okay? I do better than okay.” She wasn’t lying. “You would be nothing without my help.”
“Oh, low blows,” I sang, forcing her shadows to solidify again. “You are mad.”
“I’m determined,” she corrected.
“I never argued with you,” I pointed out. “You make me who I am. I wouldn’t be anything without you.”
“Aw,” she cooed, smiling at my words, but right when I thought she was enjoying our time together, she swung her leg over and knocked my torso off her. This time, she was the one on top. “I win.”
I winced, stretching my neck to breathe. “You know, most girlfriends would have thought that was romantic.”
“We’re training,” she said. “How romantic can we get?”
“Pretty romantic.” I propped myself up to kiss her.
She tensed, half-expecting me to take control again, but I whispered, “You win,” and she relaxed against me. Her hand curled through my hair, and her mouth pressed against mine, deepeni
ng the first kiss we shared all day. When my hands landed on her hips, she leaned away, and her black hair fell between us. She pushed it back, and her face flushed.
“Okay, so that was a little romantic,” she admitted as she rolled off me. She plopped down next to me, but her warmth radiated beneath my skin.
Her arm pressed against mine, and our heavy breathing echoed around the room. The ceiling seemed endless, stretching for miles above us, but we both knew it wasn’t. Luthicer had placed an illusion on it when he created the training room with Urte. It only appeared to go on forever. In reality, it went up ten feet.
“What are we going to do about Darthon?” Jessica finally said his name.
We had school in the morning. We had to go back, and Jessica had already decided to pretend things were normal with her friends. She didn’t want the Light to believe they had disturbed her, but her voice shook when she spoke, “He must be at Hayworth.”
“We can’t do anything until he does,” I spoke the truth. “We just have to be ready when he makes a move.”
Her fingers dragged across the back of my hand. “That’s not exactly what I meant.”
I refused to look at her. “What did you mean?” I asked, even though I already knew what she would say.
“Why wouldn’t he just kill you?” she asked. “If he knows who you are, why would school stop him from killing you there?”
It was a question the elders had considered a million times, but I hated the only theory we had.
“If he’s waiting to absorb me—” she said the last words I wanted to hear.
“We don’t even know what that means, Jessica,” I interrupted, “and it isn’t going to happen.”
Her clothes crinkled as she flipped onto her side. From my peripherals, I could see her eyes staring up at me, how her black hair drifted over her forehead in a slick wave. “We’re going to have to talk about it eventually,” she said. “Ignoring the possibility isn’t going to make it go away.”
“Who knows?” I wished the ceiling were real, how it stretched on forever with no end. “Maybe it will.”
“Darthon isn’t going to die randomly.”
“He could get hit by a bus,” I joked, but she didn’t laugh.
“I’m serious, Shoman.”
I glanced over, staring at the crinkle that had formed above her nose. “You know, you’re kind of cute when you’re aggravated.”
“Eric,” she grumbled in protest, but a smile pulled at her lips.
I rolled onto my side to face her. “I know.” I pushed a strand of hair out of her face. “But there’s nothing we can do but wait.”
“I don’t like waiting.”
“I’ve noticed.”
Before I could continue, the training room shifted, and the illusion ripped apart. The ceiling was stone, and the floor became rocky. Jessica’s eyes widened, and we sat up as the door burst open.
“Hey,” a young boy shouted as he ran in.
Jessica and I leapt to our feet, but I enjoyed the blush that crossed her face as Brenthan stopped a few feet away from us.
“Are you two okay?” he asked as his older brother, Pierce, followed him inside.
“We’re great,” I dismissed the fact that we had been seen lying on the floor. Jessica stepped behind me like she could hide herself. “What are you two here for?”
Pierce laughed, but his hand moved over his face like he could shove his chuckle back into his chest.
“I learned a new spell today,” Brenthan beamed. He only had his powers for a year, but he was growing quickly, and his excitement reminded me of my stepbrother, Noah.
My hands clapped together. “Let’s see it, then.”
“Okay.” Brenthan stepped back, raised his hand, and his palm began to glow green. Sparks shot out from his fingertips before a tiny ball of electricity exploded from his touch. It dipped, twisted, and flew around the room. Everyone ducked as it hit the nearby wall. The stone cracked.
Brenthan’s mouth hung open. “Oops.”
I laid my hand on his head. “You did good,” I said, staring at the charred pieces that landed on the floor. Urte would throw a fit. “Every shade has to do a little damage to the shelter.”
Brenthan leapt up. “Really?”
“Just work on your aim.”
“And work on that with the other fourteen-year-olds,” Pierce said, pointing to the door. “Come on.”
“Yeah. Yeah.” Brenthan’s head hung low as he slumped toward the door, only turning around to wave. “See you later, Shoman. Bye, Jess.” Then, he was gone.
Pierce shook his head as the door shut. “I swear,” he muttered. “That kid will never stop idolizing you.”
I smirked. “What’s wrong with that?”
“It’s impossible to compete as a big brother when your best friend is the first descendant,” Pierce joked, but his face relaxed. “We have another meeting.”
“Of course we do.” I looked at Jessica. “Are you coming?”
She shook her head. “I can’t. My parents are watching me a little more closely than usual,” she explained. “I should go home in case they check on me. Again.” The elders would understand.
“All right.” I picked up two water bottles and handed her one. “Get home safe.”
She took a drink before responding, “I will.”
Pierce started for the door, and I followed him, but Jessica grabbed my arm. I twisted around, and she let go, but didn’t speak. Her bottom lip hung open, and she stared at me like I would disappear.
“You okay?” I asked.
“I just—” she paused. “Can you meet my parents?”
I had to repeat the words in my own head to come close to comprehending what she asked. “What?”
Her face went scarlet. “Can you meet them?”
“Sure. I’ll schedule them in-between arguing with Luthicer and rebelling against my father’s rules,” I joked.
She slapped my shoulder. “I’m being serious,” she said, but she laughed. “My mom wants to have you over for dinner.”
I thought of the blonde woman who looked less than pleased when she heard my human name. Eric Welborn wasn’t exactly someone parents wanted their kids to hang out with. I had figured Jessica dismissed us as lab partners, nothing more, but she obviously hadn’t.
“I can meet them.” I tried to control my voice, but Jessica heard my hesitation.
Her nose twitched. “You don’t seem very excited.”
I touched her arm, trying to ignore the fact that Pierce was listening to every word. “Don’t take this the wrong way,” I stated. “I’m not.”
Her body tensed, and I ran my thumb over her arm. “Not because I don’t want to meet them. I do,” I clarified. “I just don’t feel right meeting them yet.”
“Why?”
I raised my brow and forced a strange voice, “Hi, Mr. Taylor. I showed your daughter a dangerous world in which she almost got killed—twice. Thanks for approving of our relationship.”
She slapped my arm again, but we both laughed.
“I’ll meet them, Jessica.” I made the promise anyway. If it was important to her, it was important to me.
“When?”
“Tomorrow if you want.”
Her shoulders relaxed. “Tomorrow, then.”
“What are you telling them?” I asked. This time, I was the tense one.
“What do you mean?”
I reached down, grabbed her left hand, and showed her the ring I had given her one month ago. “Am I your boyfriend or—?”
“That would probably be best for now.” She pulled away. “We can figure out the rest later.”
I nodded, gesturing to Pierce. “I’ll call you after the meeting.” Telling her I was going to call her was the only way she would answer her phone.
“Sounds good,” she agreed before leaning over to wave at her guard. “Keep him out of trouble.”
“I’m normally the trouble,” Pierce joked back, but Jessica was already
gone. She had disappeared into her transportation. Only her purple smoke remained.
I took a sip out of my water bottle as I watched the smoke disappear, too. When it was gone, I walked over to Pierce.
He didn’t move. “Trouble in paradise?”
“This isn’t exactly paradise.” I opened the door to lead the way.
“It will be,” Pierce spoke at my back as he followed me into the corridor. “When everything is done, we’ll all be good.”
“I sure hope so,” I muttered back, truly hoping it would be.
6
Jessica
I leaned against Crystal’s sedan as she threw her notebooks into her bag. She had yet to look at me since picking me up for school, but I was waiting for her interrogation. I was waiting for anything, but she acted as if nothing had happened, even though her hair couldn’t have been more out of place. She didn’t even have her usual lip ring in, and her punk clothes had been replaced with sweatpants and a pink hoody. We had forty minutes before school started.
“Did you have any plans this weekend?” I asked, desperate to talk to her, but she shrugged. I sighed. “Crystal, I am sorry.”
“I know.” She shut her car door. “We don’t have to talk about it.”
“But—” This wasn’t her. She would’ve never refused an opportunity to hear information. Whoever she was now was affected by the memory loss. I was practically staring at myself a few weeks ago. “I want to talk to you about it.”
She shifted her bag to her left shoulder. “What’s there to talk about?”
“What do you remember about last semester?” The question escaped me.
Her dark eyebrows squeezed together. “Everything,” she said. “Why? Is this about Eric?”
“No,” I said, but I needed an excuse to ask such bizarre questions, so I changed my mind, “Kind of, actually. Yeah.”
“I mean, I knew you liked him. That’s why we got a gift for his birthday,” she said, revealing something she remembered, “but engagement? Seriously? You can’t get engaged to someone in high school.”
My hand fell behind me. I couldn’t tell her the truth. Eric and I were destined, no matter how fickle our destiny had become, and I did love him. But the ring was a shock, even to me. When I thought of how he found my biological parents’ grave, I succumbed to the feeling of relief—the precious calm of a storm I had lived with my entire life—and I found that serenity in Eric.
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