Ember (34 page)

All
eyes turned to me, then. When my
own locked with Sylvanus’ he bit his lip into a cruel smile, an
expression more grotesque than I’d seen from him yet.

I saw Jaden, who was nearing me, turn his
head to follow my gaze to Sylvanus. Then he walked by, wrapping an
arm around my waste and pulling me with him towards the bridge.

The dark creature looked displeased, then
turned back to Thoran.

I couldn’t hear what was said after that, my
legs were forced to move on. I could feel Jaden’s pulse beating
solidly, but he kept his eyes hard and forward . . . he kept his
arm hugged tight around me too. I didn’t resist the gesture, nor
did I say anything.

When we had gone on like this for quite a
while, passing the fork and beginning to see patches of lava, I
felt a damp chill on the side of my arm. I looked down and twisted
it around to see a red stain covering it. My eyes narrowed. I
looked at Jaden’s side. It didn’t look like any blood was leaking
through, but he was wearing dark leather, so I touched it to make
sure.

“Agh—” He bent over immediately with a
moan.

I turned my hand to see blood, then looked up
to him. “
Jaden.
”

His expression returned to normal. “It’s
fine.”

My eyes narrowed further and I lifted the top
layer to look at the light cloth underneath. It was soaked through
with dark red.

We were standing on the path amidst a pack of
boulders, small pools of fire on either side. I pointed to one of
the rocks. “Sit down.”

He didn’t look pleased. “I don’t need
to—”

“
Sit,
” I repeated, eyeing him harder
this time.

He stared at me then let out a sigh and went
to sit on the rock.

I took a breath. Not so easy for me to boss
Jaden around. Then I walked over and bent down to examine the wound
better. . . .

It wasn’t going to work like this.

I rolled my eyes dramatically and cleared my
throat. “Would you, ah . . .” he looked at me sideways “. . . you
know,” I tugged up slightly at the base of my shirt.

He raised an eyebrow, leading me to think I
would have to go into a more explicit explanation. But then he
started to unbutton the over-shirt. Apparently he
understood
my request, he just thought my asking it was strange.

The concern for Jaden’s perception of me
vanished as he pulled the cloth shirt over his head, groaning
slightly again. I got on my knees to examine the cut closer.

It was under his arm towards his back, almost
beneath his shoulder-blade. I looked around for something to clear
the blood, but we had no water with us and there was hardly a hope
of finding some anywhere else in the cave.

I absently noticed Jaden was looking down at
me. Not scrutinizing so much as speculative.

“You should have told me about this sooner.
We would have stopped.” I ripped off some material from my shirt,
then started to pat it carefully around the wound.

“That’s exactly why I didn’t.”

I ignored him. There were four distinct marks
causing the bleeding. I placed my fingers over them. My nails fit
perfectly into the shape.

He winced in pain again.

“Sorry,” I said, then frowned. “He scratched
you. . . .”

“Clawed ’s more like it.”

I stopped and gazed up at him, unable to keep
the emotion from my face. He looked back, for once equally
intent.

I wanted to ask him why he had gotten so
upset, why he had attacked Sylvanus when he knew what would happen
if he did . . . but I already knew the answers, as hard as it was
to believe, I already knew . . .

“Thank you,” I whispered, then turned my head
back quickly to my work.

He didn’t respond.

I finished my wrapping with a tight knot then
leaned to stand up, scoffing slightly. “Well, wasn’t that cliché.
Boy gets in fight for girl, then she fixes up his wound.” He pulled
the under-shirt over his head. “. . . it’s like something out of a
book.”

He smirked crookedly. “Nah.” Then stood up.
“In a book the girl would have kissed the boy afterwards . . .” he
was leaning close to me, inches from my face “. . . or vice
versa.”

I gulped. He was looking at me in that
especially stomach-tying way. I could just feel my legs forgetting
how to hold my body up.

Then he smirked the slightest bit wider and
turned around, starting off down the path casually.

I just stood there . . . unable to breathe.
After a few seconds the air escaped my lungs and my eyebrows
furrowed.

I am never wrapping a boys cut again.

We walked on without much talking. I was
amazed at how much this
wasn’t
like Ikovos and I, with me
and Jaden it seemed the more I was around him, the more uncertain I
felt.

When we reached the lift, Kale and Luther
were already there waiting. They decided to go back with us and
spoke to Jaden about news regarding the borders near the watch-post
all the way up the lift. I didn’t hear much, concentrating more of
the whole ‘one-hundred-feet-over-lava’ thing and honestly quite
spent from the last few hours. I did hear them mention something
about a message from another dimension. I wondered if there were
others who fought against the Meoden, allies to the order.

When we had reached the second lift, Kale and
Luther were still speaking.

Jaden tapped my arm. “After dinner would you
like to go over some studies?” He asked it so casually, but
instantly excitement swirled up in my stomach, elation I could
barely contain.

I just looked at him and nodded.

The corners of his mouth tipped slightly,
much sweeter-looking than usual, as the elevator clicked into
place. We were in the basement room of the lodge.

“You know your way back from here,
right?”

I looked around then considered the route.
“I’ll manage.”

He nodded and smiled. “I’ll see you after
dinner then.”

I did the same, then took a few steps before
glancing back. “Aren’t you eating?”

He looked grim for a moment then shook his
head, lightening. “I think I’ll be busy with Master Thoran for a
while.

My heart fell. “Oh. . . . If it helps, tell
him I said it wasn’t your fault.”

I thought he might laugh at me for saying
this, but instead the corners of his smile pinched wider. “Thanks.
I will.”

I kept my gaze locked on for a second, I
didn’t want to see the person he was being now disappear again . .
. but any longer and he’d start thinking I was crazy.

I turned around and left the room.

*

As I walked through the halls, I was
surprised at how
not
exhausted I was, most likely due to the
prospect of magic training tonight. When I entered the cafeteria I
got a surreal sort of feeling. I had been here about five hours
prior, but so much had happened. The dark and terrifying creatures
I had just visited simply didn’t fit in with this warm and open
building . . . so safe here . . . With a pleasant sigh I walked
over to the counter to greet Sophie.

It was late for dinner, nearing eight. Many
of the boys had already cleared the room and the ones that were
left were studying quietly.

Sophie was putting dishes into the cupboard
as I approached.

“Hey, Sophie.”

She looked over and smiled. “I haven’t seen
you in a while. Were you training with Holdan?”

I shook my head calmly, leaning forward onto
the counter.

Her face perplexed. “Oh? What did you do
then?”

My eyes narrowed slightly. “Well. . . .”

She focused more intently on me now. “Did you
ever find Jaden?”

I nodded. “Yes. Thanks again for the
directions.”

She smiled pleasantly, but here eyes still
begged a question. I conceded.

“He told me he would take me along to the
next Meoden meeting. That’s why I was looking for him, that’s where
I was today.”

She looked surprised. “Oh. . . . Well, how
did that go?

My eyes fell slightly. “. . . I should
probably let someone else explain it to you . . . I don’t think I’d
have the most objective view on it.”

Her face turned more serious and she stopped
her work to walk over to the counter across. “Are you alright?”

I nodded.

She seemed unsatisfied. “Did Jaden do
something?”

I waved my hands. “Oh, no, no, no . . . ,” an
involuntary smile crossed my lips. “He was great actually.”

When I looked back up, she had an eyebrow
raised.

My eyes widened. “I mean, great for taking
me. . . . It was just a nice thing to do,” a smirk crossed her
face, “Not really great himself . . . Not that he isn’t,” I
corrected quickly, then added, “I wouldn’t know.”

Oh, God, that was bad.

Her brows leveled and she reached for a
plate. “As long as you’re okay, that’s what matters.”

I sucked in a breath, knowing I was
red-faced. “Oh, yeah, I’m good.”

She grinned, passing me the dish. “Why don’t
you grab a bite to eat.”

I lightened at the escape route. “Good idea.
Thanks Sophie.”

She waved. “Good night, Evelyn.”

I turned around to search for a seat. The sky
outside was deep blue, almost dark. The boys still left reading did
so by candlelight.

Derrith sat alone at the far end of a nearby
table. I took a seat on the opposite side. He looked up smiling
when I first sat down, but then resumed his reading.

I ate peacefully, in silence, despite my
blunder with Sophie. So what if I had said that Jaden was great? It
wasn’t like anyone was going to start thinking anything. The idea
was preposterous.

I contemplated all the reasons that supported
this theory through the rest of my meal and all the way back to the
study, neatly lining them up in a graspable picture. Unfortunately,
one look at the red flame on the center table and I lost my whole
thought process. Then I saw the boy in question kneeling over by
the bookshelves and an entire case built up on the
other
side of the spectrum.

“Oh, no,” I muttered.

The perfectly structured face turned to me.
“Good, you’re back . . . Did you say something?” His tone was so
casual.

I swallowed hard and shook my head back and
forth.

He smiled and gestured to the couch. “You can
sit down. I’m just grabbing a few things.”

He looked back to the bookcase and my face
scrunched.

Blast it all, he’s still being nice. . . .
This isn’t good. This definitely isn’t good.

I went to sit on the couch, almost
robotically, then narrowed my eyes.

Alright, Evelyn, you’re just letting your
imagination get away with you. This is your first real chance to
learn magic. Concentrate.

I took a couple deep breaths,
just calm
down . . .

I really thought I’d managed to . . . until
the dark-haired boy sat down on the chair beside me.

I popped up instantly. “I’ll be right back.”
I didn’t look to check his reaction, but his responding “okay”
sounded a little skeptical.

I picked up some clothes on my way into the
bathroom, shutting the door firmly behind me as soon as I was in. I
stood there for a moment, then shook my head clear and went to the
sink to splash cold water in my face. I really think it helped.
Without much fuss I changed into the white tank-top and comfy cloth
pants I had grabbed and exited the bathroom confidently.

Jaden looked up as I approached. I forced a
determinedly regular expression. “How did it go with —”

“Master Thoran?” he finished for me.

I nodded, then dropped into the couch
carefully. The room was dim, and quiet enough to hear the flame
hissing.

“I explained to him what happened. . . . He
was fairly understanding.”

“You’re not in trouble then?”

Jaden laughed immediately. It was full and
unguarded, if not a little grim,
very
different from the
usual. “Let’s just say you’ll be seeing a lot of me for a
while.”

I thought about this. “You’re grounded.” My
voice was bleak.

He looked back up through dark strands, his
mouth tipping easily in confirmation. Then he looked over to the
fire.

The flames seemed to curl around the tips at
his gaze, distracting me enough to speak without thinking.

“But Ikovos told me that —” his eyes shot to
me expectantly. I gulped, already regretting the words. “. . .
Ikovos said you hate being stuck at the lodge.” I finished
hesitantly, my gaze shifting about.

After a few uncomfortable seconds, he smiled
slightly, not sparring with an obvious stare. “Maybe I have a new
incentive to stay.”

Before I had time to contemplate what this
might mean, a knock came at the door. I looked over to it, then
back at Jaden momentarily, he was still smirking, before standing
up and walking to the door. “Coming.”

I opened it carefully, easing when I saw that
it was Cornelius. His face looked relieved. “Oh, my dear, I’m so
glad you’re safe.”

My features lifted, but his tone was way too
fretted to smile.

“I just heard what happened. Are you
alright?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I’m fine.” His frown grew.
“It really wasn’t that bad,” I lied, sparing a glance at Jaden.

Cornelius didn’t seem to notice this. His
brow furrowed, eyes dropping. “Sylvanus . . .” my breath shook “. .
. I’m sorry that you had to encounter him again.”

My nose started to sting, but I didn’t want
to lose it in front of Jaden again. I forced a glossy-eyed smile,
shaking my head.

Cornelius’s face became indignant. “Between
you and me, I’m quite glad that Jaden punched him.” I widened in
sincere surprise. Cornelius caught this and quickly nodded to me.
“Of course, don’t tell him that I said that.”

One of my brows lowered now as I tried to
decide if I should tell Cornelius that Jaden was right inside and
had more than likely heard all that he’d said. “Ah . . .”