Emma shrugged. “You weren’t going to let me come home and I told you I needed to come back here before we went AWOL.”
I didn’t bother asking was AWOL was. “You lied to me.” For a moment I was at a loss for words.
Seeing how upset I was, Emma stepped in and put a hand on my arm. Her face was now full of regret and sorrow. “Calan, I’m sorry. I just knew it was the only way –”
I brushed off her touch, stepping back. My voice was cold to my own ears. “No, it wasn’t the only way. I believed you. I believed you, Emma.”
She threw her hands up in surrender. “Calan, I get it. Lying is a big deal to you, I see that now. I’ll never do it again. But I’m having a hard time believing a pit stop is the worst thing to happen. For crying out loud, you act like no one has ever lied to you before me,” she said, resting her hands on her hips.
My lips tightened of their own accord and I kept my hands fast against my sides.
“Oh my god,” her mouth fell open. “Thisisthe first time anyone has lied to you.”
I didn’t respond.
“No, that can’t be. Someone has surely lied to you. You’re something like twenty-two, right?”
“I am twenty-five-years old,” I said, not dignifying the rest with an answer. The way Emma was reacting made me feel out of place again. It was more evident than ever I’d been fostered in a gap between worlds.
“But surely you were at least lied to about Santa Claus, or the Easter bunny? Or someone told that you did a good job on something when you were really awful at it? It’s how people operate.”
“I wasn’t brought up observing such celebrations, and where I’m from, honesty is the most important construct and gift one can give. I built my faith from the bricks of truth my Masters gave me. Their word is my bond.”
Emma didn’t respond right away, seeming to absorb what I just said. She still didn’t understand the severity of her error, so I had to explain. “Emma, because of your lie, I am responsible for not only yours and Travis’s lives, but the lives of everyone in this building. I am at a complete disadvantage. The soul eater becoming corporeal is something I’ve never encountered before. I can’t ensure the safety of those around us.”
Emma’s face cleared of expression. “You’re right. It was selfish. I wish I could say it wasn’t, but I wanted a change of clothes… and this.” She reached to her desk and grabbed a pocket-sized black, leather-bound journal. She opened the book and out slid a silver necklace. The thin chain coiled messily into her palm. “The necklace was my mother’s. My dad gave it to me after she died.” She slipped the necklace over her head and I caught sight of the charm on the end of it. “Five years old, and I was petrified to wear it. Even as I got older, I was always afraid I might break the chain or lose it, like I do with all the rest of my jewelry.” Emma’s cheeks flushed, and she avoided my gaze. It took a moment to recognize she was embarrassed.
“How did she die?”
From the way her eyes fluttered up in surprise, I realized I had asked the question too brusquely. I’d observed before that when people spoke of the dead, they often spoke quieter, softer, and more slowly. I wasn’t sure why they did so, but I knew I did it wrong.
She toyed with the pendant and studied the design as if she hadn’t laid her eyes on it in a long time and was re-familiarizing herself with its curves using the pad of her thumbs. “Car crash.”
I didn’t know what to say but I stepped in so close that I couldn’t help but inhale her scent. I suppressed the shudder that swept through my body. Emma shivered too but it wasn’t cold in here. With my index finger, I lifted the ornate pendant off her breastbone and my fingers warmed at its touch.It was in excellent condition, but it felt old.The silver circle was divided in half horizontally by metal bar, a crystalline white gem stone sat just above where it was divided. The bottom of the charm had four more little bars separated the lower portion of the charm into five segments.
“It carries power,” I said. Though I didn’t recognize the design, there was something familiar about it and the energy humming from it.
“Oh,” she said softly, but I wasn’t sure she heard me. Her eyes moved back and forth between mine and I felt the warmth of her breath through my shirt. I suddenly wanted to slide those glasses off her face. Emma’s pink tongue slid out and licked her lips, leaving a sheen across them.
My heart tightened, and my blood rushed downward. It was like my body was preparing itself for a fight, but nothing like that at the same time. Until a week ago, I’d never known these sensations.
Emma reached up and pulled her glasses off. Blinking up at me, Emma’s hand drifted up to the side of my face but hovered just above my jaw. Lightning bolts of sizzling sensation shot down my body into a coil of electricity at the base of my stomach. She gave a small gasp then her fingers clenched into her palm, and she dropped her hand. I almost groaned in frustration but kept still.
“I’m sorry I lied to you, Calan.”
I gulped a deep breath of air and broke my gaze with her. What was I doing? I was a Knight of the Light and was simply not worthy to touch such an angel, much less think of doing so. I needed to remember my mission. Protect those from the darkness and the Propheros above all else.
This time she did grab my chin and brought my gaze to her, though she was almost six inches shorter. “I mean it. I’m so sorry to break your trust when obviously it’s something you value so much. Especially when you are trying to protect us. I promise to never lie to you again.”
A lump formed in my throat where there hadn’t been one a moment ago. “Thank you.” The words came out hoarse. Her eyes were drawing me in like the wave of an ocean until my body wanted to drown in her. Gravity begged me to fall upon her with all the hunger I possessed.
Stepping back, I said, “You might as well change into more appropriate clothes since we are here.”
It was hard not to notice the rapid rise and fall of Emma’s chest as she tried to blink away the glassiness in her eyes. “Okay.”
“I’ll be just outside,” and gave a slight bow of my head, dismissing myself. Getting past her back to the main room required body contact to squeeze by her as there was so little room. In a moment, her entire body was pressed against mine and my manhood, which was already stiff, my head was dizzy from the blood rushing away from it. Emma’s hand instinctually fell to my chest. Her face was so close, I saw flecks of gold around her irises.
“Calan, I meant to thank you.”
