13
Jonah
Athread of warm emotion tugs at my chest. I find myself drifting along the trailers toward its pull automatically, even though I’ve resolved to put as much space as I can between me and the shadowkind woman who’s now so woven into my awareness.
It’s been a while since I felt contentment from Peri. There was that one period while we were still at the school when the sensations seeping through our connection turned so heady I had to step away from class and duck into a bathroom to compose myself. Just remembering it sends a renewed tingle of heat over my skin that I try to will away.
But simply happy? Satisfied and assured, without a pile of worry mixed in?
I’m not sure I’ve gotten that impression from her in the entire time her feelings have been leaking into the four of us through the strange marks on our chests.
I spot her crouched near the shadowkind creature that now looks vaguely badger-like, other than the feathers it hasn’t lost in any of its morphs. She coos at it, and it sprawls out on the grass like a cat stretching before it takes a nap.
Another flicker of delight passes from her into me. She’s been working with this beast all afternoon, watching over it when it shows signs of another shift. Its form has changed two more times, but something about the pulses of calm she says she’s sending at it have soothed any bad temperedness.
It’s not as if she can hover over every one of the creatures that tumble through the odd rifts, moderating their impulses for all time. She won’t even be able to keep the shadowkind emerging fromthisrift under control if it moves away from the increased protections the shadowbloods and I laid down.
But it’s progress. She’s done more to eliminate the threat the warped creatures pose than anything anyone else has accomplished so far.
I stop beside the trailer Rollick’s claimed as his main base of operations, watching her from a careful distance. Even observing her like this feels dangerous in a very different way.
Watching the fading sunlight gleam off her vibrant teal hair, the soft smile that curves her lips and the glimmer of compassion in her eyes, I want even more than usual to walk right over to her and pull her close. To hear every sound I know I could encourage from those lips, from laughter to eager gasps.
I want to be the one stirring the flares of passion and delight inside her that I assume Raze did just days ago.
The twinge of desire shoots through both my heart and my groin. My foot eases forward another step before I catch it and yank myself back.
I nearly collide with a slightly taller form looming behind me.
Rollick chuckles and rests his hand on my shoulder to steady me. “What are you running away from, Jonah? There’s nothing to be afraid of here.”
His gaze settles on Peri, and a satisfied grin of his own crosses his face. “Not since our glowing wonder figured out yet another dimension to her powers. She stumbled into our path at just the right time, didn’t she?”
My gut twists. “Yeah, I guess she did.”
In a lot of ways. To solve a lot of problems. But not for me and maintaining the standards of professionalism I’ve spent years cultivating.
I was already having trouble getting her out of my head, and now I can never tune her out completely. I can’t stop myself from reacting to what I sense from her.
Rollick’s gaze slides to me. He studies me, a knowing gleam coming into his eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with appreciating her.”
My voice comes out terser than I like. “There are a lot of ways it would be totally unethical for me to ‘appreciate’ her while I’m one of her teachers.”
“I suppose. Humans do like to create their complicated moral dilemmas.” Rollick pauses. “You know?—”
To my relief, he’s cut off from pursuing this awkward subject by the peal of his ringtone. He pulls out his phone, frowns at the display, and ambles away from me, his voice dipping low. “Rollick here. What? Are you sure? Where exactly…”
His words fade out as he passes behind the trailer.
Apprehension settles over me. He didn’t sound pleased. Has something else gone wrong? Has there been trouble at the academy or at a different rift?
Before I can drag myself away to distract myself from those questions, the demon reappears. His mouth is set in a flat line.
When he catches my gaze, he motions vaguely to the east. “Another one of these questionable rifts has appeared—off in Mongolia. I think I’d better take a look in person and direct the initial efforts to contain it firsthand.”
My pulse stutters. “Another one?”
Hell, how many of the things are going to pop up? It’s becoming a game of whack-a-mole—except nothing about this feels like playing.
