“Well, we aren’t called Reject Squad for no reason. Might as well remind everyone why we earned that little nickname.”
Chapter Forty-One
Yun
“A dungeon?” I asked.
Carter pulled on his holster, the one that hung over both shoulders to keep two pistols, one under each arm. I hadn’t seen him dressed up like this in a while, given the few issues lately had been unexpected. “Yep. Nothing to worry about. It’s low-level, but it’s pretty close to a town. In and out, no problem.”
“Then why can’t I stay here?”
“With everything that’s happened, I just don’t want you alone. You’ll stay with Kaidan while we’re gone.”
That was just more suspicious. CarterhatedKaidan—they all did. They bitched each time I spent time with him, so why would he have me go there so easily?
Maybe they’re sick of you…
The thought slipped through my brain, and no matter how much I wanted to toss it aside, to unhear it, I couldn’t. Things had been tense, and I’d proven myself a problem.
Who wouldn’t get sick of that?
Still, I didn’t want to utter it aloud. Carter would either smile his fake smile and tell me I was wrong, or he’d admit it.
I had no idea which one of those would hurt more, so I wasn’t about to find out.
I said nothing else as they finished getting ready, and not even on the way over to Kaidan’s. I could have walked myself, but they seemed determined, and I felt too unsettled to argue.
“We’ll be back sometime tomorrow,” Carter said. “Hopefully early, but it might not be until late. Just stay here.”
“I have a training session—”
“No, you don’t. It was canceled,” Kenyon said. “I told the Guild that you weren’t feeling great and needed more rest.”
“I’m feeling fine, though.”
“Your adrenaline and cortisol are high, suggesting your body is under extra stress. You need a rest day.” Kenyon didn’t look directly at me when he said it, and I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that something was off. They weren’t telling me everything.
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. What would I even say? I kept it to myself, pressing my lips together and offering a forced smile.
“Fuck you,” Kaidan said with a cheery voice, and Carter responded by blowing a kiss back.
Ingram flipped him off, and Kenyon waved.
Shear took longer, however, standing there, staring not at Kaidan but at me. Something rested behind his bright blue eyes, something different than usual. I couldn’t identify it, especially on Shear, but I knew it wasn’t good.
Without meaning to, my powers reached out, guiding gently, since that was really all I could offer to him.
Except the moment I did, something unexpected slipped through that line. Along with the corruption was the presence of a power that shouldn’t have been there.
I pulled back, questions swirling in my head. The brush of Shear’s mind to mine felt like a request, but I shook my head. I didn’t need him in there, not before I’d even worked out what I’d felt.
He frowned, but didn’t push. He could have easily forced his way into my mind, had more than enough power to do so, but he didn’t.
A part of me doubted that was about my own rejection and more that he had other things on his mind. A last nod in my direction, then he turned and left with the others.
“Come on. I made tomato mac and cheese.” Kaidan held the door open for me until I entered, the scent of tomato thick in the trailer.
I sat at the table, thrown by what I was sure I had just felt.
