“That’s not a surprise,” I said with a dry chuckle.
“Tatum, what happened tonight was actually huge.”
“Sure,” I agreed. “Level ten demon attacks are no joke.”
And they seem to love stalking me. Hashtag not blessed.
She shook her head, her eyes wide. “That’s not what I mean. Guardian Aurum is the leader of the guardians of Avalon. He’s basically a myth to most Lumens. Guardians are the only celestial beings that can still travel from Avalon to Earth, but it’s not like they just pop down here on the regular. Aurum showing up with a message for a specific Watcher is unheard of.”
I sucked in a lungful of chilly New York spring air and let it out slowly, digesting Drea’s words. What I just heard her say was that there was something else that made me even more of a freak amongst Watchers.
Fantastic.
Being special sounded cool in theory, but the reality wasn’t awesome. The pressure was starting to weigh on me, and I wasn’t sure how well I was going to hold up under it.
“How many guardians are there?” I asked.
Drea shrugged. “Maybe a dozen. They are super rare.”
The gravity of that hit me hard. “Okay, yeah, I can meet with your mom.”
Would love to shower first and hopefully check on Gage.
“Mom said she doesn’t need to see you tonight,” Drea said, and I almost sagged in relief. “She wants you to get a good night’s sleep first. It’s been a long day, but definitely tomorrow.”
“Thanks for the heads up,” I said, and then both Drea and I fell silent.
It had certainly been a day: Gage’s return, Skye’s funeral, another level ten demon attack, and a visit from a guardian. After all that, sleep sounded good, but I wanted to check in on Gage first. Maybe a kiss from him would make this hot mess of a day seem not as bad.
Mmm, Gage kisses.
I’d only had a couple, but I was already hooked. Just thinking about it brought color to my cheeks and lifted my spirits. Maybe this day wouldn’t be a complete dumpster fire after all.
CHAPTERSIX
Iassumed Gage would be waiting in the dorms for us to return, but when we got back to the Lumen Compound, I couldn’t find him anywhere.
“Do you know where Gage is?” I asked Drea as I entered our shared dorm room. “I checked the courtyard, the cafeteria, and Dash’s room. He’s not any of those places.”
Drea looked back at me with a frown from where she stood over my bed. Her phone was clutched in her hand. “I was just about to message you. I think he’s gone.”
What?
My heart immediately started to hammer in my chest. I must have misunderstood her. She couldn’t have meant,gonegone.
“Like, he went to grab a late-night gelato?” I knew that was something he did from time to time. It was a plausible explanation. Or maybe he decided to go for another one of his long walks.
Drea shook her head, her frown deepening. “No, I mean I think he left the compound… for good.”
She pointed at my bed, where there was a torn piece of notebook paper. Rushing forward, I snatched the paper up, my eyes flying over the short note.
Tate,
You mean more to me than anything in this world, I need you to know that. You were the only one in my life who ever saw goodness in me. But without my powers, I’m not sure who I am anymore, what my purpose is, or how I fit in this world. How can I protect you if I’m as weak as a human? I need to figure things out on my own and it’s not fair for me to ask you to wait for me. I’ll come back when I’m worthy of you and if you’ve moved on, I’ll accept that.
Please, just be happy.
Gage
