Page 48 of The Last Aether

With that first breath, the tears came. For lies. For the life that had been stolen from me. For the parents I had no memory of. Violent sobs rocked my body as Kai held me to him.

“Pip,” he whispered in a rasp.

I clung to him with everything I had. This man who had never lied. This man who was part of the only family I had left.

Kai hoisted me into his arms and strode from the water.

My body shook, not just from crying but from the cold.

“We need to get her to the dorm,” Atlas said through gritted teeth.

“Where do you think I’m going?” Kai bit back.

Phoenix let out a low growl. “I’m going to kill Riven.”

“You’ll have to beat me to it,” Kai said.

The world around me faded in and out. I was aware of the cold. Voices swirling.

Then the heat of a shower that had me shrieking in pain.

“I’ve got you,” Kai crooned as he held me under the spray.

“Shit,” Phoenix cursed. “I think the assassin got her shoulder with a fire.”

“She needs contact so that we can heal her,” Atlas’s deep voice cut in.

Everything hurt, but gentle hands pulled at my clothes, cleaning me with the softest care. I was faintly aware of towels wrapped around me and being carried to a bed.

“This might hurt,” Kai said quietly.

I couldn’t find it in me to care as some sort of antiseptic swept over my wounds. What was it compared to the pain I’d already felt today? As tender hands cleaned each injury and bodies wrapped around mine, I let sleep pull me under and welcomed that nothingness again.

27

The sun beat down on my face as I sat in the park watching Charlie play on the playground. He laughed as he chased another boy around the jungle gym, and I couldn’t help the answering curve of my lips. His world was still so simple, he didn’t realize in any real way how bad things were.

I worried the inside of my cheek. The spot had grown raw over the past few weeks. I needed a job. Mom wanted me to wait until I was sixteen. But we didn’t have two more years of this in us. She was working herself to the bone. If she pulled another double, I was worried she might end up in the hospital.

Movement flickered in the corner of my eye. As I turned, my breath caught in my lungs.

The boy was beautiful. I knew guys didn’t like to be called that, but there really wasn’t another word for him. Light blond hair, broad shoulders, and his eyes. They were a kind of blue that cut right through you.

He gave me a tentative smile. “Hey.”

I nearly swallowed my tongue as I fought the urge to look behind me to see if he was talking to someone else. “Hi,” I squeaked.

“Watching your brother?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

Couldn’t I come up with anything better than that? “What about you?” Was that really better?

He glanced across the park. “Waiting for a friend.”

I nodded.

“Do you watch him every day?”