Page 52 of The Last Aether

Atlas’s husky chuckle sounded from my other side.

“You were moaning in your sleep. I want to go to your Zen zone,” Kai whined.

A laugh slipped from my lips. “I was in this cocoon of magic, and it felt like heaven.”

Phoenix stared down at me. “Your eyes.”

The hint of panic mixed with awe had me sitting up.

Atlas framed my face with both hands. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“What’s happening?” I demanded.

Kai stared at me. “Your eyes. They’ve gone silver.”

I pulled myself from Atlas’s hold, throwing off the covers. Before any of the guys could stop me, I scooted to the end of the bed and made a beeline for the bathroom. I flicked on the light and hurried to the mirror.

Staring back at me were swirling pools of silver. Anxiety dug its talons into my chest. The guys’ reactions had told me this was far from normal. And I was so tired of new freakish abilities and discoveries.

A moment later, the silver was gone. I lifted my hand to my face, probing the skin around my eyes, but nothing happened.

Kai met my gaze through the mirror as they poured into the bathroom. “It’s gone?”

I nodded, turning my focus back to my eyes and searching for any hint of silver. But they were back to their normal gray.

“There has to be a tie between that and the silver marks,” Phoenix said.

“We should talk to Quincy,” Atlas added. “See what he knows.”

Phoenix shook his head. “I’m not so sure. I think the fewer people who know everything that’s going on, the better.”

A knot formed in my stomach. “You don’t trust Quincy?”

“I’m not saying that. The less we speak of these things outside our bond, the less of a chance there is for information to fall into the wrong hands. If someone thinks Quincy knows something, The Network could torture him for that information.”

“I think I’m going to be sick.”

Atlas’s arms came around me as he sent Phoenix a withering glare. “Was that really necessary?”

Phoenix didn’t look the least bit reproachful. “Aura doesn’t want to be babied. She wants the truth.”

I straightened in Atlas’s hold. “He’s right. Even if I hate it.”

Atlas pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “We can find a way to talk to Quincy, quietly.”

Phoenix muttered something under his breath.

“Too much heavy this early in the morning,” Kai griped. “Can we at least get some food before we dive into the depressing?”

My stomach growled in answer.

“See? Pip agrees with me.”

“She’s not agreeing with you, she hasn’t eaten since breakfast yesterday,” Atlas shot back.

I toyed with the hem of my nightgown. “Is everything from yesterday, uh, dealt with?”

I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to ask if the body had been disposed of and appropriate people informed.