Mom: Hey, sweetie, just wondering how your first day is going.
Me: I’m just getting a tour. Classes haven’t even started yet. In fact, I’m pretty much the only one here right now. Most of the people won’t be here until Monday when school officially starts.
Mom: It might be a good thing you’re a little bit early. You’ll get to learn where everything is before everyone gets there.
Me: I guess so. I just don’t get why I couldn’t have spent an extra couple of days there with you guys.
Mom: Grandpa thought it’d be best if you got there a little bit early.
Me: Yeah, he’s been acting really weird the last couple of days, though. He’s not by chance there with you right now, is he? I texted him last night, but he didn’t answer.
Mom: He’s actually in the City of Crystal for a couple of days, so he might not respond for a bit.
Me: What’s he doing there?
Mom: The Foreseers had an emergency meeting about something.
Me: They’ve been having a lot of meetings lately.
Mom: Sometimes that happens, but I’ll make sure to tell him to message you as soon as he gets back.
Me: Thanks. And tell Jayse the same thing. I haven’t heard from him, either.
When she doesn’t reply right away, I start to get a little worried something’s wrong. What if something happened to Jayse? It makes me hate being so far away and out of the loop.
Me: Is everything okay?
Mom: Yeah, sorry, your father needed help with the grill, and by help, I mean help putting out the fire.
I giggle as I reply.
Me: Dad and his awesome cooking skills. I’m going to miss that.
Mom: You say that now, but when you haven’t eaten one of his infamous charred burgers in a few months, you’ll be singing another tune.
Me: No way. I’ll miss everything, including the burned burgers.
Again, she doesn’t text back right away, and I start to feel all those miles between us.
Mom: Hey, honey, I really need to go help your dad before he burns the house down. Call you tonight?
Me: Yes, please. Can I ask you just one more thing, though? It’s kind of important.
Mom: Sure.
Me: Has grandpa ever dream walked?
It takes her a moment to respond.
Mom: Why do you ask?
Me: I thought I dreamed about him last night, but it felt real.
Mom: I doubt it was him since Foreseers banned dream walking a long time ago, but I can ask him when he gets in. What exactly happened?
Me: He warned me of danger coming. It was actually very ominous. It’s why I asked. I just want to make sure everything’s okay with him.
Mom: I’m sure it was probably just a dream, but I’ll try to get ahold of him and call u tonight, but u know how hard it is when he’s in the city.
Me: Thanks. Oh, and Mom, have you ever heard of the term electi.
Mom: Maybe, but I can’t think of what it is off the top of my head. I can look into, though. Was that part of your dream, too?
Me: Yeah, Grandpa said it to me. I don’t know what it means, though.
Mom: Look at you, already trying to solve a mystery.
Me: Ha ha, not a murder mystery, though. Just crazy, old grandpa stuff.
Mom: I’ll look into everything and call u tonight, okay?
Me: Okay. Thanks, Mom.
Mom: You’re welcome, sweetie. And luv u.
Me: Luv u, too.
I put the phone into the pocket of my shorts and lollygag behind the tour guide as she leads me toward a cemetery. So, Jax wasn’t lying about that. It makes me wonder if he was joking about a building being back here that holds dead bodies.
“This is where we bury most of the Guardians.” The guide retrieves a silver flask from her shirt pocket, twists the lid off, and then shakes the crap out of it. “I need a refill. Try to get lost while I’m gone so I can end this tour and go home.” She rushes back toward the school before I can get a word out.
I press the tips of my fingers to the brim of my nose, feeling a headache coming on. “Is everyone around here an asshole?”
“Don’t take it personally. Guardians are a little on the temperamental side. Call it a curse of the job.”
The unexpected sound of Jax’s voice causes me to jump.
He’s standing near the entrance to the cemetery, leaning against the iron gate, dressed in black jeans with his hoodie pulled over his head.
“Is that why you’re so pissy all the time?” I ask, hiking through the grass toward him.
He presses his hand to his chest, pretending to be offended. “I’m never pissy. In fact, I’m quite the opposite.”
“Ha, yeah right.” I stop just short of him. “Cranky’s your middle name.”
His lips tip into a playful smile. “No way. My middle name is definitely charmingly adorable.”
“More like charmingly pissy.”
He chuckles, straightening his stance. “While I’m completely enjoying this flirtatious argument—with a very beautiful girl, I might add—I’m curious why you think I’m an asshole.”
“Um, where should I start?” I thrum my finger against my lips. “You’ve been cranky pretty much since we first met. Well, except for when you gave me the Otium. That was actually a very nice thing to do.”
He muses over something as his gaze sweeps up and down my body. I hate to admit it, but my heart rate increases from the attention, my pulse throbbing in the strangest of places and weirdest of ways.
“Tell me”—he steps toward me, closing the distance between us—“besides insulting you, have I done anything else?” He smells differently than he normally does, less like a wolf and more like cologne with a dash of something sugary. He reaches out and ravels a strand of my hair around his finger while staring at my lips. “Like say, have we kissed? I doubt it since I’m so uptight, but you just might be too beautiful for me to resist wanting a taste.”
My shock promptly shifts to confusion. “Huh?”
“Leave her alone, Dash.” A familiar voice sails over my shoulder.
I whirl around to find Jax striding across the grass toward us with his hands shoved in the pocket of his jeans, his silver eyes gleaming with anger.
“What the hell?” I reel back around to the guy Jax called Dash and narrow my eyes at him.
He looks guilty. “Sorry. I was just curious.”
“About what?” I fold my arms and raise my brows, waiting for him to reply.
He opens his mouth to say something, but Jax cuts him off.
“You’re not supposed to bother any of the new students,” he growls at Dash.
“I wasn’t bothering her,” Dash replies innocently. “We were just having a nice, little conversation about you and why she thinks you’re such a douchebag.”
I glance back and forth between the two guys. They’re equal height and have the same lean body type, and their facial features are strikingly similar.
“Are you …?” My gaze flicks between them. “Are one of you a doppelganger?”
Jax grinds his teeth. “No, although it might be easier if he was. Then I’d have an excuse every time he fucked up and acted like an ass.” Jax glares at Dash then reaches around me and tugs the hoodie off his head. “Alana, meet Dash, my very annoying twin brother.”
With the hoodie off, I can see the difference in the two of them. While Jax’s hair is light brown and styled in a fauxhawk, Dash’s is much darker and cut way shorter. And, unlike Jax’s silver eyes, only one of Dash’s is silver, while the other is a vibrant shade of teal.
“Twin brother, huh?” I say to Jax. “You couldn’t have mentioned that earlier?”
“I was hoping he’d decide not to come here this year.” He glares at his brother. “But apparently, he decided to go against our father’s wishes.”
“Dad has no say in what I do,” Dash quips lightly. “Besides, someone has to watch out for you and make sure you don’t work yours
elf to death.”
Jax argues, “I don’t work myself to death. It’s called being responsible.”
“It’s called being whipped by our father.” Dash tries to make a cracking whip sound that ends up sounding more like an angry cat.
I bite down on my lip, choking on a laugh.
Jax’s intense gaze lands on me. “Don’t laugh at him. It’ll only encourage him. ”
I shrug. “Sorry, but the crazy-cat whip sound was kinda, sorta funny.”
Dash drapes an arm around my shoulder, and I’m engulfed by the scent of sugar cookies. “See? She thinks I’m funny. You would, too, if Dad didn’t have you so brainwashed.”
Jax continues to stare at me, seeming almost disappointed. “I’m supposed to take you out with me today, so grab your stuff and meet me out front in twenty.”