The silence was deafening. I wanted him to say something, anything to clear the awkwardness.
Jace stayed quiet as he parked next to my cobbled walkway. My mom had left the gas lanterns on, expecting me. Our house was a two-story stand-alone unit in the heart of Haven Falls. Every unit along Perry Street looked the same, with dark mahogany shutters and doors, and a single White Oak centered in each manicured yard—a string of chemical tea lights draping the trees’ branches.
Kicking out the stand, Jace lowered the levibike and cut the engine. He turned, bringing his knee across the seat, and faced me. His eyebrows furrowed into a confused, almost painful expression. I tried to think of something to say to break the uncomfortable silence, but I could only stare into his bright blue eyes. Say something.
“You might want to cover that up before your mom sees it.” He pointed to my neck. “It’ll probably be gone by tomorrow, but for now…”
That was the Jace I was used to—the non-bashful one. And shoot, he was right. I leaned forward, angling myself around him to inspect my neck in the tiny mirror. The mark was pinkish-red but not dark, and thankfully not big. Although, my mom would definitely notice if I didn’t hide it. I cursed under my breath, remembering Lana had my makeup in her bag.
Jace released a heavy breath. “Here,” he said, shrugging off his jerkin. “Flip the collar up.”
“Thanks.” I reached for the jacket, but he wrapped it around my shoulders instead.
Slipping my arms into the sleeves, I pulled it tight to my chest. As he flipped the collar, his fingers grazed the tender spot on my neck. I shivered as they lingered there a moment longer, tracing my skin. Then he quickly yanked back, pushing himself hard against the brass steering bar.
I finished adjusting the collar and glanced into the mirror to make sure it covered the mark completely. Check. One pissed off mom averted.
“Are you scared?” Jace asked, catching me off guard. I followed his gaze toward my unit.
“What?” I looked back at him. “Of my mom?”
“No.” He drove his hand through his hair. “Are you scared about the change? You know, your birthday?”
I was terrified, for reasons I couldn’t admit to him, but I shook my head. “No. I mean, kind of. But I think we look forward to it for so long…I sort of just want to get it over with.”
Every Kythan—no matter the race—gained full power at seventeen. Each individual change was different. Some experience a lot of pain. For others, the first shift took longer. But we all went through it. We didn’t have a choice. And I’d begun fearing the change more than most the day my mother told me the truth about my father. I shuddered, then attempted to brush off my worry.
“I’m dying to see how strong you’ll be.” Jace’s lips curled into a side-grin. “I bet afterward, you’ll beat me no problem.”
“You want to fight me without matching powers?” I asked. Jace, Lana, and Nick—triplets, but not identical—turned seventeen a week later than me. “That doesn’t seem fair.”
He shrugged, and his smile spread, pinching his eyes. “I can’t wait to see what you can do.”
My heart beat painfully into my throat, and I gulped it down, hard. “Yeah, me either.” I glanced at the cobbled street. I hated the not knowing and the lying to my friends. I dropped my leg over the seat, about to jump off the levibike, when Jace’s hand grasped my arm and I froze.
“Hey,” he said, his eyes catching mine. “It’s okay. We’re all scared about the change, and about what’s happening with this stupid Treaty Act.” He paused, rubbing his hand along my arm. “And now that the Narcos are here, we have to keep up with our training. Even if my dad is one of the high and mighty, we need to protect ourselves.”
I could feel the warmth of his hand through his jacket. Heat rushed my cheeks. “Once we’re at the Academy, it’ll be hard to keep training. You know they’ve outlawed it, especially sparring with powers. How are we going to get away with this?” He opened his mouth, but I continued. “And your dad, Jace, he’s a Council member. He’ll be livid if he finds out what we’re up to.”
“I don’t care.” His eyes burned blue. “They have no right to choose for us. Even if they made an agreement to end the war with the Narcos, I don’t trust them.” He took a deep breath. “How can they suddenly bury centuries of war, death, our almost extinction, with one piece of paper?” He gritted his teeth. “Stating we’re all family now? It’s all good? Bullshit!”
My heart sank. “Jace…” I began, but my thoughts failed. What could I say? He had a valid point. The Narcolym had wiped out a whole race of Kythan already. And nearly killed off the Shythe. But this was more difficult for me than he could ever imagine. I hesitantly took his hand. “I get it, but I don’t want you, Lana, or Nick to get into trouble. We’ll be all right. There’s no way your dad would allow them here if he thought we’d be in danger.”
Jace nodded once. Then he gave me a smoldering smile. I hated that my best friend—the boy I’d known my whole life—was suddenly becoming gorgeous. He’d always been cute, but lately, I’d been getting tongue tied and nervous whenever he flashed me his amazing smile.
“You’re right. They wouldn’t do anything to endanger us knowingly. But that’s why we need to train.” He squeezed my hand. “Just in case something goes wrong. They’re in our haven now, and I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to Lane, Nick or…” He bowed his head. “You.”
Jace rocked back and dropped my hand. He swung his leg over the bike. After scooting off the seat I turned toward him as he powered up the engine. The brass-rimmed bike hovered up, and steam vented in a spiral from the copper tailpipe.
“Night, Dez.” His eyes met mine, and a warm smile spread across his face. “Sweet dreams.” Then he took off.
“Night,” I whispered, watching his levibike hover down the roadway.
Rubbing my still-warm hand from where Jace had held it, I climbed my walkway. I glanced over my shoulder once, but he’d already disappeared.
Inside, my mom was asleep on the couch. I frowned down at her. She’d attempted to stay awake, but working long hours at the factory always did her in. And it wasn’t just her. All Kythan with their full power were becoming weaker. I buried my unease and grabbed a blanket from the hall closet. Lightly draping it over her, I tucked the edge close to her cheek. Whatever she wanted to talk about could wait until the morning.
I crept up the stairs to my room and turned the brass dial on my wall, illuminating my star-shaped gas lamps. Walking to my dressing mirror, I tugged Jace’s jerkin around myself tighter, inhaling his cologne and something else indefinably his scent, before my stomach dropped free-fall.