Atoning (Darkness Rising 3.1)

"Don't forget this," he said, handing me my novel.

I took it...and my study pages fell out.

"So that's where I put those," I said and reached down to scoop them up before he did. "I must have put them in there before we left--"

"Don't," he said, his voice low.

I glanced up. Maya caught my eye and motioned that she was stepping away. She bundled the tent under her arm and gathered pegs. Derek handed her the last two. She murmured a "thanks" and walked to the picnic table to bag the tent.

"It makes it worse wh

en you lie about it," Derek said.

"I-I wasn't...I just..."

"You're hiding the fact that you were studying on your vacation time, because you're hiding the fact that you're trying to get into college early. It's a surprise for me. Which means it's not really lying. Except it's like giving people a surprise party when they really don't want to celebrate. Part of the reason it's a surprise is because they don't want it. Which"--he met my gaze--"isn't right."

I swallowed. "But--"

"It's for me. I know. I don't want it, because I don't like you pushing yourself this hard. So you think that if you choose to do it for me, that's okay. Except I believe I should have a say in that."

"I..."

"This isn't the time. I know that." He took the book and shoved it in his pocket. "If Jacinda's driving I'd like you to rest on the ride home. Not study. Okay?"

I looked up at him. "I'm sorry. I--"

He cut me off with a kiss, reaching down to cup my face in his hands as he kissed me, sweet and gentle and long, not breaking off until Moreno cleared his throat across the campsite. Even then, he only pulled back a little, keeping my face in his hands.

"I'm not mad," he said. "I get why you're doing it. I just want to talk about it later. Okay?"

I nodded, and he took my hand, and we headed for the parking lot with the others.

Sean arrived a couple of hours after we got back. He'd texted when he got in, telling me he was in and that we could get some sleep before we talked. When he arrived, we were waiting in the community center. Moreno showed him in, and I handed him a coffee.

"There's more where that came from," I said. "But we'd like to do this tonight."

He smiled and took the mug. "That makes sense." He waved at the collection of couches and chairs in the meeting room. We settled in and explained everything.

"Does that make more sense to you than it does to us?" I asked when we finished. "That they wanted Tori because she fulfills some prophecy? Being both a sorcerer and a witch?"

"I do know what so-called prophecy they're talking about. I say 'so-called' because our experts were never able to dig up definitive proof it existed, and we suspect it was at least in part concocted by a guy who was using it as proof that it was time for supernaturals to reveal themselves to the world."

Maya snorted. "Oh, yeah. There's a good idea. Because none of us spent any time locked up and being tested because of our powers. And that was by fellow supernaturals."

"This particular plot was overthrown about four months ago, which is why I'm rolling my eyes at these guys trying to take Tori now. I suppose that proves there are still pockets left, and we need to root those out. At least I'm comforted by the fact that this group only hoped to sell Tori to believers and weren't rekindling the movement themselves."

"That might not be nearly as comforting to Tori," Maya said.

Sean chuckled. "True. Sorry."

"Don't be," Derek said. "There are days when I'd hand her over for free. I'm not looking forward to telling her she was the special one here."

"Perhaps we'll skip that part," Sean said. "If she does learn the truth, I can point out that she was the backup choice. My sister, Savannah, was targeted when the group was still active. I'm not surprised this group aimed for Tori rather than tangle with Savannah. But they did go to an awful lot of trouble to get Tori, which may mean there was more to their plot."

"I suspect there was," I said. "You can talk to Jacinda and Rae later. They might know more, but if these were the same people who convinced them not to move to Badger Lake, that suggests they had more in mind than taking Tori."

"It does. You can leave that with me. You guys have done your share. More than your share. There was some concern that you weren't ready to go away to college next year, but this should squelch it."