Destiny's Fire (Kythan Guardians 1)

What would I tell her? I wanted to alleviate her worries, but I didn’t know if I should tell her about Reese. She might feel relieved knowing another existed. But for some reason, knowing my mother, she’d find the bad in it. She could find something negative in any situation when it concerned me.

I could at least tell her I discovered how to control my power. Reese had learned on his own. That would stop her from bolting out of Haven.

As I walked through the front door, I was thankful to find I’d beaten her home. I took the stairs two at a time to my room and quickly changed into my pajamas.

Everything was different. I was going to learn to control my power—hide it so that my mom and I would be safe. And I had someone just like me in my life. I wasn’t alone in carrying this secret burden. I smiled, feeling my face warm. My lips still tingled from where Reese had kissed me.

Fishing my communicator from my pocket, my stomach sank. I hated having to lie to my friends, but I’d been hiding the truth from them my whole life anyway. The only difference was that now I actually had to physically hide. I had to avoid them until I learned to use my Shythe power. I needed to think of it as protecting them and not deceiving them.

I sent Lana a message first, letting her know I’d lived through the change but was still very weak. I paused, considering sending Jace a message. Lana would let him know I was all right, but I felt I should send him one, too. I took a deep breath and punched in his number.

I typed: I’m okay. Weak. Won’t be able to train for a while. See you at the Academy. Then I hit send. They would freak out that I wouldn’t see them for a whole week, but I needed the time to practice.

Before I settled onto the sofa, my communicator vibrated. I read the message from Jace: A week? Okay. Feel better…miss you. My heart thudded against my chest. Jace never told me things like that. Maybe he was just concerned, thinking I needed to hear it. And he was probably disappointed I wouldn’t be able to spar with my full power.

I placed my communicator on the table before me, staring at it as if it would grow legs and walk away. I shook the strange feeling away. I’d been falling for Jace. Or, at least I’d thought I had been. But he didn’t think about me in that way. I was Rug Rat. I could finally sort out my confused feelings for him. We’re best friends. That’s all. Granted, he was a really cute best friend, but I didn’t have to feel weird around him anymore.

I thought back to how uncomfortable I’d felt dancing with him…

I didn’t feel that way with Reese. We were the same. He didn’t hold back his feelings for me, and I couldn’t help being attracted to him. The boy was crazy hot. But I also felt safe with him—protected. I didn’t have to hide myself from him. It just felt…right.

My communicator came back into focus as my gaze settled over it, and my chest panged. Furrowing my eyebrows, I gnawed the inside of my lip and wondered why everything with guys was so complicated.

Chapter Ten

AFTER MY MOM DISCOVERED through the cleaners’ rumor mill that the Narcos would be attending the Academy, she freaked. She’d stormed around the house, packing bags, and declared we were leaving that night.

After an hour of pleading, I’d finally persuaded her to stop long enough to hear my news, promising her I’d figured out a way to summon my Charge. She was disbelieving, asking me to prove it. But I admitted that I needed an open, secluded area in which to practice. Skeptically, she agreed. Even though she was scared, she wanted to believe it was possible.

She set a deadline for one week. I had one week before the new academic year started, and that’s the time she allotted me to learn to conceal my power. After that, if I couldn’t summon my Charge, we’d leave Haven Falls.

I scanned my room the next morning and quickly packed a bag with my communicator and a change of clothes. I flew down the stairs, kissed my mom’s forehead, and headed out to wait for Reese.

We decided the best place to practice would be the falls. The triplets and I hadn’t gone there since we were kids, so I didn’t fear running into them. And the second fall was located far enough into the woods that no one else would see us. I was clawing out of my skin with anticipation—wanting to learn everything I could about my power. Not only that, Reese had promised when I mastered at least one power, he’d spar with me. I’d wanted to knock his head in ever since that first night. Of course, now I also wanted to kiss it afterward.

Reese hid his levibike behind the brush near the trail. If anyone stopped by the falls and saw a funky lightshow, he didn’t want his bike traced back to him.

“And I thought I was paranoid,” I said as he layered another branch over his bike.

He raised his eyebrows. “Not takin

g any chances.” He packed the last branch on, then wandered up beside me, taking my hand and moving us onto the trail. “Besides, I figured you’d be ashamed if you were seen with a Narco.” He smirked.

I laced my fingers through his. “I’m not ashamed.” I glanced down, sidestepping a boulder. “It’s just too hard to justify to anyone. It would only cause more complications. And we don’t need that kind of attention.” I glared at him.

“Agreed,” he said. “But it’ll be torture staying away from you at the Academy.”

My face flushed. How could he be so confident about us? I knew that I liked him, but he talked as if he’d known me forever. Although, I understood he’d probably felt as alone as I did his whole life. Finally having someone to take that away—we fit together like missing pieces of a puzzle. I squeezed his hand, relishing the feel of its warmth.

Reese glanced around as we neared the second fall. “We need to climb.” He pointed toward the top. “It’s flat ground up there, and we’ll be able to see far around us.”

“Okay. How do we do that? I’m not the best climber.”

Reese gave me a wickedly hot grin. Latching my arms around his neck, he scooped me onto his back, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. Then he secured me to him with a leather strap.

“Don’t let go.” He reached into his leather jacket and pulled out a thin brass tube.

“What are you doing?” I stared at the device. It had a tiny three-prong hook at its head.