“You must be starving,” I said, lying back down.
“Your arm was looking good about six hours ago.”
“I bet.” I wasn’t ready to get up yet. I sighed and closed my eyes again.
His stomach growled. I laughed and managed to sit up. “You win. We’ll go feed you.”
“You, too,” he said sitting up with too much energy. “All you ate yesterday was a sandwich.”
“Not true. I had a plate of pie, too.”
I picked out clothes while he used the bathroom. He came out showered, fresh, and ready to eat. I shook my head and indulged in a quick shower, careful not to let the scabs around the stitches get too wet. It felt good to be so clean. When I wiped the steam from the mirror, I cringed. I hadn’t been paying attention to myself. The circles under my eyes were dark again. I used the hotel hair drier and brushed my hair until it was dry and then dressed.
Luke sat on a made bed waiting for me when I opened the door.
“Feed me,” I begged.
He couldn’t hide the worry that passed over his face. Standing, he threaded his fingers through mine and led me out of the room. My bag was slung over his shoulder.
We met everyone in the breakfast area. Michelle and Emmitt couldn’t stop looking at or touching each other. Long looks followed by a quick kiss, a hug, or just a shoulder brush. I shook my head. I wasn’t the only one. I caught Gabby’s look, too. She grinned at me as Luke led me to the counter laid out with food.
He insisted I eat a bagel, eggs, sausage, and a waffle. Then he looked at me and added a bowl of cereal.
“Seriously? I’ll be sick if I eat all that,” I whispered as he carried the plate to the table Grey and Carlos shared.
“He’ll eat what you don’t,” Grey said with a laugh.
I sat and started eating, asking questions between bites.
“Any news?”
“One of their sentinels must have discovered the Compound empty because they stopped grouping and have fanned out. Gabby said they are creating a net across the states, but there are holes big enough to wind our way through. It just might take a little longer,” Grey answered.
Nana came up and asked about the stitches. She insisted on checking them before we leave. I reluctantly agreed.
Luke used his fork to stab a piece of sausage from my plate and fed it to me with a soft command to eat.
In no time I was down to just the waffle. I had to push the plate away. “Too much,” I groaned. Luke had the same I did, but twice the serving size. Still, his plate sat empty. He grabbed my waffle and finished that, too.
We shuffled the seating arrangements so Nana, Gabby, and Clay rode with us. Clay sighed when Gabby moved to sit in the backseat with Luke and me. He caught the back of her shirt before she could completely escape him and planted a kiss on her mouth before getting into the front seat.
“How you feeling?” she asked when Nana pulled out of the lot. Since we rode with Gabby, we were the lead car.
“Fine,” I acknowledged. Luke’s leg pressed against mine, warming me. I would probably be napping before long.
“If it’s okay, I have some questions for you...” She glanced at Luke and Nana.
“It’s fine with me.” I’d relayed everything I thought I knew. If there was some memory lurking, some piece of information I’d failed to mention...well, it wasn’t on purpose.
“You’ve said a lot about our abilities. I thought...I thought I was meant to find pairs.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I touch people, if I’m feeling the right things, like empathy, I can transfer my power to them. Then, I get this kind of echo back from it, like ripples. When they hit the right one, their spark glows brighter. Does that make sense?”
Though I understood what she was saying, I’d never experienced it. “I haven’t lived anything like that yet. I didn’t know you could transfer your power. I wonder if the rest of us can,” I said looking out the window for a moment. Who would I want to give these dreams to? It would just be cruel. Well, maybe Luke. Maybe he would finally understand.
“When I transferred my power to Clay, my spark lit brightly. When I transferred it to Luke, your spark lit brightly. That’s why I sent him. Well, part of the reason.”
“You knew?” he said in a shocked tone.
“I wasn’t sure. But I wasn’t wrong, was I?” Gabby watched Luke closely.
Luke scowled at her.
“I could pass my power to you,” she said.
She’d barely spoken the words when Clay and Luke simultaneously shouted, “No.” Clay turned in his seat to give Gabby a look. It wasn’t angry, but I could still see a stubborn warning there.
She and I shared a look. “It drains me,” Gabby admitted. “At least, it did before I Claimed Clay.” She reached forward and ran her fingers in Clay’s hair. “Clay, it probably won’t affect me anymore.”
He shook his head. “Hands to yourself.”
I could see he wouldn’t be facing forward again anytime soon. She sighed and sat back.