The boys turned and stared, wide-eyed. One of them swallowed. “Sir,” the shorter whispered hoarsely. “She’s—”
“Glowing.” Alex’s own attention was glued to her now, though he spoke to the boys. “Yes. She does that when she’s very, very angry. Right around the time the energy she can channel blows things into tiny pieces.”
Well, the truth was a little different. But it might happen this time.
“We’d like to talk to the Councilor, sir.”
Alex held out his arm for the boys to walk past him to the elevators. They scurried up the hall, heads down. He came forward another few steps to ask her in a low voice, “Are you okay?”
She stared into the backs of the fleeing young men. She liked angry Alex. She even liked intimidating Alex. She couldn’t deal with compassionate Alex right now. She shrugged.
“You haven’t slept,” he said. It wasn’t a question, and the words were laced with concern.
“No. I’ve been…patrolling.”
He cocked his head at her. “You should have known I’d have it covered. They’ve been through enough. They don’t need to be harassed, even if it is in curiosity and not—”
“It doesn’t matter why.” Her words were quick and cutting.
He nodded his agreement. Those dark eyes were still filled with concern. One hand lifted to touch her cheek, but she flinched away. She didn’t know what his game was, but Jackson’s rejection had hurt more than she’d let on. And she’d let on quite a bit. She didn’t need another tall, dark, handsome asshole, even if he did kiss like lightning. And even if he looked like Alex.
Remember. He won’t ever feel anything back. Not really.
But he wasn’t accepting her rejection. He waited, hand still lifted, until she turned her face back to him. And then he slowly and gently brought his hand to her cheek until his long fingers curved around it, feather light and comforting. She tried to fight the calm spreading through her, although she didn’t know why.
“Lena,” his voice became husky again, and not hard at all, “it will be okay. We’ll figure it all out.”
She stepped back, two quick steps, breaking the contact between his hand and her cheek. “Tell that to Jubilee,” she whispered, holding onto her anger and disappointment. “Tell that to Hania.”
He nodded to himself and stepped away to go. He’d probably report the glow to Thomas as soon as the boys had been dismissed. Maybe before.
All of her worries and nightmares coalesced. She had to do it now. “Alex.”
He turned back.
“Is there a space big enough for everyone to gather? Guardians and Wards?”
He nodded. “Yes, of course. The north gymnasium, where we have convocations.”
“Please tell the Councilor I’d like everyone gathered there this morning at eight. There are some things that need to be cleared up.”
His brows rose. “I—okay. If you want a general address, we should probably have a conversation about it first. Maybe later in the morn—”
“I’m not Jackson. I don’t clear everything I do with either of you.” She lifted her chin. “Eight will be fine. You can tell Thomas I said so when you report I’m glowing again.” She held his gaze for a moment longer, then turned on her heel and marched back down to her hallway. After a moment, she could hear the sound of his brisk footsteps moving away down the hall to the waiting boys.
She made it halfway up her own corridor before a door opened behind her. She looked over her shoulder, ready with a word of comfort, but it was Rose. She didn’t want comforting.
Rose joined her. Awake and alert, she inspected Lena minutely.
“Couldn’t sleep?” Lena asked her. She wasn’t going to bring up the glow herself. What would she say? She had no idea why or how it worked.
Rose shrugged. “We have long days back home. They start early.”
“The Kewa are the same.” Lena told her with a nod. “My days started earlier when I lived on my own outside the city, too.”
Rose’s brows rose. “You lived with Natives? And on your own?”
Amused and flattered by the newly appreciative light in Rose’s eyes, Lena lifted her chin with pride. “After I decided to leave Azcon, I found an old gas station on the edge of Kewa lands. I cleaned it up, converted it, and built a life for myself out there. Spent time with the Kewa.”
“By yourself?”
“Yes.” She laughed, but the sound she heard coming from her throat was more than a little sad. Why did it seem so long ago? “It was good.”
“You should come with me when I go,” Rose blurted. Her lips turned up. “You belong with us, not here. There’s nothing to challenge you or hold you here, not if you have it in you to carve your own place out there.”