After Ace left with Reyes, Lena curled up on the small couch. She didn’t want to think about everything she’d learned. She didn’t want to think about Jackson. She wanted to enjoy the residual happiness of Ace’s visit. One moment she was smiling, the next she woke muzzy-headed with sleep and sitting up to an insistent knock. A second later, the lock turned with a click and the door opened.
Councilor Five leaned in, searching the small room. When he found her, he leaned back slightly, seeming relieved, and then embarrassed.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to invade your—” His hand indicated the space.
She shook her head. She blinked several times and yawned. “No. That’s all right. I fell asleep.”
He was uncomfortable, as he seemed every time he appeared. “I hoped Alex would have told you—”
“He did,” she assured him. “I just fell asleep.”
“Are you hungry? Or would you rather rest? I can have something sent to you.”
“I am, actually.” She slid forward and stuffed her feet into her low boots then ran her hands through her hair and shoved it back behind her ears. “I’m not fancy, but I am ready, Councilor Five.” She stood.
“Councilor—?” He stepped back and shook his head. “No, call me Thomas, please.” As he read her doubtful face, he insisted, “Thomas.”
She followed Thomas through several corridors that finally emptied into a smaller elevator lobby. He pushed the button to call the elevator and then flashed her a smile. “We’re not going to the cafeteria. I thought you’d appreciate some fresh air.”
“Fresh air?” Her brows rose, as did her voice, with a surge of excitement. “We’re going to the surface?” Since she’d arrived, she’d only been to the surface to use the protected grounding platform. They’d been very careful to limit her exposure to open areas where anyone watching the school might see her.
The elevator slid open, and Thomas rapped a button at the top of the board after they entered. She hoped along with the fresh air he planned to explain a few things to her. She had many questions, one of them how he and Reyes had come together to build their revolution in the first place. She wasn’t sure she’d ever met two more dissimilar men. And yet, here they were, carving their alternative empire out of the Council of Nine without the Council even being aware of it.
The box slowed and stopped before they reached the floor Thomas had selected. The doors opened, and two men turned from their conversation to enter. The older talked with his hands, arms waving so violently that his thin blond hair fluttered around his face and ears. Both men paused when they saw her inside, brought up short in surprise. Two appreciative stares ran down the length of her and both lit with a speculative light.
Lena sighed and moved back against the wall behind her. She might get used to the idea that she was the only powered female in the school. She didn’t think she’d get used to the looks. After her talk with Erwin, she understood their fascination better. She cast her gaze downward so as to not encourage either of the men.
“Guardian Wils. Agent Prentiss,” Thomas greeted them, his voice dry. “Going up?”
“We are.” The agent recovered first.
She still had the sense that Reyes would be unimpressed with his lack of self-control.
“We’re joining Guardians Schroeder and Erwin for dinner on the Quad,” the guardian told Thomas. Lena could feel his attention on her. “Perhaps the two of you could join us? I can’t be the only one eager to meet our newest student.”
Thomas cleared his throat. The sound was almost an apology. “Of course. Wils, Prentiss, this is Lena Gracey. Lena, one of our talented teachers and his prize student from several years ago.”
She gave the men a weak smile before looking down again.
“She’s shy,” Wils purred. “How charming. Perhaps after dinner she’ll be more comfortable with us.”
She didn’t think she had ever wanted to punch a man in the crotch as much as she did right then.
“I’m afraid we have to decline your invitation, Wils. We’re having a working dinner.” Thomas gave the Guardian another of his bland smiles.
“Oh, come on. The three of you can’t keep her to yourselves indefinitely. It’s not fair.” The man was smart enough to keep his voice jovial, but it didn’t matter.
Lena had looked up in surprise at his words and caught Thomas’s reaction. The bland smile had shifted in some infinitesimal way to become dangerous. His eyes tightened barely perceptively, but she was glad the feral glint in the pale blue depths was not directed at her.
Had she believed he and Reyes had nothing in common?
The younger agent nodded. “But of course we understand the need for a working dinner. There are never enough hours in the day, are there?” He looked at her. “Perhaps another time?”