I wiped some of the moisture off an iron bench before taking a seat. The Keystone estate was another world. No trains, cars, airplanes, voices, or even dogs barking. The only sounds were drops of water dripping off the leaves and into puddles, a woodpecker tapping against a tree in the distance, and the occasional rustling of leaves.
In a burst of movement, Gem flashed by me and jumped onto the rope swing. She stood on the wooden plank and used her arms to swing back and forth. “Mind if I hang out with you?”
“Once my heart starts beating again, sure.”
The rush of air from her movement stirred up some of the leaves below. “You can’t flash? I thought you were half Mage.”
I glanced up at the creaking branch as she swung back and forth. Gem had on a knit duster that was so thin the wind lifted it like a floating shadow. Her black shorts made her legs seem long, and I realized Gem had a style all her own. Tousled violet hair touched her shoulders in pretty waves, making her seem like a fairy who lived in the forest.
“I can’t do everything you can do.”
She leaned back, gripping the ropes and looking up at the tree as sprinkles of water shook from the leaves. “I think that’s why Viktor chooses us.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well… I think we all have something in common. We’re different from everyone else in some way. And we also had nowhere left to go—nothing left to live for. Am I right?”
She was definitely right about me, but I wasn’t so sure that applied to everyone else. “Most of those guys don’t look like they’re at the end of their rope. Claude runs a salon, right? And Blue seems to have her stuff together.”
Gem hopped off the swing and approached me with an exaggerated step due to her heavy shoes. She eyed the wet bench and then squatted down on the concrete area before my feet, her arms wrapped around her knees. “Everyone who comes into the house has the same melancholy look in their eyes. But you don’t have to worry; that goes away after a little while. Not all the way, but Viktor fills in a lot of those empty spaces by giving meaning to our lives.”
Gem’s skin glowed with the humidity, so pale and lovely that it made me envious.
“Did your Creator name you?”
A smile brightened her angelic face. “She sure did. I could have kept my first name, but Gem was her idea because of my love for gemstones. See?” She held the quartz crystal necklace between two fingers. It was a beautiful raw cut with several sides and a point on the end.
I didn’t know everything about the Breed world, but Learners took on the surnames of their Creator in order to create a lineage. It was also a practice put in place to help humans sever their ties with the human world—probably more psychological than anything. I knew that some Creators didn’t have last names because they were ancients, but I wasn’t sure how they handled naming their progeny. It was frustrating to have so many questions about my own kind and no one to give me those answers without making me feel ignorant.
“I’ve always been fascinated by gemstones,” she continued. “I wish my last name was Stone. How spectacular would that be? But alas…”
“Did you like your Creator?”
She looked wistfully at something in the distance. “I loved her like a mother.” After a moment, Gem tilted her head, holding me in her rapt attention as if she were an otherworldly bird just seconds from flying away. “Are you strong like a Vampire?”
“No.”
“What’s it like to be half Vampire? What’s it feel like?”
My answer came out as a trembling whisper. “Terrifying.”
“That’s okay. You don’t have to talk about it. Is Raven your real name or what your Creator gave to you?”
“It’s my given name.”
She rocked on her heels. “I bet your mother loved you a lot to give you such a special name.”
My eyes dragged downward, and Gem gripped my hand.
“Look, I’m sorry if I brought up a touchy subject. I’m just so curious about you and don’t know how to start a conversation that might not be a land mine of trauma.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “That’s one way to put it. What’s the deal with Christian?”
She stepped on the bench to my right. “Tell me you’re not—”
“No. God, no.”
Gem blew out a breath and crouched next to me. “Good. He’s trouble, and if this job means anything to you, then you won’t hook up with anyone in the house. It won’t take long for any temptations to vanish, especially when you learn about their appalling habits. Wyatt never cleans up after himself, and Claude snores. I had to move to a different hall so I could sleep at night.”
“And Niko? He seems pretty perfect.”
She wagged a finger at me. “Just remember what I told you. Your curiosity will pass, but if you start up anything, it’s going to make working together a nightmare. Imagine a nasty breakup where they start seeing other people and telling you all the ways that you don’t compare. You’ll have to see each other in the halls, eat at the same table, and go on assignments together. Someone’s going to wind up dead.”
Gem and I were going to get along just fine.
“You don’t get tempted by Claude? He’s a looker as far as Chitahs go.”