“Katy? Are you even here, right now?” Dee asked.
“I think so.” Kat smiled again, but something was off about it. My eyes narrowed.
“Have you guys been driving her crazy?” I sighed. “Bombarding her with a million questions?”
“Never!” cried Dee. Then she laughed. “Okay. Maybe.”
“Figured,” I muttered, stretching out my legs. A second later, I glanced at Kat. Our eyes locked. Tension filled the room, and I wondered what was going on behind those eyes.
Dee cleared her throat loudly. “I’m still hungry, Adam.”
He laughed. “You’re worse than I am.”
“True. Let’s go to Smoke Hole. I think they’re having homemade meatloaf.” Dee hopped to her feet and kissed my cheek. “Glad you’re back. I’ve missed you.”
I smiled up at her. “Missed you, too.”
When the door shut behind Dee and Adam, Kat turned to me. “Is everything really okay?”
The urge hit me right then. I wanted to hold her, because she must’ve been worried to ask that question, and it seemed like the right thing to do. Of course it was. How many times had I held Ash when she was upset? Or, in a different way, Dee, when she was upset?
“For the most part.” Before I knew what I was doing, I reached out with one hand, running my fingers over her cheek. A shock transferred to my fingertips, much like static, but so, so different. “Hell.”
“What?” Her eyes shot wide.
I sat up and scooted close enough that our legs touched, not ready to go into what I suspected had happened between us when I healed her. “I have something for you.”
Confusion flickered across her face. “Is it going to blow up in my face?”
I laughed as I reached into the front pocket of my jeans, pulling out the leather pouch. I handed it over to her, watching as she tugged on the little string and carefully turned the pouch upside down, like she was afraid a grenade would fall out. But when she saw the obsidian pendant, her lashes swept up and she was clearly surprised.
Pressure clamped down on my chest as I smiled. A different feeling, like when you’re about to get on a roller coaster. I really never felt that way before. “Believe it or not, even something as small as that can actually pierce Arum skin and kill them. When it gets really hot you’ll know an Arum is nearby even if you don’t see one.” I picked up the chain, holding the clasps. “It took me forever to find a piece like this since the blade turned to crap. I don’t want you to take this off, okay? At least when… Well, for the most part.”
The look of surprise hadn’t faded as she twisted around and pulled her hair out of the way. As soon as I got the tiny hook clasped, she faced me. An earnest pull to her expression had replaced the shock. “Thank you. I mean it, for everything.”
“It’s not a big deal. Has anyone asked you about your trace?”
She shook her head. “I think they’re expecting to see one because of all the fighting.”
I nodded, relieved that was one less thing to worry about for now. “Hell, you’re bright as a comet right now. The sucker has got to fade or we’ll be back to square one.”
Kat stared at me a moment, her eyes sharpening. “And what is square one, exactly?”
“You know, us being…stuck together until the damn trace fades.” Well, that kind of sounded like crap.
“After everything I’ve done, us being around each other is being stuck together?”
Oh crap.
“You know what? Screw you, buddy. Because of me, Baruck didn’t find your sister. Because of what I did, I almost died. You healed me. That’s why I have a trace. None of this is my fault.”
“And it’s mine? Should I have left you to die? Is that what you wanted?”
“That’s a stupid question! I don’t regret that you healed me, but I’m not dealing with this hot and cold shit from you anymore.”
“I do believe you protest too much with the whole liking me part.” I grinned, knowing the claws were about to come out. “Someone sounds like they are trying to convince themselves.”
Kat took a deep breath, causing her chest to rise. “I think it would be best if you’d stay away from me.”
“No can do.”
“Any of the other Luxen can watch over me or whatever,” she protested. “It doesn’t have to be you.”
Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. “You’re my responsibility.”
“I am nothing to you.”
“You’re definitely something.”
She looked like she wanted to hit me. I kind of wanted her to try, and honestly, I don’t know why I liked to mess with her so much. “I dislike you so very much.”
“No. You don’t.”
“Okay. We need to get this trace off me. Now.”
One idea came to mind. “Maybe we can try making out again. See what that will do to this trace. It seemed to work last time.”
Her cheeks flushed and a certain light filled her eyes. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen again.”
“It was just a suggestion.”
“One that will never. Happen,” she said. “Again.”