After a few minutes, she stood up and ran her hands along the rough bark of the tree. Hopping from tree root to tree root, she circled the giant oak, trailing her fingertips over its mass. She was drawn to this tree, content to be shaded by its large limbs. It felt like an island in the middle of a storm. She climbed up onto the low branch and swung her legs beneath her. Ree let her thoughts wander for a few minutes, then leaned against the trunk. Unfortunately, it was farther away than Ree had accounted for, and she slipped over the branch. Her hands desperately caught at the rough bark, leaving her hanging above the ground. She gasped and tried to tighten her fingers, but she couldn’t support her weight and dropped to the earth. She cringed, expecting pain to lance through her body, but instead she was filled with the power. She cracked open one eye and realized she was hovering inches above the ground. Shock made the power slip from her grasp and she hit the ground with an audible oof.

Ree lay there for a moment trying to catch her breath before sitting up and looking at her hands. Her gaze automatically shot to the branch far over her head and then back to her hands. What the…? Had she really managed to catch herself with the power? Was that something all Alastrianas could do? Sophie hadn’t mentioned anything of the sort. She stood up and brushed the dirt off of her clothes.

She wondered if the others had sensed her mishap and looked around her. Not seeing anyone rounding the corner she smiled in relief and continued her jog down the path.

As the trees thinned and the breeze picked up, she could hear sea gulls and the crashing of waves. When she reached the top of a large dune, she tilted her face toward the sun, letting it bathe her in its slight warmth. Walking along the surf and letting her mind wander, she lost track of time. It wasn't until she saw the silhouette of someone walking toward her that she realized she must have been gone for hours. She wondered who had been sent to find her, and, despite the wish that it wasn't Paden, her heart hurt when she realized it was Melanie. She waved and plastered a fake smile on her face as her friend neared her.

“Oh, give it up! I know you wish it wasn't me.” Melanie laughed. Ree sighed and looked away for a moment before smiling grimly.

“Stupid. I don't even really want to see him.”

“Come on, you know that isn't true. And if it makes you feel any better, Paden was freaking out when he realized you weren't in the house. He asked me to come find you.”

“I needed some air.” Ree sighed. They headed back to an opening in the dunes where Ree had entered the beach. “Why didn't he just come to find me himself?”

Melanie just shook her head. “I don't know. What happened between you two? And don't give me some mess about Roland upsetting you. There was too much tension in that kitchen for him to have verbally stepped on your toes.” Mel gave her a knowing look.

Ree wasn't sure how much she really wanted to say, wasn't even really sure what, exactly, had happened. Mel didn't push for an immediate answer, but continued walking beside her as they wound their way onto the trail toward the house.

“He kissed me,” she finally admitted.

“Ooooh. Which he?” Melanie asked.

“What do you mean which he? Paden kissed me.” Ree stuttered, embarrassed. Her cheeks deepened to a red hue when she added, “And Roland apparently got jealous.”

“Whoa,” Mel put a hand on her shoulder to stop their movement. “You mean to tell me Paden finally kissed you. Your very first kiss, ever, and Roland walked in during it? And got upset? What did he do?”

“Did Paden tell you about Sophie and Roland?” Ree asked.

“He said Sophie lets him feed from her.” Melanie's jaw clenched. “It's disgusting, but smart. What does that have to do with Paden kissing you?”

“Did he tell you Dark Ones can make you want to be their victim?”

“No, he didn't say anything about that,” Mel replied.

“Well, Roland demonstrated on me.” Ree blushed again, remembering how much she had wanted him to touch her.

“Oh, I bet that didn't sit well with Paden.” Melanie whistled. “Was this before your kiss?”

“Yeah. When Roland walked in on us, he accused Paden of taking advantage of what he started.” Ree bit her lip.

“Holy crap! He did not!”

“He did. And you saw the result for yourself.”

“So, you threw up a barrier before they could get to each other? No wonder you needed some alone time.” Melanie threw her arm around Ree's waist and hugged her as they walked.

“So, was it any good?” her friend asked.

“What?”

“The kiss! After ages of waiting Paden finally gets up the nerve to kiss you, so I’m asking if it was worth the wait.” Melanie laughed.

“It really was.” Ree sighed. “Right up until we got interrupted and he refused to talk to me anymore.”

“Boys are so stupid.” Mel shook her head.

“Yeah, they really are.” Ree smiled at her friend.

Chapter 28

Paden was standing just inside of the French doors, his eyes fastened on the trail. His arms were crossed and he glared at the girls walking up the path. He didn't move when Ree pushed the door open and walked in, but his eyes followed her as she brushed past him. If he wanted to talk to her, she wasn't going to be the one to initiate the conversation. He would probably only chew her out for going running by herself and she wasn't up to being told what she could and couldn't do today. She figured the gods made this island so she could be safe and she was going to do what she wanted without answering to her Guardians.

“Why didn't you tell anyone you were going running?”

She bristled at his tone and refused to even turn around and look at him. Instead, she headed toward Sophie's office where she could hear the others’ voices. “I told Pam where I was going,” she said blithely.

“Pam? Pam isn't the one trying to keep you safe.” He was right behind her, his voice tight. She hadn't even heard him move away from the door.

“No, I managed to keep myself safe all on my own while running on the god-sanctioned island.”

“Ree.” His voice held an edge.

“Drop it, Pay. I don't feel like having this argument again. I wanted some time alone and this is likely to be the only place I’m going to get it.” She pushed through the office door and was immediately swamped by the excitement of her friends. “What's going on?”

“We're hunting tonight.” Bryce was tossing a medicine ball from hand to hand as if he was playing with a softball. He smiled and added, “On the mainland. We're heading downtown.”

Juliette rolled her eyes and leaned her head back on the arm of the leather sofa.

Weylin sat on the edge of the fireplace, picking at his fingernails with a knife. When he noticed Ree looking at him he raised his eyebrows. “What? I didn’t bring any nail clippers.”

“Yeah, because you’re so metrosexual when you aren’t fighting Dark Ones.” Ree laughed. Ree sat next to him and ignored Paden as he continued to glare at her from the doorway.

“So, you guys are ready for this?” she asked. She wasn't at all sure she was ready to go hunt Dark Ones. Good grief, they were going to go kill things tonight. They had barely been training for three days.

“They think they are, and I think it is time for them to see what they are really up against,” Roland said from his seat on the window ledge.

“But, are they ready?” Am I ready? She kept the last question to herself.

“Where’s your faith, Ree? We’ve been working hard all week!” Weylin chided her.

She nudged her shoulder into his as an apology. “I just don't think a week is a really long time. And it hasn't even been a whole week!”

“They've learned a great deal in the last few days.” Roland shrugged. “This is what they are made for. To kill the Dark Ones and to secure the planet for the humans.”

“That's right; we are walking, talking, bad ass Dark One stalkers!” Bryce fist bumped Weylin, and Juliette groaned. Ree looked at Roland and then at Sophie, thinking they had just demonstrated that they were, in fact, not ready.

“You aren't going alone. We will be with you guys,” Sophie said.

“But will they come after us? Will this be the big battle?” Ree sat on her hands to keep them from shaking. Everyone in the room turned toward her, their excitement forgotten. Mel put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. Gritting her teeth, Ree tried to not snap at any of them. It wasn't their fault they could tell how frightened she was at the thought.

Sophie tried to reassure her. “Don't worry, Ree. Chances are that their leader is tucked away somewhere safe until the showdown.”

“And how do we know when the showdown is supposed to happen?” Ree's voice had turned icy. Anger was her response to fear, and in this case it was a whole lot of angry.

“It is something that builds over time. You won't really know when it is going to happen until you are there experiencing it.”

“Not comforting.” Ree stood up. “When do we leave?”

“We're going in early. You guys have an hour or so before we take the boat. Try to wear something that is comfortable, that you can move in but won't make you stand out. We don't want to look like a gang of gym thugs prowling the streets. The unfortunate truth is that the nicer you are dressed, the less likely you are to attract attention from law enforcement.”

Ree grimaced, not sure what she had left to wear that was clean.

“If you didn't bring enough clothes, I can get some stuff put together for you.” Sophie closed the notebook on her desk and stood up. “Any one need anything? We have closets full of different things. We often have people come to stay on the island that have nothing with them.”

Weylin, Paden, Ree, and Melanie all raised their hands. Bryce and Juliette were obviously well prepared, considering Jules had dragged a giant suitcase to the island. Ree liked clothes as much as the next girl, but had nowhere near the amount Juliette collected. Of course, her friend’s clothing budget was probably five times larger than her own meager allowance.

Everyone headed in different directions: to their rooms, the kitchen, and the training room. Making a quick run to the kitchen, Ree snagged a sandwich from a platter on the island and waved to the busy Pam. She wanted to go to the training room to see what kind of weapon she should carry, but Paden was just turning down the hall in that direction. She changed her plan and went to her room instead.

Clothes were lying on the bed when she entered the room, and she fingered the dark jeans and black turtle neck as she finished her snack. There were a pair of tall black leather boots and she was amused to see they were the correct size. She brushed the crumbs off of her fingers before looking at the tag in the boots. The leather was soft and supple, and they had a short heel that wouldn't hinder her movement. When she saw the Gucci lining she almost dropped the boot. She had never owned anything so expensive in her life. Surely they had something that wasn't so expensive she could wear. What if she scuffed them, or did something else equally terrible to the boots? She set it down carefully in front of the bed and picked up the jeans.

Ree groaned when she saw the tag inside the waistband, and threw them back onto the bed. She didn't even look at the black turtleneck sweater. Whose clothes were these? Sophie was much taller than Ree, so they couldn't be hers. Shaking her head, she decided to take a quick shower before changing. Once finished, she pulled on the clothes, laughing to herself. She had never worn anything so pricey and it was downright ridiculous she was wearing it to go fight evil monsters. She pulled her hair up into a high ponytail and tucked her bangs back behind her ear. Looking at the boots, she sighed and pulled them on over her gym socks and tucked the jeans into the cuff. She put on the necklace Melanie’s grandmother had sent for her and let it hang on the outside of the sweater. Standing up, she realized the clothes were even more comfortable than she would have thought.

Catching her reflection in the mirror, she stopped and stared. A dangerous, sexy woman was looking back at her. A knock on the door snapped her out of the trance. Dreading an awkward conversation with Paden, she reached out to the person on the other side of the door with her extra senses. The intense battle of emotions hidden under a calm layer of nonchalance meant it was Roland. When she opened the door, he was wearing a small smile. His blue eyes always left her a little breathless, but she managed to smile in return.

“I brought you something.” He held out a knife with a bright blade longer than her hand, and the handle was wrapped in leather.

“Um, thanks.” She took it and held it in her hand, looking at the blade. Something tugged at her memory as she examined the weapon. It felt comfortable and familiar resting in her palm.

“Careful with that end.” He laughed.

“Har, har. The Dark One has a sense of humor.” She held the knife down by her side and wondered what she was going to do with it.

He walked into her room and motioned for her to follow. “You're right-handed, right?” He pointed at the chair next to her bed. “Put your right foot up there.”

“Why?” She stood there, looking suspicious and unintentionally tightened her grip on the handle of the dagger.

“Because I plan on ravishing you.” He rolled his eyes when she started blushing and pulled something out of his back pocket, holding it up for her to see. “Gods, you blush easily. I want to put the leg sheath on, and I figure you don't know how to do it yourself. I won't bite, little Ree.” He chuckled as he watched her fight for composure.

Pressing her lips together in embarrassment, she set her foot on the chair and watched as he knelt down in front of her. He pulled the boot off of her foot and set it to the side. His hand was warm as he wrapped the sheath around her calf, cinching the leather tight. His fingers trailed down her leg and encircled her ankle. She gulped when his dark blue eyes met hers.

He wasn't smiling anymore, and there was heat behind his stare. With his free hand he picked her boot up off the ground and maneuvered it back onto her foot. He held his hand out and she placed the knife in his fingers. Carefully, he slid it into the sheath and tugged at the leather of the boot. After making sure it was secure, he carefully stood up, leaving little space between their bodies. His hand trailed up the leg that was still propped on the chair and briefly rested on her knee. Heat raced through her body and her breathing quickened. Ree knew he could hear her heartbeat stuttering loudly and blushed, but didn’t look away.