day off the academy, so you can say no—” he says.
“I’d love to help you. What time and where do you want to meet up?” I ask, seeing the awkward relief in his eyes.
“Meet me at ten in the morning by the roses,” he tells me before he turns away and starts to walk off. “And goodnight, Miss Lightson. I hope you sleep well.”
“And you, Mr. Cross,” I reply as I step onto the stairs. Against my better judgement, I look back and find his eyes watching mine so closely.
Both of us smile, and I shake my head, knowing I need to get into bed. After all, I have a new job starting tomorrow.
Chapter 14
“Morning, sleepyhead,” Ren whispers to me, and I blink my eyes open to see him lying on the bed next to me, his head resting on the other pillow yet leaving no imprint. I should be scared, but instead, I find myself just simply staring at him, wondering why he doesn’t scare me one bit.
“Why don’t I see other ghosts here?” I ask first, not moving as he reaches over almost like he wants to touch my cheek, but he can’t.
Ghosts can’t touch.
“Do you miss seeing them?” he questions me back. I take a second to actually think about it, because for the longest time, I hated my ability to see ghosts and thought it was always ruining my life. I couldn’t go on holidays because being in new places meant new ghosts. I couldn’t even go into the park near the woods in my town because three ghosts of children were always there and they scared me.
Everything about ghosts scared me, and now...I almost miss being something different, because my powers were the different part of my life. I felt like I had a destiny, some reason in the world for why I have these powers.
But now, in this magic world, I’m just normal.
“Yes...it always felt like seeing ghosts made me different, and now I’m just another angel in training in this academy,” I admit to him.
“Whatever you are, Kaitlyn Lightson, you are not just another angel,” Ren almost softly tells me before he slowly fades and leaves me alone on the bed. Whatever Ren is, he isn’t just another ghost.
And I think we both know that. Rubbing my eyes, I get out of bed and have a quick shower before blow-drying my hair. I get dressed in black skinny jeans, a purple tee that says, “I’m rubber and you’re glue,” and my Doc Martens before eating some of the breakfast off the tray. I knock on Ves’s door before going inside to see she is still fast asleep on the bed, snoring away. I decide to leave her to it and head out to meet Thallon in the greenhouse, even though I’m a little bit early. The academy is oddly silent as I walk through the halls, and I head outside this time, walking through the gardens until I get to the other side of the building. At the doors to the greenhouse, Thallon is waiting with a light angel woman with long black hair in a complicated braid. They both turn to look at me as I get closer, and the woman breaks into a big smile. She is super pretty with long eyelashes surrounding deep blue eyes, and she has a model-like body, unlike my own skinny ass. I wish I had curves like her.
“This is Kaitlyn Lightson, the girl I was telling you about,” Thallon introduces me. “Kaitlyn, this is Hazel Jackman, and she is an old student who is here visiting in her time off. I was telling Hazel about your incredible piano skills as she loves to play as well.”
“It is very nice to meet you! My brother is the only other person I know who can play the piano here right now. It seems like a lost art,” she cheerily says and looks over my shoulder. “Oh, here is my brother now.”
Without having to look behind me, I know Henry is there; his presence is like a wave washing over my body every time he is in the room. Henry stops next to me, his hand brushing mine for a brief second, and that’s all it takes to make me shiver. Hazel kisses Thallon’s cheek, quietly saying something as she says goodbye and goes to Henry.
“Let’s go and chat up, brother. I have a lot to tell you,” she says, and he smiles at her. Actually smiles, white