front of me, Kenna hugged the book. “That’s thoughtful of you.” She cleared her throat. “I-I should go now.”
Shaken by what just happened—was it the fourth time I touched Kenna and a random image appeared in my mind?—I swallowed hard and took a step back. “Yeah, yeah, of course.”
She gestured to the book. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Kenna held my gaze for a moment longer, then turned her back to me and dashed to her house. I stared after her, entranced by her and the stupid knowledge that she was wreaking havoc inside my chest. And what was with these fucking images? Once more, I wondered if they were memories of the time I had lost, but what did Kenna have to do with them? That was three hundred years ago.
I closed the front door and went to my kitchen, where I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and gulped it down. Running was supposed to not only maintain my human body, but clear my mind, to burn my energy so I could relax.
Yet, here I was, the thoughts in my mind reeling and turning too fast for me to try and make sense of any of it.
I opened the backdoor, leaned on the doorjamb, and inhaled the rich spring scent.
Cherry.
I stared at the cherry tree and its branches, angling over my backyard. The air was heavy with cherries.
A groan ripped through my throat.
God damn it. It seemed that the more time Kenna spent here, the more she filled my thoughts.
Trying to regain my focus and forget her for at least one second, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Surrounded by the scent of cherry, I meditated for a moment, searching for my center. I was a fucking warrior of light and I would push this girl from my mind one way or another.
My senses rushed outward.
And bumped into darkness.
I stared at the horizon, where the darkness was hiding, just out of town.
This wasn’t good.
Tonight, I was going hunting.
Past
Kianna
“Here.” Kianna turned the book around and showed the text to Selina and Calvin. Though the siblings were different ages and would have been in different levels in school, it was much easier for Kianna if she taught them the same thing. So, she fell right in the middle—she taught them what a ten year old would be learning.
“All of this?” Calvin grimaced. He hated reading, much less writing about what he had read afterward, but it was a requirement if he ever wanted to measure up to the other kids who were able to attend an actual school.
A sliver of annoyance snaked inside Kianna’s veins. She had way too much to do. Teach the siblings their daily lessons, prepare the lessons for tomorrow, check the clothes on the clothesline, wash a few more, prepare dinner, check if there was anything she could help out with in the field before the sun went down, make sure the tools were functional and clean enough for tomorrow, have dinner, put the kids to bed, clean the kitchen, wash herself, and only then she could think about going to sleep. It would be past midnight again.
What she wouldn’t give for a day off, a day she could do whatever she wanted—she would spend the day sleeping.
“This is too long,” Selina said, adding fuel to the fire.
Kianna clenched her hands under the table before she lunged over it and slapped each one of her siblings hard. She had never hit them, but she wouldn’t promise she never would.
Cat slapped the table, startling Kianna. “Be quiet and read the stupid thing.” She poked a finger to her own book, open in front of her. “I’m trying to study here.”
Cat couldn’t afford school either. Her mother didn’t allow her to come over every day, because she was afraid Cat would goof off and not study at all, but Giles was able to intercede, and Cat ended up studying with Selina and Calvin at least three afternoons in a week. The only difference was that she was in a more advanced level.
Selina and Calvin muttered some complaints, but lowered their gazes and read from the book.
Kianna let out a relieved sigh. She glanced at her best friend seated beside her and mouthed, “Thank you.”
Cat winked at her, then she, too, returned her attention to her book.
Having already finished her studies, Kianna watched, waiting until they were done to explain the text. To not waste time, she pulled out paper, ink, and a quill, and began her