Noah stood aside, letting her go and then he stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.
“Here.” He held a gift bag out to her.
Frowning Eden reached for it without thinking. “What is it?” she asked warily.
“I bought it earlier just as a… ‘hope you're OK' kind of thing. Now it's a ‘please forgive me for being a complete ass' kind of thing. It's been a long day.” Right then, Eden knew something bigger was bothering Noah than what had occurred downstairs.
He hadn't looked at her when she'd arrived home. He'd seemed snarky and irritable before she'd even opened her mouth. Suddenly she recalled Val's phone call. She'd gotten so caught up in her time with Tobe that she hadn't remembered to ask.
“What happened today?” She sank onto the bed, bracing herself for bad news.
With a deep exhalation, Noah crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the door.
“Chris and Alison came over to the training centre with Cyrus today. I'd already been there for a while and… well… Ankh are a big draw. We don't visit Scotland a lot because the Neith here are some of the best… they usually take care of any bigger problems that come up. I think the last time an Ankh was here was when McLeish made Councilman fifteen years ago.”
“Yeah, Tobe mentioned the Ankh are big news when they're in town.”
“Mmmhmm. Well I drew a crowd. As soon as the Neith discovered I was training with them the phone calls started and the centre got pretty busy, fast. When Cyrus showed up I thought the walls would cave in with all the excitement.”
“I thought we were supposed to be keeping a low profile?”
“Don't worry. Cyrus has it covered with McLeish. The Neith not in the immediate family just think you're a regular old Ankh. A newbie. So expect lots of staring.” Yay, Eden thought miserably, just what I need. “That's not what's got you so worried.”
“No,” Noah agreed, raking a hand through his hair. “You know how Chris senses things?”
“Yeah?”
“Well in among the crowd he sensed something… he sensed betrayal.” Her heart began thudding in her chest as a wave of dread flooded over her. “About me?”
“He doesn't know, but it's got Cyrus and Val and I pretty paranoid.” An annoying prickle of impotence gnawed at her. “So what? Christopher can't tell us who? Or what?”
“Nope. He's going to keep alert though, keep digging.”
“Great,” Eden sighed. “I knew this couldn't possibly go smoothly.” Noah smiled kindly. “Smooth isn't exactly the Ankh way of life.” They grew silent, that comfortable, comforting silence they shared when they were friends. Eden glanced up at him from her place on the bed and their eyes met and held. She missed him. Part of her wished she had never found out who he really was just so she could go on living in ignorant bliss as his friend. Or more. A flush of heat took hold of her body at the thought and she pulled her gaze away. She still wasn't used to being able to desire Noah for Noah and not just for his soul.
And she had to keep reminding herself that she was mad at him and had no right to want him.
“So what is this?” she grumbled, lifting the bag onto her lap.
“Uh, just some… stuff.”
Eden ripped open the top and reached in to the gift bag. What she pulled out made her heart triple beat. The latest copy of Shonen Jump and a Keri Arthur novel. She couldn't look at him. “Where did you get Shonen?”
“They had it at this bookstore on Princes Street. I went down there after training.” All these stupid, stupid emotions got caught in her throat, burning and choking her and making her want to cry. She couldn't look at him. She was afraid he'd see how he made her feel and jump on it as the weakness it was. “Thanks,” she replied gruffly. “Appreciate it.” Noah didn't say anything for a moment and then he heaved a sigh. “Sure,” he said in a somewhat defeated tone. “No problem.” At the sound of him opening the door Eden finally drew up the courage to look at him. He smirked back at her unhappily. “I'm glad you didn't cut your hair.” And with that he left; leaving Eden to feel as if he had cut a gaping hole out of her chest and taken it out the door with him.
Chapter Ten
Merrit MacDouglas
Despite her inner turmoil, and the ironic fact that Tobe, like her ‘Nana' , was a ‘cover-hogger', Eden fell into a deep sleep, exhausted by the full day she'd experienced. So it was with a groan and a scowl she had obeyed Cyrus' whispers to get up, sliding out of the bed quietly so she didn't wake October up. It was light outside but one glance at the alarm clock on Tobe's bedside cabinet told Eden it was early. Bemoaning the early wake up call, Eden silently grabbed some clothes and headed off to the bathroom for a shower. She tied her wet hair up into a messy bun, with no worry that she'd catch a cold in the chill morning air. Without a word she followed her guardian out of the house and into the most crisp air she'd ever breathed in. It flooded her lungs, and widened her eyes, enveloping her in energy and newness. The sun hung low in the sky, not hot enough to bank the shivers, but warm enough to cast a glittering glow over everything, present enough to fill Eden with an unexpected feeling of contentment.
A spring morning in Scotland had just made its way up the ranks as one of her favourite things ever.
“What are we doing?” she asked, pulling on a thin sweater over her t-shirt.
Cyrus smiled at her. “Going for breakfast before training.”
“Just the two of us?”