“To The Coffee Shoppe, Jeeves.”
Eden blinked, coming back to the present. She gazed up at Noah, feeling warm at the memory, feeling warm at his nearness. OK. So maybe she did… you know…
I don’t know. She shivered at the thought.
But she was more than tempted to find out… even if caring about him that way was dangerous.
“Meet me?”
Noah waited with bated breath for Eden’s answer. He took comfort in the fact that she’d relaxed against him. He took comfort in the fact that (even though she was in pain because of it) there was a war going on behind her eyes. A war with herself and the soul eater. There was still time. And tonight… tonight it would end. It had to. Word had reached them about the rebel faction of Neith warriors who had attacked Eden. He didn’t know exactly what had happened, only that Eden had survived (thank the gods) and now she was acting… different. He had a horrible feeling she might have had a hand in the deaths of some of those warriors. He wished they were open enough for him to reassure her that it was self-defense. Cyrus was furious. He was ripping through the Neith Councils trying to find the leader of the faction. But no one wanted to admit that they had a rebel among them, that they couldn’t control their own bloody warriors.
“OK.” Eden nodded, drawing him back to her. He felt his heart begin to slow at her agreement. “I’ll meet you. Somehow. Where?”
“Get your brother to take you to the movies.” He told her the movie and time. “Fifteen minutes in, tell him you’re going to the bathroom. Instead, meet me at the back entrance in the alleyway.”
She nodded again, silent, and he squeezed her wrist to reassure her. “We just… we really need to talk.”
“Yeah.” Eden smirked humorlessly. “I guess we do.”
Noah stood aside to let her out of the classroom and he had this stupid urge to grab her hand and stop her; like something bad was going to happen and this was the last time they’d ever talk like friends. He shook it off but watched her walk away. Ten minutes ago she’d been striding down the hallway, daring people to meet her eyes, looking for a fight. Now she huddled into herself, brushing past the other kids like they didn’t exist.
Noah exhaled and leaned his head against the doorframe. She was in so much pain. He was surprised by how much that hurt him.
He barely moved at the feel of his cell vibrating. He reached into his back pocket and flipped it open.
I am here. Are we prepared for this evening? C.
He snorted. Even in his texts, Cyrus sounded like an old guy. And then reality set in and his heart started thudding, his skin tingling. Noah felt the buzz of coming war.
This was what he was born to do.
Chapter Twelve
Who are You, Again?
Getting Stellan to take her to the movies was pretty easy. He’d been haunting Eden’s steps for the last few weeks, worried as all hell that something was going to happen to her. That only made her feel extra guilty about tricking him.
Begging for a break from the house, Stellan had managed to convince Ryan to let him take her out. He promised the goons could follow them and wait for them outside the cinema. Ryan wanted the goons to accompany them into the cinema but Stellan got around him by pretending to be affronted that his father didn’t think he was strong enough to protect his sister. If there was one thing Ryan understood it was wounded masculine pride.
Also, Eden had been behaving particularly sullen and bitter lately. He liked it. So he rewarded it.
Sick fu-
Now, now Eden, she admonished herself. He’s not worth it.
And he wasn’t.
“I’m really glad you asked me to do this.” Stellan grinned at her as they pulled into the parking lot of the cinema. “I’ve been worried about you.”
Eden frowned, getting out of the car. “I’m fine.”
Her brother shook his head, locking the door. His remained focused entirely on her as he strode towards her, their stride finding time with one another. “You’ve been different. Crabbier.”
“I’m always crabby.”
“Yeah, but not with me. Not with coffee shop assistants.”
He was referring to the fact that she’d gone a little ballistic at Sally at The Coffee Shoppe on the weekend, when she and Stellan had stopped in for a latte and sandwich. Sally was easily the friendliest person on the planet and had in no way meant to put tomatoes on Eden’s egg salad sandwich when she had pointedly asked for no tomatoes.