The Beast Within (The Elite Series) - By Jonathan Yanez Page 0,67

and thinking for the hundredth time how beautiful she was. She was amazing—not only gorgeous, strong, funny, and brave, she was understanding.

How can someone so young be so wise and mature? Wait a minute, she’s not nineteen, how old is she?

“Wait a minute. How old are you?”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, I know you’re not nineteen anymore. How old are you?”

“Why, Connor Moore. If your mother knew you were asking young ladies their age, what would she say?”

“She would probably say you should stop avoiding the question and give me an answer. What are you, like a hundred, two hundred years old?”

Laren bit her lip in contemplation. “I’ll tell you what. If you can catch me, I’ll tell you.”

“We both know that’s not going to happen. You’re too fast.”

“You’re going to let a girl beat you? Come on, where’s your competitive spirit?”

She was right. No matter how tired he was or how much of an edge she held, the only way he was going to get better was with practice.

Connor and Laren spent the rest of the night running through the dark forest. The many paths and dense foliage added an extra element to training.

“Want to play hide and seek?” Laren asked.

“Aren’t we supposed to be training?”

“Who says we can’t do both? Close your eyes and count to one, slowly.”

“Just one, huh?”

“That’s all I’ll need,” she promised.

“All right.” Connor closed his eyes with Laren smiling right in front of him. He thought for sure he would see her back down the path, or at least hear her when he opened his eyes. He slowly said, one.

Opening his eyes, Connor saw nothing. No moving branches or shaking bushes signaling the path she took. She was a ghost in the forest, vanished into thin air.

Connor turned around, stunned, and had absolutely no idea where to start looking for her.

“Impressive, right?”

The voice came from somewhere close. With only the moon’s light to navigate by, it was impossible to tell where the voice was coming from. All Connor could tell was it was close.

“Very impressive, Miss Abelardus. Now where are you?” Connor asked the darkness.

“With your vision limited, your other senses will kick in to help. Concentrate on what you hear. Listen.”

Connor stood still and closed his eyes. He couldn’t see much, anyway, and it helped him concentrate better. He heard the tiny paws of creatures in the forest, the soft flow of the river, and slight creaking of branches. The branches swaying back and forth took precedence over the other sounds and he could almost make out each branch individually.

The larger trees groaned and the smaller trees almost sighed. One branch in particular groaned louder than the rest. Opening his eyes, he looked up and saw Laren’s face smiling down at him. “See? It’s not that hard.”

She jumped down beside him. “With enough training, we’ll have you separating the noises that should be there from the ones that shouldn’t. You’ll be able to do what you just did in seconds.”

“It’s amazing, isn’t it? I never thought I would be able to tell the difference between the sounds tree branches make.”

“Yeah.” Laren paused thoughtfully. “I guess sometimes I lose track of how awesome it is. Being born an Elite, I take it for granted sometimes.”

“I can understand that.”

“Keep practicing and you’ll be able to hear the world in a way you never have before.”

Connor nodded. “Race you back to the castle?”

“Now that’s the Connor Moore I know.”

Connor ran and he thought he was able to run faster than before, yet he was still nowhere close to Laren’s lightning speed. Connor and Laren walked back to the castle close to midnight. The guards at the front gate immediately recognized them and allowed them to enter. Due to the late hour, there wasn’t much activity in the castle as they made their way upstairs.

“You did great today,” Laren reassured him. “Get some rest. Tomorrow you have another full day of training.”

“Thank you, for everything.”

“Of course. Oh, and 1887.”

“What?”

“I was born in 1887.” She grinned as she walked away, leaving him dumbfounded at his door.

That night a stranger invaded Connor’s dream. He was standing in the main castle hall completely alone. All the servants were gone. No guards stood at attention. The only noise in the entire castle was a low, vibration.

Connor walked towards the noise. It was coming from the same area he was taken to when the Council interviewed him. The vibration grew louder as he approached. It was dark outside and the cloudy sky denied even the