hoarsely with his gaze glued to the window.
I hate that he looks so in pain. While I may not have witnessed any of what happened to him by his father, I saw how Maple treated him, the way she talked to him and how she hit him.
Not wanting to force him to talk about painful stuff anymore, I twist around in his lap and try to figure out what he’s looking at out the window. I can’t see anything but ice and snow.
“Okay, all smartass remarks aside,” I say. “Seriously, what’re you looking at out there?”
“All smartass remarks aside, huh?” The smallest of smiles touches his lips. “I thought smartass remarks were your thing?”
“Oh, they are,” I assure him with a cheeky grin.
His grin broadens even more and it’s a beautiful sight. But then it swiftly fades.
“I’m not positive,” he tells me. “But I swear while we were walking here, something was following us.”
That declaration sends a spike of fear through me. “That’s really weird cause I thought I felt like we were being watched, that I heard someone walking behind us. But when I turned around, I couldn’t see anything. And when I told Asher, he didn’t seem to be that worried.”
“He may have, but just didn’t show you he was,” he tells me. “My brother is good at hiding his emotions. Plus, if he may have been trying to protect you from getting worried. He seems to do that a lot.”
“Protect me from getting worried?”
“Not necessarily that. He just seems to... He likes to make sure you’re protected in every way possible.”
Deep down, I know he’s right, but the declaration carries a lot of emotional meaning to it, so I just shrug and mutter a, “Maybe.” Then I turn back toward the window and change the subject.
“If something was following us, what do you think it was?” I ask, wishing I could see better out the window.
His breathing quickens ever so slightly. Since my back is lined against his chest, I can feel the accelerating movements as he inhales and exhales. Something has him spooked. But what? The possibilities of what could’ve been following us?
“Honestly, I’m not sure,” he admits. “I couldn’t spot any traces of magic or evidence that could lead me in a direction. But that’s more than likely due to the snow burying it. Not because whatever it was wasn’t leaving any traces behind.”
“Could you go back and dig something up?” I wonder. “Maybe when the snowfall calms down?”
“Maybe. I mean, usually I have my father’s powers while I’m trying to track a creature, and I just melt the snow away. But now I’m powerless so... I guess I could use like a shovel.” He pulls a weird face. “That sounds so fucking weird. A shovel? Gods, I’ve really become useless, haven’t I?”
“Hey, just because you don’t have any powers doesn’t mean you’re useless. Trust me, back in my old world, I was known as being an awesome thief, and I didn’t use any powers. Just this awesome thing.” I tap the side of my head and grin. “You can do it too. Sure, you don’t have any powers, but you still have all of that information you learned about tracking creatures. Plus, you know how your father’s mind works, which I’m sure is going to come in handy eventually.”
He eyes me over curiously. “I almost forgot you were like this.”
My head tilts to the side. “Like what?”
He lifts a shoulder. “Always telling others positive things about themselves. Like that Jason guy. I watched you with him sometimes, and you always told him such nice things about himself.”
I try not to frown at the mention of Jason. “So I’ve been told.”
A pucker forms between his brows. “I’ve made you sad.”
“No... I just...” I sigh heavily. “A little bit ago, East suggested that perhaps I was a better friend to Jason than he was to me, and honestly, the more I think about it, the more I think he’s right.”
He hesitates, sinking his teeth into his bottom lip.
“You think that too,” I say. “Don’t you?”
He wavers. “I’m not an expert on human behavior, but the boy did seem to take more from you than he gave.”
I turn around and face the window. “Yeah, I know. I just wish I would’ve realized that back then. It makes me feel... I don’t know, pathetic, I guess, that I just let him basically take advantage of me.”
I feel something touch my arm. When I glance down, I see that