uh … you’re good after last night?” I thought to ask, clearing my throat when I tried again to ignore how drawn I felt toward her—mostly physically, but … there was something more I hadn’t yet figured out.
She nodded. “I had a bit of a headache at first, and I’m still a little tired, but other than that, I’m fine.”
It hadn’t left my thoughts how the wave of red energy that forced the Darkness to retreat had been her doing. It took so much for us to win every battle with the dark entity, it was hard to believe she’d done it on her own.
“It was brave what you did for the kids,” I told her. “They’ve seen enough tragedy. Losing each other might have broken them.”
Noelle’s gaze flitted toward me and I noted that her shoulders seemed far less tense than they did a moment ago.
“Are most of them there because they lost their families to the Darkness?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No, not most of them. All of them.”
When she simply stared, not uttering a word, I guessed that had come as a shock.
Bringing my knees toward my chest, I rested my elbows on them, settling in. It was still awkward talking with her, because it had been a while since I let myself connect with someone.
“I don’t know how you all do it,” she sighed.
“Do what?”
“Live with your backs constantly to the light.”
Her wording made my brow quirk. “I don’t follow.”
Her gaze flitted toward the sky for a second when she thought to herself. “It’s something my grandmother says, about how those who face the night never really get to see the sun, never really get to—”
“Turn away from the darkness?” I asked, thinking that was maybe what she meant.
She nodded and her gaze locked with mine. “Yeah.”
I smiled a bit, and when I turned and pointed toward the water, she followed my gaze to where the little ones played.
“We do it for them, and all the other kids on this island,” I shared. “It’s our hope that, one day, there will no longer be anything here to fear, and they can live their lives with the freedom they deserve.”
Noelle stared at the youngest members of my family, and there was no missing the smile that came over her.
“Ugh! You suck! Now you’ve gone and done it,” she said, breathing hard as she leaned back to rest on her palms.
“Uh oh, what’d I do now?” I had to ask.
She glanced over at me once more, and I felt that pull again.
“You’ve officially made it impossible to be angry with you,” she admitted with a laugh. “As close as I was a few minutes ago, I’d have to be a monster to hate a guy whose life work is to secure the future of children.”
I snickered at that being the only thing good she saw in me, but it wasn’t far from the truth. “I’ll take that.”
The last trace of anger melted away from her, and as I watched her discreetly, for the first time since she arrived here, I didn’t feel any animosity.
Going with my gut for the first time in a long time, Noelle stared at my hand when I offered it to her. “Truce?” I asked. “You know, for the kids.”
She grinned again, and then pressed her palm to mine. “Truce,” she echoed, adding, “but you’re still kind of a dick.”
Her honesty was refreshing, so I could only laugh and own up to it. “All day, every day.”
Chapter Nineteen
Noelle
The weekend flew by, admittedly faster than I would have liked. Before I knew it, I was back at the academy, and that felt stranger than expected. I guess I’d gotten used to having the guys around, had gotten used to being a part of their world.
Whether I liked it or not, they were growing on me.
The barbecue had been an eye-opener, meeting all the Firekeepers, their mates. It was almost like I’d known them all my life. Almost like I fit into their circle seamlessly.
An idea that seemed to make perfect sense to Joel.
The only good thing about being back at the dorm was seeing my friends again. However, there were drawbacks. For instance, every one of my classmates I passed throughout the week stared at me like I had a third eye in the center of my forehead. The Pinning Ritual incident had done a number on my social life.
Not that it was all that amazing to begin with.
Basically, it made me want to