My arms fel to my sides and I blinked back sudden tears.
“I don’t want to know about love.”
“But you should, my child. You need to know about love.
The things people wil do for love. Al truths come down to love, do they not? One way or another, they do. See, there is a difference between love and need. Sometimes, what you feel is immediate and without rhyme or reason.” She sat up a little straighter. “Two people see each across a room or their skin brushes. Their souls recognize the person as their own. It doesn’t need time to figure it. The soul always knows… whether it’s right or wrong.”
Caleb grabbed my arm. “Come on. Let’s go. She’s not tel ing you anything you want to hear.”
“The first… the first is always the most powerful.” She closed her eyes, sighing. “Then there is need and fate. That is a different type. Need covers itself with love, but need…
need is never love. Always beware of the one who needs you. There is always a want behind a need, you see.”
Caleb let go of my arm and jabbed fiercely at the walkway behind us.
“Sometimes you wil mistake need for love. Be careful.
The road with need is never a fair one, never a good one.
Much like the road you must walk down. Beware of the one who needs.”
The lady was a loon, and even though I knew this, her words stil sent shivers down my spine. “Why won’t the road be easy for me?” I asked, ignoring Caleb.
She stood. Wel , as much as she could stand. Since her back hunched forward it stopped her from standing up completely. “Roads are always bumpy, never flat. This one here,” she nodded at Caleb with a tiny cackle, “this one has a road ful of light.”
Caleb stopped pointing behind us. “That’s good to know.”
“A short road ful of light,” added Grandma Piperi.
His face fel . “That’s… good to know.”
“What about the road?” I asked again, hoping for an answer that made sense.
“Ah, roads are always shady. Your road is ful of shadows, ful of deeds which must be done. It comes to those of your kind.”
Caleb shot me a meaningful look, but I shook my head. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I was stil unwil ing to leave. She hobbled past me and I stepped out of the way. My back brushed against something soft and warm, drawing my attention. I turned, finding large purple flowers with bright yel ow middles. I shifted closer, inhaling their bittersweet, almost acrid smel .
“Be careful there, child. You be touching nightshade.”
She stopped, turning back to where we stood. “Very dangerous… much like kisses from those who walk among the gods. Intoxicating, sweet, and deadly… you need to know how to handle it right. Just a little and you’l be fine.
Too much… it takes away what makes you who you are.”
She smiled softly, as if she were remembering something.
“The gods move around us, always close by. They are watching and they are waiting to see which one is revealed to be the strongest. They are here now. You see, the end is upon them, upon al of us. Even the gods have little faith.”
Caleb passed me another wide-eyed stare. I shrugged, deciding to give it one more chance. “So there’s nothing you’l tel me about my mom?”
“Nothing you haven’t already been told.”
“Wait… ?” My skin felt hot and cold al at once. “What…
Lea said is true? That I was the reason why Mom died?”
“Let’s go, Alex. You’re right.” Caleb took a step back.
“She’s freaking crazy.”
Piperi sighed. “Always ears around these parts, but ears don’t always hear correctly.”
“Alex, let’s go.”
I blinked and—I’m not exaggerating—in the time it took me to open my eyes, Grandma Piperi stood in front of me.
The old lady moved that fast. Her clawed hand grabbed my shoulder hard enough to make me wince.
She stared up at me with eyes as sharp as blades, and when she spoke, her voice lost its raspy edge. And she didn’t sound al that crazy. Oh no, her words were clear and to the point.
“You wil kil the ones you love. It is in your blood, in your fate. So the gods have spoken it and so the gods have come to foresee it.”
CHAPTER 9
“ALEX! WATCH HIS HANDS. YOU’RE LETTING TOO
MANY blocks get through!”
I nodded at Aiden’s harsh words and squared off with Kain again. Aiden was right. Kain was tearing me apart. My movements were too slow, jerky and distracted—mainly due to staying up half the night, replaying the bizarro conversation with Grandma Piperi.
This was a real y bad time to be preoccupied. Today was the first practice that included Kain, and I was fighting like a baby. Kain wasn’t going easy on me either. Not that I would’ve wanted that, but I also didn’t want to look like a total turd in front of another Sentinel.
Another one of his brutal kicks got through my block and I dodged with only a split second to spare. Dodging was not the point of this exercise. If it were, I’d be excel ing at it.
Aiden stalked over to me then, repositioning my arms in a way that would’ve successful y knocked Kain’s leg down.
“Watch him. Even the slightest muscle tremor wil give away his attack. You have to pay attention, Alex.”
“I know.” I took a step back and ran my arm over my forehead. “I know. I can do this.”
Kain shook his head and walked off to grab his bottle of water while Aiden led me to the other side of the room, his hand wrapped around my upper arm. He bent so we were eye level. “What is your deal today? I know you can do better than this.”
I bent to pick up my water, but the bottle was empty.
Aiden handed me his. “I’m just… out of it today.” I took a drink and handed it back to him.
“I can tel .”
I bit my lip, flushing. I was better than this, and gods, I wanted to prove to Aiden I was. If I couldn’t get past this then I couldn’t move onto anything else—to al those damn cool things I wanted to learn.
“Alex, you’ve been distracted al day.” His eyes met mine and held them. “This better have nothing to do with the party Jackson held on the beach last night.”
Good grief, was there nothing this man didn’t know? I shook my head. “No.”
Aiden gave me a knowing look and took a drink from the bottle before he shoved it back into my hands. “Drink up.”
I sighed, turning away from him. “Let’s go again, okay?”
Aiden motioned Kain back and then clapped me on the shoulder. “You can do this, Alex.”
After col ecting myself and taking another gulp of water, I dropped the bottle on the floor. I went back to the center of the mats and nodded at Kain.
Kain watched me wearily. “You ready?”
“Yeah.” I clenched my teeth. Kain raised his eyebrows, like he doubted I was going to do anything different this time around.
“Al right.” He shook his head and we squared off again.
“Remember to anticipate my moves.”
I blocked his first kick, then his punch. We circled each other for a few rounds while I wondered what the hel Grandma Piperi meant by saying I would kil the ones I loved. That didn’t make any sense, because the one person I’d loved was already dead and I sure as hel hadn’t kil ed her. You can’t kil someone who’s already dead, and it wasn’t like I loved—
Kain’s boot slammed past my defenses and connected with my stomach. Pain exploded through me, so intense and overwhelming I dropped to my knees. The way I landed put a strain on my battered back. Wincing, I reached around and held my back with one hand and my stomach with another.