Imagining it was almost too much to bear. I felt claustrophobic and my lungs struggled for air. With effort, I mentally pulled myself out of Zoe’s prison and concentrated on pushing the picture out of my head. But the horror of it lingered. She hadn’t deserved that.
“I know why Boris is so interested in me and why my family is different,” I said. Then I told Hayden and Chait everything I knew.
Chapter Thirty-four
Hayden
I snuck out of my room and quietly closed the door, so I wouldn’t wake Tessa. In the hallway, I stopped just before the living room.
Chait looked wide awake, standing near the window with a cup of coffee in his hand. “I went outside to scope the place out, see if anyone was around. Your mom came out and offered me coffee. After last night, I needed it. Tessa still sleeping?”
“Yeah.” I ran a hand through my hair, exhausted from so little sleep. The three of us had stayed up late while Tessa filled us in. Apparently, she hadn’t been able to shake off the ordeal — she’d tossed and turned all night. But even a bad night snuggling with Tessa was still a pretty good night, sleep deprived or not. “My mom must have been really confused when she saw you.” I’d give her an edited version of the truth later. “We have to go to school. If we do anything unusual, Boris might think something’s up.”
“Looks like I’ll be your bodyguard for a while.” Chait grinned. “Your worst nightmare, huh?”
“Nah. Actually, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have on my side.” I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked down at my bare feet, only sneaking a peek at him to see the surprise on his face. “Honestly, it isn’t about competing for Tessa. None of that matters now. All I care about is keeping her alive.”
Chait didn’t miss a beat. “Okay. If we’re going to be working together, let’s get started.”
“Do you have a plan?” I hoped.
“Not really.” Chait shook his head. “But if only one of you misses school at a time, it’s unlikely anyone will suspect anything. But both of you… I don’t know. Frank will notice and maybe see it as a red flag. Take Tessa to school, if she’s up for it, and you and I can train all day. Tomorrow, I work with her and you go to school.”
I scratched my chin. “Yeah. Our time is better spent learning how to stay alive than studying calculus, for now.”
“It might be a good idea for me to go home later and grab some of my clothes,” Chait added.
The old me would’ve gone mad from the thought of him staying overnight anywhere near Tessa. But we needed Chait’s help every hour of the day. Even then, we might not be safe. “You think we should snag that book? There might be something else in there that could help us.”
“Hey, guys.” Tessa came up behind me and slid her hands around my waist to interlock under my ribs.
I turned around and brushed my hands down her arm. “How are you feeling? Better?”
“Much. Still a little freaked though.”
She wasn’t the only one.
* * * *
A stream of profanity spewed from my mouth as I ate my pride for the zillionth time. I rubbed my hip that had taken the brunt of my falls.
Chait mashed his lips together and looked away. As if I couldn’t figure out he was trying not to laugh.
Maybe I’d perform better if I wasn’t so distracted. I didn’t like Tessa being away from me where I couldn’t protect her. “You think she’s safe at school, right?” I asked.
His mouth dropped open, then closed. He shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. But Boris has no reason to act. I think we’re okay.”
“Yeah.” Just a few more hours and we’d pick her up. She’d be fine.
“We should stop and eat. I’m starving,” Chait informed me. “Plus, you need to recharge.”
“I hurt all over. How fast do we heal?”
“Food. It does a body good. I think you’ll be almost like new by the time we finish lunch.” He slapped a hand on my shoulder. “Hey. It won’t always be like this. I’ve trained a lot of new guys and I’ve never had anyone keep up with me the way you have today.”
My brows scrunched together while I tried to make sense of his words. “I don’t get why I haven’t done better. I’ve been training for years.”
“We all start off weak. Mostly because we don’t know our powers or how to use them yet. Right now, you’re more skilled as a warrior, but I’m stronger and faster. In a few weeks, you’ll have caught up and, I’m sorry to say, you’ll be giving me a stomping.”
“I still have a few weeks before I’m worth anything?” I scowled.
Chait chuckled. “You’re hardly worthless now.”
But if Tessa were in danger, I wouldn’t be much help; not against more experienced witches. Even if I became much stronger in a few weeks, the strength would come after her eighteenth birthday and after she announced her choice. Until then, any sorcerer could pluck me off like a piece of lint. I knew Tessa too well by now — if we ran into trouble and something happened to me, she was the kind of person who wouldn’t run for safety. She wouldn’t leave a man behind. Tessa would stay and end up putting herself in danger — because of me.
Not only was I useless, but having me around was a huge liability to her.
“Suddenly, I’m not that hungry.” Thinking about what I had to do made me want to pound on something. “Let’s spar a little longer.”
* * * *
Since my car couldn’t accommodate Chait and Tessa, I parked it at home and settled on my mom’s SUV. The Mercedes had cost over a hundred grand and wasn’t exactly inconspicuous, but stood out less than mine. And since I’d never be caught dead in my mom’s car at school, no one would know I was behind the tinted glass. It wouldn’t look good to be seen at school when I hadn’t attended my classes.
“We should consider renting a car, something more generic.” I spotted Tessa exiting the double doors of the school and sent her a visual of the Mercedes. When she looked my way, I hit the horn for a split second. “Whatever we can do to throw off any followers might be nice.”
“You have to be twenty-five to rent a car,” Chait said. “They’ll figure out it’s us, no matter what we drive. Your mom still has like four other cars in the garage, right? So we’ll switch when we need to.”
Tessa jumped in the front seat and held her hand out for me. I took it, wanting to kiss her palm. But I couldn’t. Not when these were our last few moments together as a couple. I had to end it quick and clean.
I released her slowly and gripped the steering wheel. “We’ll stop by Chait’s so he can pick up a few things,” I said.
Tessa pivoted in her seat to see Chait. “You think you can sneak that book out?”
“I’ll try.”
“How did you guys do today?” she asked.
“I got my ass handed to me over and over,” I mumbled.
“Great,” Tessa said, making sure we knew by her tone that she didn’t think so at all. “Gives me something to look forward to tomorrow when he beats the crap out of me.”
“How did it go with Frank and Lila? Did you see either of them?” I asked.
“Yes. Both. They asked where you were and I told them that you were spending time with your mom while she and the pervert go through the divorce stuff. Then Frank kind of hovered like he wanted to ask me something. I figured it was because he knew we were hanging out with Chait a lot. I told them how disillusioned and betrayed Chait felt over the whole Rena thing. Now they think he’s considering switching sides.” She grinned. “Chait, if David talks to you, say that after the Rena fiasco, you’re worried we’ll choose wrong, so you’re investing a little extra time in us.”
“Tessa, you astound me.” Chait held up a palm for a high-five.
I was too caught up in my own inner turmoil to really appreciate her slyness.
A few minutes later, we parked about a block from the huge house where Chait and the rest of them lived. He jumped out of the SUV, leaving Tessa and I alone.