Wait…you were the accelerant?”
“I have a volatile connection with fire. I’m still struggling to understand it. If I let my concentration slip and I happen to be near a fire, it just goes crazy responding to my power and it’s almost impossible to rein it back in. That night, I was too busy sulking over you and Vince.” His eyes flashed with a spark of anger.
“It happened so fast and then Kayla was in so much pain—”
“Oh God! No! Aidan!” she cradled her head in her hands. “She risked her life for nothing?”
“I’m so sorry, Lex. I wish I could go back and keep you both safe. I panicked when I saw her trapped. I was so desperate. All I could do was beg the flames to stop burning her, and somehow they did. I had control again. But I should never have lost it! I was weak for one moment and I almost killed her!”
“Gregg was right.” She reached for his hand. His tone of self-loathing tore at her heart. “Kayla is lucky you were there to give her such good care.”
“Trust me, she would have been ‘lucky’ if she’d never met me.” He scowled. “When I finally got her free, I managed to extinguish a small portion of the flames to give us a way out, but after that, I was tapped out. She was waking up and in danger of going into shock. I did what I could to keep her lungs and heart functioning, but I hadn’t slept in days, and I was losing her. Then you wrapped your arms around me, and I stopped shaking, my head cleared and I had the strength to go on. I didn’t even know it was possible to revitalize someone like that, but you did it before your Awakening, which is just freaking nuts. Once I understood what you were doing, I took advantage of it and I’m afraid that’s why you passed out. You helped me save her, Allie. I can never thank you enough for that.”
“But how? How could I do that and not know it?”
“Instinct. You are much more aware of your power than you know. I’m still trying to help Kayla through her recovery,” he continued, not giving Allie time to dwell on that particular subject. “That’s why the doctors say she’s bouncing back so swiftly. I just have to be careful not to do too much too fast, but it will never be enough. She is scarred for life because I was a jealous idiot.”
Allie felt tears burn her eyes. She felt like she was staring at a complete stranger. She didn’t know him at all. He cared more deeply than she ever realized.
“Hey, no more of that.” He pulled her close.
“You’re my best friend and it’s like I don’t even know you.” She wiped furiously at her tears.
“It’s okay,” he said. “Remember? Open book. What else do you want to know?”
“What really happened the first morning we met?”
“A crazy redhead tackled me and turned my life upside down.” He grinned.
“Be serious!”
“I am serious! I sensed you on the trail just ahead of me, but I was so not in the mood for a typical first encounter. Most Immortal girls our age are terrified of me and I just couldn’t deal.”
“It is considered very bad manners for a strange Immortal to show up unannounced, and I was prepared to tell you off, but I didn’t want to scare you. I called out for you to stop, but you couldn’t hear me. I thought you might be a little freaked, so I crashed through the woods to get ahead of you. I wanted you to see I wasn’t a threat.”
“I knew you were behind me.” Allie smiled. “And I also wasn’t in the mood. Most boys our age don’t deal so well with me. But something happened when you approached. I got really dizzy and nauseated.”
“You were sensing me. So close to your Awakening, that was probably a first for you.”
“So that whole time you thought I knew what I was?”
“I didn’t have any reason to think you didn’t.”
“What was your first clue?”
“You were completely unimpressed when I mentioned my parents. And then again, when you commented on my mother not changing her last name. Immortal
“I have a volatile connection with fire. I’m still struggling to understand it. If I let my concentration slip and I happen to be near a fire, it just goes crazy responding to my power and it’s almost impossible to rein it back in. That night, I was too busy sulking over you and Vince.” His eyes flashed with a spark of anger.
“It happened so fast and then Kayla was in so much pain—”
“Oh God! No! Aidan!” she cradled her head in her hands. “She risked her life for nothing?”
“I’m so sorry, Lex. I wish I could go back and keep you both safe. I panicked when I saw her trapped. I was so desperate. All I could do was beg the flames to stop burning her, and somehow they did. I had control again. But I should never have lost it! I was weak for one moment and I almost killed her!”
“Gregg was right.” She reached for his hand. His tone of self-loathing tore at her heart. “Kayla is lucky you were there to give her such good care.”
“Trust me, she would have been ‘lucky’ if she’d never met me.” He scowled. “When I finally got her free, I managed to extinguish a small portion of the flames to give us a way out, but after that, I was tapped out. She was waking up and in danger of going into shock. I did what I could to keep her lungs and heart functioning, but I hadn’t slept in days, and I was losing her. Then you wrapped your arms around me, and I stopped shaking, my head cleared and I had the strength to go on. I didn’t even know it was possible to revitalize someone like that, but you did it before your Awakening, which is just freaking nuts. Once I understood what you were doing, I took advantage of it and I’m afraid that’s why you passed out. You helped me save her, Allie. I can never thank you enough for that.”
“But how? How could I do that and not know it?”
“Instinct. You are much more aware of your power than you know. I’m still trying to help Kayla through her recovery,” he continued, not giving Allie time to dwell on that particular subject. “That’s why the doctors say she’s bouncing back so swiftly. I just have to be careful not to do too much too fast, but it will never be enough. She is scarred for life because I was a jealous idiot.”
Allie felt tears burn her eyes. She felt like she was staring at a complete stranger. She didn’t know him at all. He cared more deeply than she ever realized.
“Hey, no more of that.” He pulled her close.
“You’re my best friend and it’s like I don’t even know you.” She wiped furiously at her tears.
“It’s okay,” he said. “Remember? Open book. What else do you want to know?”
“What really happened the first morning we met?”
“A crazy redhead tackled me and turned my life upside down.” He grinned.
“Be serious!”
“I am serious! I sensed you on the trail just ahead of me, but I was so not in the mood for a typical first encounter. Most Immortal girls our age are terrified of me and I just couldn’t deal.”
“It is considered very bad manners for a strange Immortal to show up unannounced, and I was prepared to tell you off, but I didn’t want to scare you. I called out for you to stop, but you couldn’t hear me. I thought you might be a little freaked, so I crashed through the woods to get ahead of you. I wanted you to see I wasn’t a threat.”
“I knew you were behind me.” Allie smiled. “And I also wasn’t in the mood. Most boys our age don’t deal so well with me. But something happened when you approached. I got really dizzy and nauseated.”
“You were sensing me. So close to your Awakening, that was probably a first for you.”
“So that whole time you thought I knew what I was?”
“I didn’t have any reason to think you didn’t.”
“What was your first clue?”
“You were completely unimpressed when I mentioned my parents. And then again, when you commented on my mother not changing her last name. Immortal
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