really.”
He pulled her toward him again, almost as if he needed to feel her one last time. After a long moment, they separated and headed back toward the house, making sure there was substantial space between. In the distant horizon, the first rays of dawn slowly lit up the sky, giving the world around them a soft pink glow.
Ten
Rebecca leaned back against the closest tree, struggling to catch her breath. She’d just finished a particularly strenuous training session with Etain, and now it felt like every muscle in her body was on fire.
While she recovered, she watched Etain make her way over to the rest of the crew, who were training a few yards away. Today they were working on perfecting their gifts. Three days a week, the other crew members worked on honing their abilities, gaining control over their gifts. Rebecca always had her own workouts on these days. As far as she knew, Owen, Aeden and Trysten still had no idea what her ability was. It wasn’t exactly like she could go out there and practice her gift like the rest of the crew. But even though Rebecca never joined in, she enjoyed watching them practice when her own training was finished.
Owen’s skill at plant manipulation was incredible. He could make them grow rapidly, twist, bend, even split apart instantly, all with just the flick of his hand. His favorite trick, however, was something truly unbelievable to watch. He could make a tree bend over and manipulate a lower branch to elegantly pick him right up off of the ground and lift him as high as he wanted.
As amazing as it was to watch Owen, Aeden was even more spectacular. A few months before Rebecca had joined the crew, Aeden and Owen had invented a whip-like weapon that would allow Aeden to fight using electricity. Strapped onto the palm of one of his hands was a homemade conductor glove, and leading from it was a long metal whip, taken from the shielding of an underground cable. Drawing energy from the electrical lines powering nearby buildings, Aeden would spin and snap the cord while manipulating the strong electric current through the weapon, making the whip light up and flash like lightning. It was incredible to behold, and at the same time absolutely terrifying.
On these days, little Trysten helped the other two train. He would be their target, though he was always impossible to catch. It seemed more like playtime for him than training. He would giggle and laugh as he popped in and out of sight around their training area. Etain hadn’t been joking when she’d said Trysten might be their best fighter.
When he wasn’t in his office, Maverick would come watch the others train. Occasionally, he’d jump in and use his own gift if it appeared Trysten might need some help, but lately he was spending increasingly less time with the crew.
Rebecca looked up to see Maverick staring at her from across the opening. It had been almost two weeks since they’d talked in the woods, and though nothing physical had happened, somehow a closer bond had formed between them. They were now meeting up with each other every chance they could get. Sometimes they would talk, share stories, and laugh together, but recently they’d become fond of simply sitting in silence, holding each other’s hand.
They worked very hard to keep their rendezvous a secret. However, with invisible Tysten a constant threat around the house, Maverick was beginning to grow uneasy.
In order to keep themselves hidden from the others, they agreed instead to meet out at the rock in the early mornings. Rebecca’s dreams were growing more intense, and her ability to control them, to be able to wake herself from them, was rapidly declining. Whenever she’d awake in a cold sweat before dawn, she’d sneak from her room and silently make her way out to the garden. Every time, without fail, Maverick would be waiting for her along the path, as if he’d somehow sensed her distress. Together, they’d sit on the rock until sunrise, silently
He pulled her toward him again, almost as if he needed to feel her one last time. After a long moment, they separated and headed back toward the house, making sure there was substantial space between. In the distant horizon, the first rays of dawn slowly lit up the sky, giving the world around them a soft pink glow.
Ten
Rebecca leaned back against the closest tree, struggling to catch her breath. She’d just finished a particularly strenuous training session with Etain, and now it felt like every muscle in her body was on fire.
While she recovered, she watched Etain make her way over to the rest of the crew, who were training a few yards away. Today they were working on perfecting their gifts. Three days a week, the other crew members worked on honing their abilities, gaining control over their gifts. Rebecca always had her own workouts on these days. As far as she knew, Owen, Aeden and Trysten still had no idea what her ability was. It wasn’t exactly like she could go out there and practice her gift like the rest of the crew. But even though Rebecca never joined in, she enjoyed watching them practice when her own training was finished.
Owen’s skill at plant manipulation was incredible. He could make them grow rapidly, twist, bend, even split apart instantly, all with just the flick of his hand. His favorite trick, however, was something truly unbelievable to watch. He could make a tree bend over and manipulate a lower branch to elegantly pick him right up off of the ground and lift him as high as he wanted.
As amazing as it was to watch Owen, Aeden was even more spectacular. A few months before Rebecca had joined the crew, Aeden and Owen had invented a whip-like weapon that would allow Aeden to fight using electricity. Strapped onto the palm of one of his hands was a homemade conductor glove, and leading from it was a long metal whip, taken from the shielding of an underground cable. Drawing energy from the electrical lines powering nearby buildings, Aeden would spin and snap the cord while manipulating the strong electric current through the weapon, making the whip light up and flash like lightning. It was incredible to behold, and at the same time absolutely terrifying.
On these days, little Trysten helped the other two train. He would be their target, though he was always impossible to catch. It seemed more like playtime for him than training. He would giggle and laugh as he popped in and out of sight around their training area. Etain hadn’t been joking when she’d said Trysten might be their best fighter.
When he wasn’t in his office, Maverick would come watch the others train. Occasionally, he’d jump in and use his own gift if it appeared Trysten might need some help, but lately he was spending increasingly less time with the crew.
Rebecca looked up to see Maverick staring at her from across the opening. It had been almost two weeks since they’d talked in the woods, and though nothing physical had happened, somehow a closer bond had formed between them. They were now meeting up with each other every chance they could get. Sometimes they would talk, share stories, and laugh together, but recently they’d become fond of simply sitting in silence, holding each other’s hand.
They worked very hard to keep their rendezvous a secret. However, with invisible Tysten a constant threat around the house, Maverick was beginning to grow uneasy.
In order to keep themselves hidden from the others, they agreed instead to meet out at the rock in the early mornings. Rebecca’s dreams were growing more intense, and her ability to control them, to be able to wake herself from them, was rapidly declining. Whenever she’d awake in a cold sweat before dawn, she’d sneak from her room and silently make her way out to the garden. Every time, without fail, Maverick would be waiting for her along the path, as if he’d somehow sensed her distress. Together, they’d sit on the rock until sunrise, silently
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