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Cursing, I shot back toward her. She was frozen, eyes squeezed shut and face drawn and pale. I didn’t stop to think. I lifted my hand and blinding white light, tinged in red, swirled down my arm, snapping into the air. A bolt of light, very much like lightning, slammed into the ground, no more than a foot in front of Kat, startling the bear.
All of it happened so fast.
Scared, the bear reared back and shifted its heavy body, running off in the opposite direction just as the light receded. The burst of energy bounced, and I saw Kat’s legs fold and her head tip to the side. And she went down.
I snapped forward, catching her before she hit the ground and lifting her up in my arms, cradling her close to my chest as I kept my eyes on the area the bear had disappeared to. I doubted she’d passed out due to fright. She’d been too close to the Source. God only knew what the charge had done to her heart or nervous system.
“Shit shit shit,” I muttered, calming only slightly when I heard her heartbeat still pounding in her chest.
When I was sure the bear wasn’t coming back, I looked down at her. Pressure clamped down on my chest. Oh no. Dammit. No…
A faint white glow surrounded Kat, almost like an aura or like the space around her was glowing with a supernatural light humans couldn’t see. But it would be visible to any Luxen… and to any Arum.
I’d traced her.
Chapter 7
Kat seemed incredibly small and delicate in my arms, her weight so slight I pressed her closer. Oddly, her head fit perfectly against my shoulder, as if she’d placed it there and fallen asleep instead of passing out.
I couldn’t believe I’d inadvertently knocked her out.
In a twisted way, it was a blessing in disguise. Most likely I wouldn’t have to come up with some whacked-out excuse for why it seemed like lightning had shot from my fingertips and scared a bear off.
Above, dark clouds rolled in. A storm was brewing—a common consequence of too much charged power. Something to do with the electrical fields affecting the weather and blah blah blah.
But even if Kat woke up and believed the incoming storm had something to do with scaring the bear off, I’d traced her. Which was equivalent to putting a bull’s-eye on her back, especially when there might be Arum around.
Shit.
Here I was, ranting at Dee over how dangerous it was getting close to Kat, and I’m the one who was bored and coaxed her into a walk¸ who had endangered them all.
The trace should fade in a couple of days. As long as she stayed home and no one other than Dee saw her, then it shouldn’t be a problem.
I laughed drily, almost bitterly. Not going to be a problem? Dee was never going to let me hear the end of it.
Heading back down the trail, I forced my gaze to stay forward instead of on what I carried, focused on the scenery. Trees—lots of trees and maple-shaped leaves, pine needles, a few shrubs…birds hopping from limb to limb, shaking out their feathers. A squirrel shimmied up the trunk of a tree.
I glanced down.
Thick lashes fanned paler-than-normal cheeks. I kind of thought she looked like Snow White. Good God, that sounded lame. Snow White? But her lips were parted perfectly, and they were rosy even without makeup.
Thunder cracked and the scent of rain rolled in. Checking to make sure she was still out like a little kitten, I picked up the pace and flew down the trail. Even as fast as I moved, the storm was unpredictable, and the skies opened up, drenching us. And still, she slept.
She reminded me of Dawson. An atomic bomb wouldn’t have woken my brother.
After reaching the porch steps, I slowed down and shook my head, sending droplets of rain flying in every direction. I stopped at the door and frowned. Had she locked it before she left? Dammit, I couldn’t remember. If so, she probably had a key in her pocket, but that would mean going into her pocket and getting it. How else would I explain how I unlocked her door?
My gaze dipped and ran over her legs. Legs unbelievably long for someone so short…and those shorts were short. Tiny pockets, too.
Yeah, I was not going after that key.
Well past time to deposit her little butt on the swing and get the hell out of here.
Sighing, I went over to the swing and started to put her down, but she snuggled closer. I froze, wondering if she was awake. A quick check told me she wasn’t. Again, I went to lay her down, but I stopped this time. What would she think if she woke up here alone?
Why did I care?
“Dammit,” I muttered.
Searching the porch frantically as if it held the answers, I finally rolled my eyes and sat, placing her beside me. It made sense that I would stay. I had to know if she had seen me shoot a lightning bolt out of my hand, I reasoned. I kept my arm around her, because knowing my luck, she’d slip out of the swing and crack her head open. Then Dee would kill me.
I tipped my head back and closed my eyes. Why had I come over here today? Was it really just boredom? If that was the case, I could’ve watched the episodes of Ghost Investigators I had DVRed. I hadn’t really considered what I was doing until I was knocking on her door and it was too late to think about it.
I was an idiot.
Kat murmured something and wiggled closer, pressing her cheek against my chest. She was molded to the entire right side of my body: thigh to thigh. Her hand curled below my hip and I started counting backward from a hundred. When I got to seventy, I found myself staring at her lips.
I really needed to stop staring at her lips.
Her brow wrinkled, lids flickering as if she was having a bad dream. Some ridiculous part of me responded to that—to the minute distress pinching her features, tensing her body. My thumb started to move along her lower back, tracing idle circles. Seconds passed, and she settled right down, her breathing deep and steady.