Eternal

Several minutes passed in silence as we sat there holding each other, sharing our grief. Outside, the bells pealed to signal the end of sixth period. A crow cawed loudly—once, twice. Somehow, we didn’t hear the door to the chapel open. We missed the approaching footsteps.

“Violet?”

I shoved Tyler away with a gasp, stunned to see Aidan standing there at the end of the aisle, just outside the vestibule.

Watching us.

The pain etched into his features was undeniable as his expression shifted from disbelief to anger in a heartbeat.

I realized then that pushing Tyler away had been a bad move on my part. It made me look guilty, like I’d been caught doing something that I shouldn’t. Crap.

“Listen, man,” Tyler said, turning toward Aidan with a grimace. “This is not what it looks like.”

“Oh, yeah?” Aidan said, his voice so level and cool that my blood turned to ice in my veins. “Because it looked like you two were all over each other.”

Tyler held up two hands in surrender. “Seriously, dude, don’t be mad at her. She was just comforting me.”

“Shut up, Bennett,” Aidan said. His eyes were beginning to go vampiric, rimmed in red now. I was afraid to look at his incisors. This was a very bad combination, a dangerous one—jealous teenage boy plus overprotective vampire. I needed to neutralize the situation, but how?

“It was all me, man,” Tyler pressed on foolishly. “I came after her, just to make sure she was okay, and then I started bawling like a pussy. She was just being nice.”

“Oh, I have no doubt that you were just waiting for an opportunity to make your move,” Aidan said with a shrug. “I’ve always suspected you have a thing for her.”

Tyler rose and slipped into the aisle facing Aidan. “Why don’t we talk about this later, after you’ve had a chance to calm down? I don’t like the way your eyes look right now. Violet, maybe you should get out of here.”

Did he think he was protecting me? From Aidan? He was the one who was going to need protection—any minute now if he didn’t shut up.

“You’re making it worse, Ty,” I managed to say. “Just go, okay?”

“I’m not leaving you here with him.” Tyler swept an arm in Aidan’s direction. “He may be your boyfriend, but dude’s a vampire. An angry one,” he added under his breath.

In the blink of an eye, Aidan had him by the throat, pressed up against the chapel’s wall ten yards from where they’d been standing just a second before.

I was on my feet in an instant, because this . . . this was not going to be a fair fight. “Let him go, Aidan!”

He ignored me. Tyler was gasping for breath now, his eyes beginning to bulge. He was no match for Aidan’s superhuman strength; no mortal was.

Fear racing through my veins, I reached for Aidan’s shoulder. “Let him go!” I repeated. “He was telling you the truth—we weren’t doing anything.”

Aidan just ignored me, squeezing tighter instead. Tyler’s face was ashen now.

In full panic mode, I began to tug at Aidan’s arm, forcing him to turn and look at me. His terrifying red gaze met my steady, pleading one. “You’re going to kill him,” I said forcefully.

Inexplicably, he cried out in pain, releasing Tyler and cradling the hand that had been around Tyler’s throat.

Tyler slumped to the ground in a heap.

“What did you do?” Aidan gasped, flexing his hand.

I could only gape at the sight, barely able to believe it. Aidan’s hand was somehow misshapen, his fingers curled and bent at impossible angles. Yet, as I watched wide-eyed, his hand began to morph back to normal in a matter of seconds—just like that.

“Molecules,” Tyler choked out, propped up on one elbow now. “I moved ’em around. You know, when you lost your focus.”

“You can do that?” I asked breathlessly, my gaze shifting from Aidan’s hand to Tyler and back again. “Holy hell!” Maybe it would have been a fair fight, after all.

And that’s when Aidan leaned down and punched him, right in the face.

* * *

Tyler’s face was a mess—he’d refused to go to Nurse Campbell for treatment—and Aidan wasn’t speaking to me. Which made art history class the next day so much fun. They sat on either side of me now, bristling, while the gossip raged on around us.

I tried to imagine how I’d feel if I caught Aidan with his arms around another girl—if he’d shoved her away guiltily the second I stepped into the room and then claimed that he’d only been comforting her. Just thinking about it made me feel sick—made my head pound, my stomach lurch queasily.

I glanced over at Aidan’s stony face, wondering if he was actually paying attention to what Dr. Andrulis was saying. His expression was entirely unreadable. If he noticed me watching him, he gave no indication of it.

I let out a frustrated sigh. Enough was enough. It was time for a little telepathic chat.

Can we please talk after sixth period?

He didn’t move a muscle. There’s nothing to talk about.

C’mon, Aidan. You know he’s just my friend.

He remained as still as a statue, staring straight ahead. Seriously, Vi? You two were all over each other, for God’s sake.

This wasn’t going well. Your room, then. Right after class.

The silence in my head was deafening.

“Hey,” Tyler whispered on my other side. “Violet?”

Irritated, I snapped my head toward him. “What?”

He held out my pen. “You dropped it.”

I snatched it from him with a scowl, reminding myself that he had no idea that he’d interrupted a conversation. “Thanks,” I whispered, trying to shake off the hostile vibes radiating from Aidan’s direction.

The next fifteen minutes were pure agony. I almost wept with relief when the bells began to ring.

“Should I wait for you?” Tyler asked, looking uncomfortable. “You know, to walk over to fencing together?”

I busied myself with my bag, unable to look at his swollen, discolored face without feeling guilty all over again. “No. Go on without me. Actually, would you mind telling Coach that I’m not feeling well? I might walk over to the infirmary.” It was only a half lie, since my head was pounding and I was out of Advil.

“Sure,” he said. “Okay, um . . . later.”

Aidan had started toward the door without me. I actually had to grab my bag and sprint toward him, catching up with him just as he stepped out into the hallway.

And then Jenna stepped into our path. “If it isn’t the little lovebirds,” she said, her voice dripping with venom.

“What do you want, Jenna?” Aidan asked, sounding bored.

“A run tonight, if you don’t mind. It’s a full moon.”

“Is it? I hadn’t noticed.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Just be there. You wouldn’t want me to go all wolf without a babysitter now, would you?” Her gaze slid over to me. “If you can manage to separate yourself from your little pet long enough, that is.”

“Whatever. You know there’s an entire security force out there watching the woods at night, right?”

“Yeah, and you better tell them to keep their distance, or else I won’t be responsible for any damage I do. I’ll see you tonight. Usual time and place.” With that, she turned and flounced off.