Silence settles around me, which is odd, considering the house is usually filled with laughter and boyish banter. When I step into the living room, I pause as the guys remain silent on the corner couch, their faces devoid of emotion.
Seeing them, I swallow. Is this what I’m like when I don’t want to feel? When I shut down? Dropping my bag behind the couch, I grip the backrest and gaze around the room. “Is everyone okay? You look like someone died.”
They share a look, and it’s Dane who glances at me. His eyes soften. “Serena… what’s going on with you?” he asks, and I frown, my head cocking to the side. “We can handle the crazy, the cocky, and the slightly terrifying Serena, but the Serena that’s quiet and withdrawn? The one that will barely talk to us or look at us? Frankly, that’s scarier than anything you’ve shown us so far.”
I swallow around the dryness in my mouth. “I… I don’t know what you—”
“Cut it, Serena. I can literally feel your emotions. What’s been going on with you?” Dane’s eyes narrow on me, and I open my mouth to tell him off, when a deep meow rings around the room.
Keaira struts in, her claws clicking across the ground. She is no longer the small cat from a few days ago. She is now the size of a small dog as she comes to my side and leaps onto the sideboard next to me.
“She’s… grown?” Paxton asks, his voice coming out strong, but underneath I can hear the worry lining his words.
“Er… yeah…” I say, thankful the attention is off me for a moment. “Turns out she’s not a cat, but a lynx, and she’s a gift from my goddess.”
“But… our deities aren’t meant to give us anything,” Rory says, his head tilting to the side as he glances to the others for confirmation. “It promotes favoritism,” he says.
“Not… exactly,” Declan says. “Our deities aren’t meant to give us anything unless it’s of astronomical need.” His eyes meet mine, his gaze searching. “Is there something we need to know?”
The silence in the room is deafening. Sighing, I rub at the emerald jewel at my neck, not realizing I’m doing it until a familiar warmth swirls around me, and I immediately drop my hand.
“I came here with the best of intentions,” I say. “But She seems to think that something is brewing. She can’t tell me what, or when, or why, but She’s tasked Keaira to be my guide and my protector.” I scratch Keaira behind the ears to conceal the unease making my hands so restless.
Declan laughs. “The lynx is your protector?”
“If I were you, I would keep my mouth shut. You don’t know what might have sharper teeth than you.”
Silence proceeds Keaira’s retort, and all eyes land on her. She tilts her head in that shrug-like way again and resorts to grooming herself.
“She talks now?” Dane says softly but with a slight hitch to his voice.
“I didn’t know until recently.”
The guys continue to stare at Keaira, and she pounds her little paw on the table. “I may be small, but I am powerful. And if you annoy me, I will eat you.”
Declan sighs. “Trust you to get a pet that somehow has more attitude than you,” he mutters. “Serena, I know we won’t see eye to eye about a lot of things, but if your goddess has sent you a guardian, you need to stop going out alone.”
I open my mouth to give him my usual smart-ass attitude, but nothing comes out as I take in the genuine worry in his eyes. I run my hands through my hair and over my messy as Hades braid. “I know. But you guys can’t be with me all the time, and to be honest, I may kill you if you try to join me in the shower,” I joke, but it falls flat. I mull over what I need to say next.
“There’s something else,” I sigh and look up to meet their worried gazes. “In my meeting with Master Rostova, he told me I had to compete in some trial that will be happening in a few months. He said something about proving myself as a valuable warrior for the Dark and to make the Light tremble.” I try to smile at the last part, but my lips don’t cooperate, and it turns into a grimace.
The guys glance between themselves, and I watch in both fascination and annoyance as their auras intermingle while mine just floats around me, longing to join in.
Dane’s eyes meet mine and soften, and I realize he’s reading my emotions. A small curse ball forms on the tip of my index finger. His eyes widen. “Come on, Serena! It wasn’t like I did it on purpose. You project pretty loudly.”
The guys see the ball I’m aiming toward Dane, and Paxton chuckles. “Serena, please don’t curse him. We need him to heal us after combat classes.”
My skin prickles as his voice rolls over me, and I hate it but say, “Fine.”
Dane chooses that moment to snort, and I push the little ball back to him at lightning speed. It hits him square in the chest, and he gapes at me. “You just said you wouldn’t…!”
My power calls to me from within him, urging me to continue with the curse, to make him suffer, even if it’s only for a little while. But I resist, and it buries its way inside him like a weed in a beautiful garden. Just waiting to spread when the time is right. Rising from my chair, I walk past him and the others to the hallway, smiling at their hushed conversation.
“What do you think she did to you?” Rory asks.
“I don’t know. She didn’t say anything, so maybe she didn’t curse me?”
The guys remain silent, but I chuckle as Paxton snorts. “No. She
