“You’re right, of course,” I sighed and sat back down, defeated.
“Even if she isn’t…” I continued. “I don’t think I’m capable of leaving her. I feel connected to her, even if she isn’t who you thought.”
***
Eventually, Andrew went back to his classroom, leaving me with my thoughts. I wandered around the school grounds and ended up at the old oak tree that had been the setting of Shaylee’s nightmare. Ignoring the crunchy snow, I sat down next to the tree and leaned against it. The first thing I needed to do was confirm that the dream was in fact a Dream Spell.
I knew I needed to talk to Jaden. If Shaylee had a mark, I knew it would be next to impossible to convince her to tell me. Jaden on the other hand, knew many ways to convince Shaylee into giving her information.
Inside the school, the bell rang. I got up and brushed the snow off my pants before heading inside. Students were making their way from lunch to various classrooms. I stood outside Jaden’s sixth period classroom. I knew Jaden would be along any minute. She wasn’t the type to skip a class.
I saw her coming, looking confident and in charge, and breathed a sigh of relief that she was alone. I took her arm as she walked past without seeing me.
“I need to talk to you,” I whispered into her ear as I pulled her to the side of the hallway.
“You’re going to need a major excuse for why you were supposedly in detention,” she told me. “Shaylee is really suspicious. She said that everyone loves you and there’s no way you would get detention no matter what you did.”
“I’ll handle it,” I said, unconcerned. “Listen, I need you to find out if Shaylee has a mark where the man touched her in her dream.”
I spoke quietly, aware of the students that were watching us with curiosity as they passed. I didn’t want anything getting out into the student body.
“A mark?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“And if it did?”
I shook my head in reply, not meeting her eyes. How could I tell her that the Council had a virtually permanent way of tracking her best friend?
“I need more than that,” she said.
“It’s not good,” I warned.
“How not good?”
“It could change everything.”
“That’s all I needed to know,” she said and turned to go to class.
“Wait,” I stopped her. “That’s it? You don’t want to know anything else?”
“Yeah, of course I want to know, but I can tell you don’t want to tell me.”
She looked down and I suddenly felt guilty for withholding information from her. I began to apologize but she held up her hand to stop me.
“I had a thought earlier. For whatever reason this is all happening, I’m choosing to believe that it was meant to happen. I’m choosing to believe that I’m supposed to be the one protecting her. So I don’t need to know everything. All I need to know is how alert I need to be.”
I stared at her not knowing what to say.
“I’m a Warrior, Aaron. I’m her Warrior. I promise I’ll protect her with my life. You deal with the rest,” she said.
She turned away and walked into the classroom before I could say anything else.
I stood, frozen. I wondered if she realized the consequences of the words she’d just spoken. I doubted that she knew enough about Warrior history to be fully aware of what she’d just done.
I went back to my room, hoping that Jaden had meant what she said and wouldn’t regret her words later. Shaylee needed her. I needed her too.
Chapter 15
Jaden
Somehow, I made it through the rest of the day. After my conversation with Aaron, I’d barely been able to sit still. All I could think about was how I would find out if the dream had left a mark. If Shaylee did have a mark, she would never come out and admit it to me.
It was eighth period and when the bell ran I practically ran out of the classroom. I went to the Dining Hall and grabbed some food. I forced myself to pay attention to what I picked, not wanting a repeat of the previous night’s meatloaf incident.
I sat down and couldn’t help twisting my hair around my finger as I waited for my friends. When they entered the hall, I forced myself to calm down. As they walked, I noticed that Shaylee was definitely worried about something.
They got their food and walked to our table. As they approached, I could feel Shaylee’s worry growing. As I felt this new sensation, I realized that I was not imagining it or guessing based on the look on her face. I was actually feeling her worry. My heart raced as I started to freak out, not understanding what was happening. Then I remembered a story my grandmother had told me over Winter Break and I relaxed enough to get through dinner.
“Hey, guys,” I said as they sat down. Being so close to Shaylee, I had to mentally push her out of my head as it was almost overwhelming.
“Hi,” Shaylee answered, her voice sounding much improved.
I glanced at Aaron and we exchanged a brief, but meaningful look.
“How was class?” I asked, Shaylee.
“Uneventful,” she replied.
It sounded like she had more to say, but was keeping herself from continuing. I wanted to ask, but I could tell from the vibes I was getting that it wouldn’t go over well.
We ate without talking for some time. I kept my eyes on my tray, glancing up at Shaylee every few minutes. She seemed so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn’t realize that none of us were talking.
