Veronica Rossi: Brooke

What happened between Hyde and me was a beautiful, fragile thing. But it feels like talking about it with Hayden would be disrespectful.

“It’s not that.” He rubs his hands over his head and lets out a breath. “Though it should be.”

“Then what? Is it Perry? Because I’m not with him anymore.”

Hayden lifts his head. “No, Brooke. It’s you .”

This throws me. My cheeks warm. “What about me?” I ask, preparing to defend myself.

“You’re running, Brooke. It’s like we’re back in those woods. You’re sprinting through this, and I don’t think . . .” He sighs. “I just have this feeling you don’t really want to do this.”

“Are you really going to tell me what I want?”

“I’m only telling you what I think. But I would like to know: What do you want?”

What do I want? I have to think about it for a moment.

I want to feel wanted and cherished and safe.

I want to find someone who won’t trade me for another.

I want to find love that is visceral and life-sustaining.

All those answers seem a little inappropriate. So I say, “I want you to kiss me again. You’re good at it.”

Hayden gives me a look I’ve never seen before. Like he’s in pain and about to laugh at the same time. “If I do, you’ll hate me tomorrow.”

“You have it backward. I’ll hate you tomorrow if you don’t .”

“But I’ll hate myself, and that’s who I have to live with for the rest of my life.”

I don’t know why that makes me laugh, but it does.

Hayden smiles. It’s disarming, his full lips pulling into a wide grin. “I don’t want to start this the wrong way, Brooke.”

I’m not sure what the right way would be. He’s older, and surely he’s been with other women. Are there paths to love, to relationships, that are better than others? I don’t know. I only know the one I’ve taken.

“Start what? You said you weren’t interested.”

Hayden laughs. “I’m interested, Brooke. The question is, are you?”

“I’m interested in not hurting anymore.” And there it goes. My stupid, runaway mouth. “Never mind,” I say, rubbing my arms. The cool night air is seeping back into me, chilling me again.

Hayden falls quiet for what feels like a week. “That’s a good interest,” he says. “The most important one.” A look of concern emerges on his face, and panic spears through me. I’ve exposed too much of myself, my pain.

“Would you stop looking at me like that?”

“Am I pouting again?”

“No. You’re looking at me like I’m weak.” The last thing I want is for Hayden or any of the Six to see me that way.

“You, weak?” He grins, shaking his head. “Never. Now come here before you freeze.” He lifts his arm, inviting me closer.

“Are you joking?”

The words are barely out of my mouth before he drops his arm around me and pulls me close. Then he stretches his legs out, and shifts his back a little, searching for a comfortable position. Everything between us has changed. He feels totally different than he felt five minutes ago. Brotherly.

“So,” he says conversationally, “I’m a good kisser. Was I better than Hyde?”

Maybe not brotherly, then.

“Oh, now that’s a surprise. You made it into a competition.” How did I not see that coming?

“You’re avoiding the question again.”

“You were different.”

“Which is a careful way of saying better.”

“Actually, different is a way of saying dissimilar . Unalike. There’s no value judgment. It’s a neutral word.”

“Was Hyde that bad, or is it just that I’m on a completely higher level?”

I jab my elbow into his ribs. He laughs and squeezes my shoulder. “I’m not going to forget what just happened, Brooke. Probably ever. When you’re ready, I’ll be here. And if you’re never ready, that’s fine too. I’ll just suffer in silence until I’m old and gray with age.”

There’s no downplaying the glimmer of desire in his eyes.

I don’t feel the urge to draw out his thoughts like I did with Hyde. What I feel is the pull to kiss him again.

So different, I think. One brother seduced me with poetry and gentleness. The other with heat and desire.

I settle in beside him. What did I see in Perry? I search my memories, trying to decide if he was more one way or the other. More alluring in mind, like Hyde, or in body, like Hayden. After a few moments I realize Perry was both. Gentle and thoughtful at times. Irresistibly sexy at others. But this realization doesn’t hurt like I expect. I don’t feel coals in my stomach, or the bruising in my heart.

And I don’t want to dwell on what Perry was to me, either.

With Hayden’s body next to mine, I feel warmer. My muscles are tired, and I allow myself to slouch against him. To let go of my weight and just be here .

Hayden was right. This sort of heat between us is better for me right now.

Hayden’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. “What are you thinking?”

I look at him and say the first thing that comes to mind. “You have perfect lips.”

I expect him to laugh or make some kind of comeback. But he just kisses my forehead and tucks me back into the crook of his arm. We sit and watch the burning hills, just doing that. Nothing more.

And I am content.

It’s deep into the night when I hear a shout. It pierces the night quiet, instantly sending my pulse to a gallop.

Hayden has nodded off beside me, but he wakes with a small jolt. I grip his forearm to keep him from making any sudden movement that might give away our position.

“What was that?” he whispers. His eyes pan across the rolling land below us, and he blinks a few times to shake off sleep.

“A man’s voice. Close.” I don’t hear it anymore. Now I only hear the creak of branches as they sway with a breeze.

We come to our feet slowly, forcing steadiness out of our tired, stiff limbs. There could be Auds nearby, so we are careful to move in silence as we find our bows.

The sky has calmed considerably since the show of funnels and the smoke hours ago. The Aether flows are smoother, almost veil thin. They are as calm as I’ve seen them in days. We have gone from a tempest to a gentle, low tide. Safer for us, but without a thick concentration of Aether above us, we’ve lost much of our illumination. The night has grown dim. A murky rolling blue, like we’ve swum to the bottom of the sea.

My range of vision has decreased to only two hundred yards. Wearing horse blinders could not feel worse.

“We should move off this hill,” I say. “We won’t know what’s going on unless we get closer.” My idea is borderline idiotic. We’re in a secure position, and leaving it for unknown danger would be insane. But I have never been one to wait around for things to happen. I’m confident that Hayden will steer us right, though.

“Good idea,” he says. “Let’s go.”

No voice of reason, then. My fingers tighten around my bow.

As we descend the hill, my heart thuds so powerfully in my chest that I wonder if Hayden can hear it.

We walk half a mile before we see them. A group of people emerges from the mottled darkness.

I count forty.

They stand in a wooded fold between two hills. I search for Wylan but only see strangers. I recognize the dry creek bed, though. The trees grow thick there, because the water still runs beneath the ground. Somewhere, miles to the west, is the spot where Hyde and I were posted last night. But tonight I am farther out, on the edge of Tide land.

Then I hear him.