Spirit Hunters

8 || New Plan

Cassia woke to the sound of hushed arguing. At first, the sound was little more than a buzz, but it slowly took the shape of words.

"—supposed to be on watch!"

"I was on my way."

"And you would have gotten there too late!"

"That thing wasn't going to kill her. It put a drowsing substance in her, not poison."

"She still got hurt, and you should care about that."

"It's not as if I wanted her to get hurt, but you're acting as if I was going to let her die."

"Enough, both of you."

The sharpness of the sudden order startled away the last bits of sleep. Cassia pried her eyes open. She lay on a cushioned surface. Wood spread out over her.

"Cassia?"

Either she had given some indication she'd awoken or he had been watching her, because Aeden immediately stepped into her line of view. His towering height was her first clue that she lay on the floor. He'd been the first voice she heard, and he'd been much angrier then. Now he spoke gently, as if he worried that he'd spook her.

"Where... What..." She lifted a hand to her forehead. Her shoulder screamed in protest with the movement, and with the pain, the floodgates of her memories flew open.

The tremors hurt her sore body, but she couldn't stop them. She was safe. Aeden had rescued her. But even as she repeated the facts, the helplessness and dread of having potential death plagued her mind.

"Hey." Aeden crouched down and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. I defeated the spirit. It can't hurt you again."

"But another could," she whispered. Her fear fed into another emotion, one that perhaps wasn't fair to feel toward the guy who had saved her: anger. "What happened? I thought you guys were supposed to protect me."

Aeden shot a glower over his shoulder where Rin stood. Only now did Cassia put two and two together to figure out where she was. Aeden had taken her to the Spirit Hunters' base.

They weren't the only ones there. Bram leaned against the desk while Flann occupied the seat, him with his arms crossed and her with her chin resting on her propped-up arm. Both watched the exchange between the teenagers.

"I sensed the energy of a spirit, but I was on the entire opposite side of the school," Rin said, still glaring at Aeden. Based on his tone and what she'd heard before, she had a feeling he was returning to their previous argument. "I also had to make excuses to all the teachers asking questions, so yeah, when I felt the threat, I couldn't exactly get to you the fastest."

Cassia didn't want to see sense in his words, not when she'd been in so much danger, but she could understand why he would have taken so much time to get to her. Aeden, however, didn't seem to agree.

"You could have jumped out the window for all I care. Bram and Flann would have covered for you."

"Yes, because that wouldn't have forever tainted the minds of the students who I have to see as potential colleagues, business partners, or neighbors in the future. Unlike you, I'm staying in Heartwood for the rest of my life, Cullen."

Cullen could only be Aeden because he and Rin were still locked in a glaring match. His surname, maybe?

"And what were you doing there?" she asked, and Aeden finally looked back at her. He quickly averted his eyes, his expression sheepish.