The Last Hope (AU Book 1 of The Last Series)

Chapter 21

Andrei cleared his throat and shifted on my bed, clapping his hands together and startling me ever so slightly. "So, are you ready?" Andrei asked and gave me a cheeky smile while he raised an eyebrow in question.

I shook my head no and pursed my lips in annoyance. "What if nothing works this time, Andy?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question. "I mean, water hates me. Let's just put it that way."

Andrei scoffed and rolled his eyes with a small scowl on his face. "Water does not hate you, Caroline," he said with a soft scowl in his voice. He gave me a pointed look and raised both eyebrows in unison "However, you hate water. You are afraid of it."

I scoffed a laugh and rolled my eyes while I pressed my lips into a thin line. "I do not hate water," I said with a shake of my head, "and I am not afraid of it. Why would you say such a thing?"

"Because you do," he replied. He raised his hand to silence me, and I closed my mouth and pursed my lips in annoyance while I looked at him, narrowing my eyes ever so slightly. "If you do not hate water or are afraid of it, then you will be able to do what I want without any complaints." He gave me a pointed look and raised both eyebrows in unison. "Isn't that right?"

I didn't say a word and looked away from him, setting my jaw, and my heart started to ache. I knew that it wasn't because of me hating water and that I wasn't scared of it either.

But I was scared of the consequences that could come with it...

Andrei cocked his head and studied me when I didn't say a word. He frowned and pressed his lips into a thin line while he stared at me, cocking his head to the side. "Are you afraid of water?"

I shook my head and bit back a small sigh. "No," I said before I cleared my throat and shifted on my bed. "I am not afraid of water, and I do not hate it either." I moved a hand through my hair and across my face, biting back another tired sigh. "Why would you ask that?"

"Because you don't want to practice," Andrei said and gave me another pointed look, "and I want you to practice, so come on, and let's practice together. Please?" He cocked his head and studied me, biting back a small pout.

"Didn't I already tell you no?" I asked and folded my arms across my chest while I scowled and narrowed my eyes. "Why can't you take no as an answer?"

"Because I want you to gain courage by using water and learning how to control it," he replied and tucked his head closer to his chest, biting back a small sad smile. "I don't want you to get stuck in a situation where you can not use anything else but that."

I bit back a small sigh and shook my head, moving a hand through my hair some more. "But that could be years in the future," I said. "Why now?"

Andrei frowned and shook his head. "Because I don't think that it will be years in the future, Caroline," he said softly. "You don't have years, not now."

I scoffed a laugh and rolled my eyes while I pressed my lips into a thin line. "And how much time do I have?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question. I folded my arms across my chest and scowled, narrowing my eyes ever so slightly. "Or have you thought about that, Andy?"

"I have," Andrei said and nodded in confirmation. He sighed and shook his head, moving a hand through his hair and across his face. "And to be honest, I don't know. It could be months, weeks, days even, but what I do know is that you don't have years."

"But what if I won't be able to shift before then?" I asked and furrowed my brows while I pressed my lips into a thin line and tucked my head closer to my chest. "I mean I only have t- uh..."

Andrei raised an eyebrow in question when I stammered off and didn't finish my sentence. "You have what?" he asked and cocked his head while he studied me. "What do you have, Caroline? What are you hiding from me, from us?"