Oblivion

During that time, we watched movies. Or she blogged. We grabbed food from Smoke Hole or just ate snacks. I wanted her to relax before I started to work with her. I figured if she was in a good place, it would be easier. So that meant I kept my distance. For the most part. Douche Bag stayed away from her. I knew he texted and called, but there were no more di

I had a plan for her on Saturday, though, a pretty damn good idea, I thought.

Leaning against the railing with my hands in my pocket, I waited for her out on her front porch. Thanksgiving was a handful of days away, and the air was chilly, so I was relieved to see her step outside with a hoodie on. It wasn’t a jacket, but at least it was better than nothing.

She held the door open for me. I stepped inside, brushing past her. “You look nice today.”

Kat glanced down at herself with a frown and then her hand flew to her hair, smoothing back a wild strand. “So…what’s up?”

“I just wanted to see you,” I replied, which was partly true, because I always liked seeing her.

“Oh.”

I chuckled. “I thought we could take a walk. It’s nice outside.”

Glancing in the direction of her living room, she bit down on her lip, worrying it. I was probably interrupting her book gushing.

“I’ll behave myself,” I said. “I promise.”

She laughed softly at that. “All right, let’s go.”

Gri

“Outdoors,” I replied, opening the door for her.

“Well, I think I figured that part out.”

“You ask a lot of questions, you know.”

“I’ve been told I’m very inquisitive.”

I leaned forward and whispered, “I think I figured that part out.”

She made a face, but climbed into the car. I headed around the front and got in. Kat was quiet until I backed out of the driveway. “Have you heard anything about Simon?” she asked. “I haven’t.”

“I haven’t, either.”

The trees crowding the highway were an array of gold and red. Soon, the branches would be bare.

“Do you think an Arum had anything to do with his disappearance?” she asked.

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I haven’t seen any, but we can’t be too sure.”

Kat was quiet as I drove, but as soon as I pulled the SUV off the road and parked it along the entrance to where all the field parties were held, she climbed out. “Why here?”

Dead leaves of various colors littered the ground, crunching under my steps as I walked over to her. “This place might hold a lot of residual energy from our fight and from Baruck’s death.” I stepped around a fallen limb. “Watch out, the branches are scattered everywhere.”

“This might sound messed up, but I’ve wanted to come back here. I don’t know why,” she said. “Crazy, huh?”

“No. It makes sense to me.”

“Is it the whole energy thing?”

“It’s what’s left over.” I bent and pushed another fallen limb out of the way. “I want to see if I feel anything. If the DOD has been out here to check it out, it might be good to be in the know.”

The rest of the trip was in silence, and I wondered what Kat was thinking by the time we reached the area. She toed at the dead leaves, brushing them aside. I squinted as the scarred ground came into view. Kat unearthed most of the burned patch, her hands shoved into the pocket of her hoodie. Thin slivers of light streamed through the branches, catching the red tint in her dark hair.

“The ground will never heal,” I said. “I don’t know why, but it took on his essence and nothing will grow from this spot.” I took over, pushing back the leaves until the area was uncovered completely. Staring at what was virtually a grave site, I thought back to the first time I’d taken down an Arum. “Killing at first used to bother me. I didn’t like it, taking a life. I still don’t. A life is a life.”

Kat swallowed. “It’s something you have to do. You can’t change it. It only wreaks havoc on you to dwell. It bothers me knowing that I’ve killed…two of them, but—”

“You aren’t wrong for what you did. Never think that.” My eyes met hers briefly, and then I cleared my throat. “I don’t feel anything.”

She was quiet for a moment. “Do you think the DOD found anything?”

“I don’t know.” I walked over to where she stood. “Depends on if they’re using equipment I’m not familiar with.”

Her chin tilted up. “And if they are, what does that mean? Is it something to be worried about?”

“I don’t think so, not even if the levels of energy are higher.” I smoothed back the strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail. “It doesn’t really tell them anything. Have you been experiencing any outbursts recently?”

“No,” she replied, pulling her hands free from her hoodie.

I really didn’t believe her.

My hand lingered on her cheek for a few seconds, and then I caught her hand. Lifting her hand to my lips, I pressed a kiss against the center of her palm. I felt her shiver.

“Did you bring me out here just to get me completely alone?”

“That may have been a part of my master plan.” That hadn’t been a part of my plan. Not really. I wanted to see if she could use her abilities here, but I figured I could multitask. Lowering my head, I kissed her gently.

Kat kissed me back for like a nanosecond and then jerked back. “No kissing.”

“I’m trying not to.”

“Then try harder.” She slipped her hand free and took a step back, shoving her hands back into the pocket of her hoodie. “I think we should head home.”

Kissing her had been a bad move, because now her walls were up, and I wasn’t going to get her to do anything. “Whatever you want.” When she nodded, we started back. A few moments passed. “So I was thinking.”

Her glance was wary. “About what?”

“We should do something. Together. Outside of your house and not just walking around.” I stared straight ahead, bracing myself. “We should go out to di

“Are you asking me out?” she asked.

I laughed under my breath. “That’s what it sounds like.”

As the trees thi

“Why do you keep telling me what I don’t want?” I really wanted to know that.

“Because you can’t,” she reasoned. “You can’t want any of this with me, not really. Maybe with Ash—”

“I don’t want Ash.” I stopped walking and looked at her. “If I wanted her, I’d be with her. But I’m not. She’s not who I want.”

“Neither am I. You can’t honestly tell me that you’d risk every Luxen around here turning their backs on you for me.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “And you have got to stop assuming you know what I want and what I would do.”

She started walking again. “It’s just the challenge and the co

“That’s ridiculous,” I spat.

“How can you be sure?”

“Because I know.” I appeared in front of Kat, eyes narrowed as I stared down at her. I thumped my hand off my chest, directly above my heart. “Because I know what I feel in here. And I’m not the type of person to run from anything, no matter how hard it is. I’d rather face-plant against a brick wall than live for the rest of my life wondering what could’ve been. And you know what? I didn’t think you were the type to run, either. Maybe I was wrong.”

Kat blinked as she pulled her hands out of her hoodie. “I don’t run.”

“You don’t? Because that’s what you’re doing,” I argued. “You pretend what you feel for me isn’t real or doesn’t exist. And I know damn well you don’t feel anything for Bobby.”

“Blake,” she corrected, walking around me. I followed “I don’t want to talk—”