Chapter 34: Chapter 34
Rider opened his mouth to say something, but once she finished her statement, he laughed. “Bleed his own blood?” he repeated, shaking his head. “Okay, Ru. I get it. But… for the love of God, we’ve got to get you fully trained. We are past the point where having little convos with the enemy is going to do us any good. If we could actually take him down, it would make our jobs a hell of a lot easier.”
“I understand that,” Ru said, taking another deep breath to calm herself. “But… he is willing to talk to me. And the more he says, the better chance we have of knowing what’s going on with the Reapers. He says he won’t threaten any more of my students, but we still need to let Sky know about this.” She was addressing Cutter now, and he nodded when she looked at him. Turning her attention back to Rider, she said, “I wasn’t even sure if anyone was coming. I was just trying to figure out what he was up to. Thanks for your help.”
With a sigh of exasperation, Rider planted his hands on his hips. “Yep,” he said, shaking his head. “I wish I could’ve gotten there more quickly. I didn’t even know you were going out tonight.”
“Neither did I.”
“He drew her out somehow,” Cutter explained. “We were just talking about how that happened.”
“Nat drew you out?” Rider repeated, as if he wasn’t sure he understood. “From here?”
“Seems crazy, doesn’t it?” She hoped she wasn’t way off in her idea that Reapers wouldn’t venture into Keeper territory without a damn good reason.
“Hell, yeah,” he repeated. “Sounds… dangerous.”
“Why don’t we get some sleep,” Cutter said, gesturing at himself and Ru, “and you can get back to… whatever you were doing before Ru called you.”
“I was looking for Reapers, duh,” Rider said, exaggeratingly rolling his eyes. He must’ve known Cutter was aware.
“Good. Go find some.”
“Fine,” Rider acquiesced. “See y’all in a few hours.” He faded away just as quickly as he had materialized, and Ru watched in awe at the spot where he’d just been standing.
“Will you teach me how to do that sometime?”
“Sure,” Cutter replied. “But… there’s a whole lot of other things we need to take care of first.”
“You got that right,” she muttered, turning so that she was facing him now. She drew her legs up out of the tangled blankets so that she was sitting cross-legged, her pajama pants only slightly twisted around her calves now. “What the hell was that black stuff?”
He seemed reluctant to answer, but brushing a strand of hair away from her cheek, he quietly replied, “I think that might have something to do with Larkin.”
It was exactly what she had suspected, what she feared. “So, I really do have Reaper powers, too?”
“Maybe,” he shrugged. “But I don’t think it matters, Ru. If anything, it makes you even more powerful.”
“Yeah, if it doesn’t burn a hole through my stomach.” She caught his eyes and let out a deep sigh. “Is this what’s supposed to make me so much stronger than everyone else? The fact that I can shoot black junk out of my hands, too?”
He chuckled, a perfect grin forming. “Whatever works.”
She couldn’t help but smile at him. Ever the optimist. “Well, what if it isn’t a blessing, Cutter? What if it’s a curse? What if it’s evil—what if I am?”
“You’re not evil, Ru.” His tone assured her that he neither feared nor believed her. “You’re just different. But we’ve known that all along.”
“Tell me about it.” It was muttered under her breath, but sitting this close, he had to hear her. Thoughts of a cast aside little girl filled her head, and tears threatened to spill down her cheeks.
“Ru, being different doesn’t make you less. In this case, it makes you even better than what we thought you were before. You are still the same amazing, intelligent, fierce, gorgeous woman you were before we discovered this talent. And you always will be.” He punctuated each word just so, and Ru knew he meant every bit of it. So why didn’t she feel it in her heart. “Look at me,” he insisted, lifting her drooping chin gently so she met his eyes. “We are going to figure all of this out together, Ru. You don’t have to feel alone anymore, because you’re not. Even when Rider’s being a dick like he was tonight, he still loves you. We all do. It’ll be okay.”
The feel of his strong hand on her skin made Ru feel more assured, as did his compelling message. “Okay,” she said, quietly, the tears nearly winning out again. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me,” Cutter replied, the sly smile back. “This gives me even more reason to put you through your paces. We need to find out exactly what you’re capable of, Ru Roberts.” He removed his hand and slid closer to the edge of the bed.
She didn’t want him to go, didn’t want to be left all alone again, but she knew it was ridiculous to ask him to stay, particularly in light of the conversation they’d had earlier. And, after Rider’s description of what he’d walked in on, there was no doubt Cutter suspected something was going on between her and Nat. The idea was ridiculous. He was a monster. But then, part of her still thought of him as Kyle, so maybe he was right to be suspicious.
“Get some sleep, Ru,” Cutter said, standing and taking a step toward the door. In the faint light, his white T-shirt was illuminated, revealing every chiseled muscle beneath, and thoughts of spending the nights in his arms lingered. “We’ll talk in the morning.”
“Okay,” was all she could muster. He crossed the small room and glanced back at her before stepping into the hallway and closing the door behind him.
Ru took a deep breath. Instead of acrid smoke, Cutter’s scent filled her lungs. Clean, fresh, with a hint of sandalwood. Why had she never noticed how good he smelled before?
She settled back underneath the blankets, her head finding the pillow. It still smarted a bit from colliding with the headboard, but she’d live. A meow from across the room let her know Piper was feeling brave again, and a few seconds later, she had company in her bed. It wasn’t exactly what she’d had in mind a couple of minutes ago, but it would do.
As she began to drift off to sleep again, she wondered how any of this was even possible. How had Nat controlled her dreams? Was Ira ever really even there? Had she managed to summon Rider with her thoughts? What in the world had she done to produce the black matter that came out of her hand? And could she ever materialize the way she’d just watched her teammate do?
Despite all of those questions, the one that had her most confused seemed simple enough on the surface. Yet, as she began to fade into oblivion, she couldn’t help but ask herself why Cutter hadn’t told Cinder the truth about the odor she’d mentioned when she stepped into the room. Why would he hide something like that from his sister if he trusted her with everything else? Ru desperately wanted to know but hadn’t felt right asking him. Maybe she’d get another chance tomorrow on their long flight across the Atlantic. For now, she let sleep take her, hoping if she saw any more handsome faces in her dreams they’d belong to a celebrity or someone else she certainly wouldn’t be stumbling into in the middle of the night. Dreaming about Nat again, or Cutter, would be enough to do her in.