Chapter Seven

I wait another hour or so, until it's deep into the night. There is rarely an issue during this time of night, as most of the humans are asleep. I feel no beings within my zone. I am clear to search for the girl.

I must find her.

Something tells me she is the missing link in this mystery of mine. Maybe she isn't crazy, as I've assumed she is. She knows my name, swore that we were mates, and said we've been meeting each other for weeks. I don't recall any of it, but when I finally allowed myself to think about what she's said to me, I realized it lines up with the span of time I cannot remember. Guardians aren't supposed to be with their mates, but if this girl knows we are, then something happened for her to figure that out. Something the shadows wouldn't accept. Which explains… everything.

Does she feel it? Can humans feel mate bonds? I will not feel the call because of the spell—the one that is put on me when I took my oath. Is that what this is all about? The oath? Shadows take their vows seriously, but to hide it all seems drastic. Why not tell me the spell failed and I found my mate, but they handled it? I took an oath to give up my mate. Telling me I have one isn't new information. We all have them; guardians just choose to give up the right to claim theirs. Meaning, there is something I am missing.

The shadows are acting strangely. I'm being followed, and even Jhaixl says something is going on. If only he'd have had more time to tell me what he knows. His hesitance is warranted, of course, and I won't hold that against him.

As I stand at the end of the woods, looking out into the park directly at the spot that girl stands each night calling out to me, I wonder if I should risk looking for her. Something deep inside me tells me yes. But my brain, the logical part of me, knows it is wrong. It's against my duty. I took an oath to give up my mate—to protect. But if the shadows are hiding something from me…

I glance to the left, down the short pathway that leads closer to the school. She always comes from the east. My zone doesn't go far in that direction, but I am prepared to leave it for a short time. She walks here each night, and I've watched her leave many times. She can't live far if that is the case.

I walk to the very edge of the trees in that direction, and stare at the concrete pathway that leads to the road. It seems vaguely familiar, but as far as I know, I've never ventured that way. I don't leave my zone. I follow the rules. I am loyal to the guardians—to my duty.

Yet, I am suddenly questioning everything because this duty doesn't feel right any longer.

I stare at the ground, looking at the dandelion I see through my foot. A beautiful weed. A pesky one too. Willful little plants.

I lift my foot and take one step forward, out of my zone. Then I take another. And another. When I look back, I am nearly twenty feet away. I wait a beat, and when nothing happens, I keep going.

My feet take me quickly down the pathway, and I keep going when I reach the short dead-end road. There are only two houses on this road, both on the left opposite the woods that hide the school from view. I don't quite see the purpose of having a road so short, but I am not a human, so I do not understand a lot of things they do.

When I reach the main road, I spot the walking path to the right that the students use to get to the school quicker. The walk around would take them much longer, so years ago, they started traveling through the woods and have created a mostly natural path. It's lit up with tiny twinkling lights to allow them to see. The city embraced this shortcut and added light for safety. The school, in its entirety, is in my zone. I'm familiar with it, and because of that, I know that is not the right way to go. Our zones are not perfect shapes, like squares or circles, but instead, weave around the darkest parts to give us plenty of places to hide and energize.

I look left, staring at the empty street. Few street lights line the sidewalks. Not enough to harm me, unless I stand under them for a long time. The road goes up slightly, curving to the left. This is the right way to go. That is what instinct tells me.

After a brief moment of walking, I round a heavy bend, and when I spot a small white house not too far up on the left, my chest floods with a warm sensation I've never felt before.

That is it.

I walk until I reach the driveway. That feeling in my chest intensifies, making me almost giddy. I move around the side of the house because entering suddenly could be dangerous. There could be a trap. For all I know, the shadows are setting me up. If this is the girl's house, I don't know what she is capable of, and it's clear I have enemies within my own kind.

This could all be a setup.

No one can be trusted.

The first two windows I pass are covered in thick curtains. I cannot see a thing. But the next one has sheer curtains that aren't pulled closed. The lights are on inside, and I make out two figures, both seemingly human.

Until I get a better look through a small slit in the curtains. This gives me a clear view, and not a muddled one through fabric.

The girl is there, and she is not alone.

She is with a radiant.

What is the girl doing with a radiant? An Agent of Light, no less? I'd recognize those markings anywhere.

The tattoo on his neck is their symbol, and the way his veins glow a bright electric yellow, there is no mistaking what he is. Of course, the humans cannot see such things, so perhaps she doesn't know what he is and thinks him to be human.

What would a radiant want with a human?

Though, come to think of it, the girl knows of me. She knows of shadows. It is possible she knows who she is speaking to—who she has allowed into her home.

This heightens my confusion. I have no idea who to trust. My gut tells me this girl has answers… but to associate with a radiant, a being that shadows have been at war with for years, makes not a lick of sense. So, I do the only thing that does make sense. I step closer to the window and watch them closely.