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After a few h bark of the tree Hopping fro her fingertips over its mass She was drawn to this tree, content to be shaded by its large limbs It felt like an island in the middle of a stors beneath her Ree let her thoughts wander for a few ainst the trunk Unfortunately, it was farther away than Ree had accounted for, and she slipped over the branch Her hands desperately caught at the rough bark, leaving her hanging above the ground She gasped and tried to tighten her fingers, but she couldn’t support her weight and dropped to the earth She cringed, expecting pain to lance through her body, but instead she was filled with the power She cracked open one eye and realized she was hovering inches above the ground Shock round with an audible oof

Ree lay there for aup and looking at her hands Her gaze automatically shot to the branch far over her head and then back to her hands What the…? Had she reallyall Alastrianas could do? Sophie hadn’tof the sort She stood up and brushed the dirt off of her clothes

She wondered if the others had sensed herthe corner she s down the path

As the trees thinned and the breeze picked up, she could hear sea gulls and the crashing of waves When she reached the top of a large dune, she tilted her face toward the sun, letting it bathe her in its slight war her mind wander, she lost track of time It wasn’t until she saw the silhouette of so toward her that she realized she one for hours She wondered who had been sent to find her, and, despite the wish that it wasn’t Paden, her heart hurt when she realized it was Melanie She waved and plastered a fake sive it up! I know you wish it wasn’t hed and looked away for a rimly

"Stupid I don’t even really want to see him"

"Come on, you know that isn’t true And if itout when he realized you weren’t in the house He asked hed They headed back to an opening in the dunes where Ree had entered the beach "Why didn’t he just come to find me himself?"

Melanie just shook her head "I don’t know What happened between you two? And don’t giveyou There was too much tension in that kitchen for hiave her a knowing look

Ree wasn’t sure how much she really wanted to say, wasn’t even really sure what, exactly, had happened Mel didn’t push for an i beside her as they wound their way onto the trail toward the house

"He kissed me," she finally admitted

"Ooooh Which he?" Melanie asked

"What do you mean which he? Paden kissed me" Ree stuttered, embarrassed Her cheeks deepened to a red hue when she added, "And Roland apparently got jealous"

"Whoa," Mel put a hand on her shoulder to stop their movement "You mean to tell me Paden finally kissed you Your very first kiss, ever, and Roland walked in during it? And got upset? What did he do?"

"Did Paden tell you about Sophie and Roland?" Ree asked

"He said Sophie lets hiusting, but s you?"

"Did he tell you Dark Ones can make you want to be their victi about that," Mel replied

"Well, Roland de how much she had wanted him to touch her

"Oh, I bet that didn’t sit ith Paden" Melanie whistled "Was this before your kiss?"

"Yeah When Roland walked in on us, he accused Paden of taking advantage of what he started" Ree bit her lip

"Holy crap! He did not!"

"He did And you saw the result for yourself"

"So, you threw up a barrier before they could get to each other? No wonder you needed some alone tied her as they walked

"So, was it any good?" her friend asked

"What?"

"The kiss! After ages of waiting Paden finally gets up the nerve to kiss you, so I’hed

"It really was" Ree sighed "Right up until we got interrupted and he refused to talk to me anymore"

"Boys are so stupid" Mel shook her head

"Yeah, they really are" Ree s just inside of the French doors, his eyes fastened on the trail His ar up the path He didn’t move when Ree pushed the door open and walked in, but his eyes followed her as she brushed past hi to be the one to initiate the conversation He would probably only chew her out for going running by herself and she wasn’t up to being told what she could and couldn’t do today She figured the godsto do what she wanted without answering to her Guardians

"Why didn’t you tell anyone you were going running?"