“Yeah.” I hated it when he was right.
“You’re stil holding onto that guilt. So much so that you’re reading into what the oracle said. You can’t let what she said get to you, Alex. An oracle only talks in possibilities, not facts.”
“I thought an oracle talks with gods and the fates,” I said dryly.
He looked doubtful. “An oracle sees into the past and the possibility in the future, but it’s not set in stone. There is no such thing as a certain fate. Only you are in control of your fate. You aren’t responsible for what… happened to your mom. You need to let it go.”
“Why do you al say it like that? No one says she died.
Everyone is, like, afraid to say that. It’s not what happened—she was kil ed.”
The shadow appeared on his face again, but he stepped around the table. “Let me look at your back.” Before I knew what he was doing, he lifted the back of my shirt and inhaled sharply.
“What?” I asked, but he didn’t say anything. He tugged my shirt up further. “Hey—what are you doing?” I smacked his hands away.
He shot around the table, his eyes a gunmetal gray.
“What do you think I’m doing? How long has your back been like this?”
I shrank back. “Since we… um… started blocking training.”
“Why didn’t you say something about this?”
“It’s not a big deal. It doesn’t hurt, not real y.”
Aiden whirled around. “Damn half-bloods. I know you al have a higher than normal tolerance for pain, but that is ridiculous. That has to hurt.”
I stared at his back as he rummaged through the numerous cabinets. “I’m in training.” I forced as much maturity into my voice as possible. “We aren’t expected to bitch and moan about pain. It’s a part of training—a part of being a Sentinel. It happens.”
Aiden wheeled around, expression incredulous. “You haven’t been training for three years, Alex. Your body—your skin isn’t used to it anymore. You cannot let things like that go because you think someone is going to think less of you.”
I blinked. “I don’t think people are going to think less of me. It’s just a… couple of damn bruises. Some of them have faded already. See?”
He set a smal jar beside me on the table. “Bul shit.”
“You’ve never cussed before.” I had the strangest urge to laugh.
“It’s not just a bruise. Your whole back is black and blue, Alex.” Aiden paused, his hands clenching air. “Were you afraid I would think less of you if you brought this up?”
I gave a slight shake of the head. “No.”
His lips pressed together. “I didn’t expect your body to adapt quickly, and honestly, I should’ve known.”
“Aiden… real y, it doesn’t hurt that bad.” The never-ending, dul ache was something I’d gotten used to, so I wasn’t real y lying.
Picking up the jar, he walked around the table. “This should help, and next time, you wil tel me when something is wrong with you.”
“Al right.” I decided not to push my luck. He didn’t seem like he’d appreciate any snarky response at this moment.
“What is that stuff, anyways?”
He unscrewed the lid. “It’s a mixture of Arnica and menthol. Arnica is part of a flower. It acts like an anti-inflammatory and it reduces pain. It should help.”
I expected him to hand me the jar, but he dipped his fingers inside it instead. “What are you—?”
“Hold your shirt up. I don’t want to get this al over it. It tends to stain clothing.”
Dumbfounded, I found myself lifting the edge of my shirt.
Once again, there was a sharp intake of breath as he got another look at my back.
“Alex, you can’t let something like this go untreated.” This time, the anger was gone from his voice. “If you’re hurt, you must tel me. I wouldn’t have… ”
Gone so hard on me? Al owed me to practice with Kain and get my ass handed to me? That wasn’t what I wanted.
“Don’t ever feel like you can’t tel me when something’s wrong. You’ve got to trust that I would care if you were hurt.”
“It’s not your fault. I could’ve told you—”
He placed his fingers against my skin and I nearly jumped off the table. Not because the salve was cold—
don’t get me wrong, it was freezing—but they were his fingers moving along my back. A pure never touched a half this way. Or maybe they did now. I didn’t know, but I couldn’t imagine the other pures I knew seeking to ease a half’s pain. They usual y didn’t care enough to.
Aiden silently worked the thick balm across my skin and then up. Eventual y his fingers brushed the edge of my sports bra. My skin felt strangely warm, which was odd to me since the stuff was so cold. I focused on the wal in front of me. There was that picture of Aphrodite perched upon a rock. She had this lusty look on her face and her boobs were hanging out for the world to see.
That was so not helping.
Aiden continued quietly. Every so often my body jerked on its own accord, and then I felt hot, real y hot.
“Did you ever know your biological father?” His quiet voice broke into my thoughts.
I shook my head. “No. He died before I was born.”
His deft fingers slid along the side of my stomach. “Do you know anything about him?”
“No. Mom never real y talked about him, but I think they used to spend time in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. We would spend Winter Solstice there when she could… get away from Lucian. I think… being at the cabins made her feel close to him.”