“Hey, Araya, this is you,” Grayson bumbles out while pointing to a picture he found stuffed in the couch cushions.
“Fuck,” Hale murmurs to himself, and I tilt my head curiously.
He rips the frame from Grayson’s hands, and he storms off to the bedroom. Clay tightens his lips, and then he sits down opposite me.
“Please tell me what’s going on now,” he murmurs softly.
I motion to Grayson first, and he squirms uncomfortably while gripping Angelica’s hand tighter.
“This is Grayson, and he’s a gifted hybrid who has just recently learned of his gift. He’ll need a mark.”
“That’s what all the fuss is about?” Hale asks suspiciously while returning to the room.
“No,” I scold. “He’s a level seven at least, and I can say that with certainty.”
“Level seven?” Hale gasps.
“Yes. She’ll be at least a level six or seven,” I murmur softly, and Angelica tilts her head in confusion.
“How do you know that?” Clay asks.
“She’s his counterpart. I saw it with my own eyes, and they’ve been inseparable ever since. With his gift being as strong as it is, hers will be almost equal to match. Not to mention, he was drawn to the Hershian. We all know the power of such a connection,” I murmur, and my eyes connect with Hale’s momentarily.
“What’s a level seven?” Grayson asks, and I break my eye contact immediately with Hale to turn to him.
“Our gifts are scaled. There are levels of one to eight based on the strength of your gift. Judging by what I’ve seen, I feel confident listing you as a seven. It includes your sober and savage state as factors.”
“Not trying to sound smug, but I’m pretty damn powerful. If I’m a seven, what the hell does an eight look like?”
“There’s only one level eight. The classification system was actually one to seven until her,” Hale murmurs softly, and his eyes find mine again against my will.
“Who is she?” Grayson asks casually while kissing the back of Angelica’s hand.
“Araya,” Hale answers.
Angelica’s eyes pop open a little wider, and Grayson chokes on the air in his lungs.
“Really? That movingstuff with your mind got you an eight? I have to be a nine then,” he retorts.
“You had to use your gift?” Hale worries. “What the hell happened?”
“Did this have something to do with the false blood rape report?” Clay muses.
“It did. Grayson was falsely accused of blood raping a full blood, and when cleared of his charges, a lieutenant went against my orders and had him released back into the visitor’s section of the compound. He was flogged, and it turned into a bit of a massacre.”
“Araya threw people all over the place, and it was pretty fucking awesome, but I don’t see how that’s more deadly than what I can do,” Grayson scoffs.
Hale ignores the juvenile boy’s sulking remark as his eyes burn into mine with fear oozing out. There even looks to be a little guilt edged in as well.
Too late to feel guilty now. I just want to know why you left me… again.
“You didn’t-”
“No. I stopped before I reached that point,” I say to interrupt Hale’s full question, and then I turn back to face Grayson. “I can do more than throw people around, and you haven’t seen my savage yet. A level seven is powerful, a level eight is uncontrollable. You don’t want the burden you see as a blessing. There aren’t survivors when I get done,” I murmur guiltily, and Hale stands to come sit on the arm of the couch beside me.
I feel as if he’s resisting the urge to comfort me, but I don’t need his comfort. I need answers. I need him.
“What phase was he in?” Hale asks me, his delicious breath traveling down to land on my lips.
