Page 62 of Touched

I catch the coin Trevor jauntily flips into the air, just as he prepares to catch it.

“Hey!” Trevor yells, jumping for my arm as if he has a chance in hell at grabbing it. “Give that back!”

I flip it over to see the back, ignoring the troll’s efforts. It is an iridescent, quarter-sized, coin-like object but it’s cold to the touch. Weirdly cold in fact. “What is this?” I ask. My gaze hastily shifts to the troll.

“A favor token. Used between Gifted species. Give it back, Callum.” His voice is on the verge of a whine.

And I thought his laugh was grating!

My eyes nearly cross from the sound, and I clench my teeth to keep from doing something I’ll later regret.

“What…” My cell buzzes in my pocket, causing me to jump with a start.

How the hell do I have signal all the way out here?

Pulling out my phone at the same time I slip the token into my back pocket, I groan when I glance at the screen.

Shit!!

“Hey, Lieu…”

“You better be on your deathbed, LeBlanc!” Lieutenant Antoine yells, his anger evident through the bad connection. His rage continues.

I hold the phone away from my ear and glance around. A frown creases my brows. Trevor is nowhere in sight. Reaching into my back pocket, I find the token is also missing.

The little bastard.

* * *

My heart pounds in my chest as I wait for Da to say something, anything. My thighs stick to my chair with my rigidity, and I hold my breath as my eyes dart between Da and Cyrus.

I should tell Cyrus to close his mouth.

My eyes shift back to Da. I've never seen him speechless before, and honestly, it unnerves me more than if he’d yelled at me. The wind that had been swirling around dies down as quickly as it began. Tension fills the room.

"Please, Da, say something," I plead.

What did I expect? That saying I Zinged with Callum would magickally solve all our problems?

Finally, Da clears his throat. "You left Laric to save him… You Zinged, Aeris.” He sighs. “Do you even understand the implications of Zinging with a human?"

“He’s not entirely human. He’s Sylph, too, Da.”

Why do I have to keep reminding everyone that Callum is Sylph too? Honestly, it’s really starting to piss me off.

“Him being partSylphdoesn’t make it better, Aeris.” Da’s eyebrows arch as his eyes pin me in place.

The sarcasm when he said the word Sylph…

Why is this such a bad thing?

“Why?” I jump to my feet, unable to remain seated. I start pacing behind my abandoned chair. My arms raise up a time or two from utter frustration.

Stopping my pacing, I clench the back of the chair until my knuckles turn white. "We Zinged. We're connected on a deeper level than anything I have ever experienced." My voice is tinged with desperation. "IfeltCallum was in danger, Da. How could Inotgo when my Kindred needed me?"

A resigned sigh escapes from Ma, drawing my focus. "Love doesn't follow rules, Aren. We know this."

Da glances at Ma, they stare at each other for a spell, having a conversation with no words. Da sighs before looking back to me, his eyes searching mine as if trying to decipher some complex puzzle. "You've… complicated things, Aeris. There are things in play of which you are unaware. But you're also my daughter."

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