CHAPTER 10
1181 Words
The house had grown quieter by the time I returned inside. Most lights had been turned off.
Someone had finally managed to drag Rowan away from the card game he was apparently losing.
Talia had disappeared somewhere upstairs.
The only person crazy enough to be training at this hour seemed to be Kaiden. I found him exactly where I’d left him. In the training yard.
A sword rested across his shoulders as he walked toward the weapon rack. Moonlight caught on the blade.
He glanced up as I approached.
“You survived Elias.”
“Barely.”
Kaiden nodded solemnly.
“That’s normal.”
“I feel like everyone here enjoys making fun of him when he’s not around.”
“We enjoy making fun of everyone.”
“Hadn't noticed.” I said with enough sarcasm for both of us.
Kaiden couldn't stop a faint smile from forming on his face.
For a few moments neither of us spoke. The silence settled easily between us. Which was strange. Considering we’d only met a few hours ago.
My gaze drifted toward him and met his that was already on me.
“So.” Kaiden said setting the sword aside. “You staying?” There was some sort of hesitation in the way he was looking at me. Like he wasn't sure if he would regret hearing my answer.
“I haven’t really decided yet.” My expression softened.
“Liar.” he said as whatever hesitation he was feeling vanished.
“Excuse me?” I asked in disbelief of his certainty.
“You challenged me to a training match.” he explained “It means you’ve already made your decision.”
The annoying thing was that he was probably right.
“It doesn’t mean anything.” I scoffed.
Kaiden’s expression softened slightly. Then something occurred to him.
“Oh.”
The single word immediately caught my attention.
“Oh what?”
“You actually can’t leave tonight.” His expression suggested he had just remembered something deeply inconvenient
“What do you mean?” I frowned.
“Elias forgot to mention that.” he said with obvious amusement.
“Mention what?” I was starting to get worried.
Kaiden rubbed the back of his neck. His amusement faded into concerning nervousness.
Which immediately made me put my guard back up.
“What?” I asked without hiding my suspicion.
“If you leave...” His gaze drifted toward the house and then back to me. “Elias will have me erase your memories of this evening.”
We stared at each other in silence for a brief moment.
“What?” I asked not really sure I understood him correctly.
“You heard me.” He looked at me with a pleading expression to not make him repeat it.
He had to be joking, right? Right?
“Oh, that’s funny.” I laughed hoping he was just messing with me.
“It wasn’t a joke, Caelyn.” Something in the way he said my name made it obvious he was just as upset as I was.
The laughter died immediately.
“You can do that?” I asked surprised by the fact.
“Yes.” The answer came far too quickly. Far too casually.
“What exactly do you mean by erase my memories?” My stomach tightened.
Kaiden sighed.
“Only the ones related to the organization.”
“Only?” I scoffed in disbelief.
“Caelyn—”
“Only?” This time he could feel the frustration and anger in my tone.
His jaw clenched.
It was obvious he didn't like the fact he was being forced to take someone's memories from them. It was also obvious this wasn't the first time he's had that conversation with someone. And I couldn't possibly imagine anyone having a positive reaction to that.
“I don’t enjoy doing it.”
“But you do it.” I spat back.
“When necessary...”
I looked at him for several seconds tying to decide whether I should be horrified.
The answer was yes.
“You can just... reach into someone’s head and remove memories?”
He shook his head.
“No.” he answered as if my assumption was ridiculous. “It’s more complicated than that.”
“That’s somehow worse.” I said alarmed by the sudden situation I'm in.
Another sigh.
Then Kaiden stepped closer.
Not enough to invade my space, but close enough that I could see the seriousness in his eyes.
“My power is control.” he said like it's common knowledge, like everyone knows that.
I already knew that, of course. Or thought I did.
“I can influence thoughts.” he continued “I can suppress memories..."
My pulse quickened as the words settled heavily between us.
"I can make people forget things.” he said like even he is a little bit disgusted with the fact how much he can mess with someone's mind.
The knot in my stomach tightened.
“And if someone lets me...” His expression darkened. “I can do much worse.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I asked the obvious question.
“Have you ever used it on your team?”
“No.” His answer came instantly
The lack of hesitation made me believe him, which was perhaps the most concerning thing of all, because we’d known each other for less than a day. Yet somehow I knew he was telling the truth.
Kaiden looked away first.
“Elias doesn’t take chances with the organization’s safety.”
I glanced toward the estate. Towards the few warm lights glowing behind the windows. Towards the people inside. The people I’d spent one evening getting to know.
One evening...
And somehow the idea of forgetting them felt wrong.
“So let me get this straight.” I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying and failing to find a version of this situation that wasn't insane. “If I leave tonight, you erase my memories.” I pointed toward the house.
“Yes.”
“If I stay-”
“You decide tomorrow.” he interrupted like talking more about this was pointless.
I stared at the house.
Then back at him.
And as a slow grin appeared on his face, I realized the bastard already knew my answer.
“Don’t.” I narrowed my eyes.
“Don’t what?” he asked amused by my reaction.
“Look so smug.”
“I’m not.” He shifted his gaze away from me trying to hide his grin.
“You absolutely are.”
He laughed. Like he'd been suppressing any form of happiness all day and it all came out with a single laugh.
The lightweight atmosphere at this moment was nothing like when he talked about his power just minutes ago. And I felt less alone. Turns out I'm not the only one carrying the weight of something out of my control.
And that feeling is dangerous for someone who has to make a very important decision.
- Writer
