My distracting shorts and everything else were forgotten for the time being. “No way. You’re being serious?”
He tried to look serious, but his grin looked a bit mischievous. “I think it wouldn’t hurt, but only for a little bit. I think it wil help… you get a feel on how to handle them.”
I glanced back at the wal of weapons. I wasn’t even al owed to touch them, and now he was going to let me actual y practice with them. It was like graduating kindergarten. Hel , it was like Christmas Eve.
Without thinking, I closed the distance between us and hugged him. Aiden immediately stiffened, obviously caught off guard. It was just a simple hug, but the tension racked up several degrees. I suddenly wondered what it would feel like if I rested my head against his chest like I had when he’d come back from Lake Lure. Or if his arms came around me and he held me, but not out of comfort. Or if I kissed him again like I had that night… would he kiss me back?
“You’re far too pretty to be dressed like that.” His breath stirred my hair. “And you’re entirely too excited to be working with knives.”
I flushed, stepping back. What? Aiden thought I was pretty? It took me several moments to work past that. “I’m bloodthirsty. What can I say?”
Aiden’s eyes dropped, and I decided I needed to go to the store and find as many pairs of miniscule shorts as I could get my hands on.
CHAPTER 15
JUST BEFORE DAWN, THE FUNERAL FOR THOSE
murdered at Lake Lure began and… wel , it sucked in the way al funerals did. Fol owing ancient Greek tradition, the funeral consisted of three parts. Al of the bodies—the ones recovered—were laid out before the funeral began. I stayed in the back of the funeral home, refusing to go anywhere near the dead. I paid my respects from a healthy distance.
The three bodies of the Dikti family, Lea’s father and stepmother, and the Guards were wrapped in linen and draped in gold. From there, the funeral procession began, and it was long. The bodies were lifted onto pyres and carried through the main street. Al tourist activity had been cut off to Deity Island, and the streets were fil ed with pure-blood and half-blood mourners.
The students who remained at the Covenant stood out from the crowd. We were the ones dressed in black sundresses or party dresses. None of us real y had anything appropriate to wear to a funeral. I had on a black tube dress and flip flops. They were the best I had.
I stayed close to Caleb and Olivia, and I only caught a quick glimpse of Lea and Dawn at the cemetery. The sisters shared the same coppery red hair and impossibly thin bodies, and even with puffy eyes, Dawn was absolutely stunning.
Hematoi didn’t bury the dead. After burning the remains they erected massive marble effigy statues. The artist’s rendering of the one that would honor the Samos family depicted their images set on a pedestal carved with a Greek verse about immortality among the gods. The round pedestal already occupied the site.
The jewels and gold were removed from the bodies and placed on the pedestal. I real y wanted to leave at that point, but it would’ve been the height of disrespect. I turned away as they lit the pyres, but I stil heard the crackling as the fire ate away at their shrouded corpses. I shuddered, hating the finality of it, hating that these were quite possibly my mother’s victims.
Slowly, the mourners broke apart. Some headed back home; others went to smal receptions held in the homes of the families. I trailed behind Caleb and Olivia, going back to the Covenant, away from al the death and despair.
As we passed the pyres, my eyes found Aiden. He stood with Leon, a few feet away from Dawn and Lea. He looked up—almost as if he’d sensed me—and our eyes met. He made no other acknowledgement, but I could tel he approved of my presence. Yesterday, before the talk about hunting loved ones and the shorts incident when he’d said I was pretty, I’d mentioned I was unsure if I should come or not, considering Mom had been one of the daimons.
Aiden had looked at me with that serious frown. “You’d feel more guilty for not going and paying your respects. You deserve to do that. Just as much as anyone else, Alex.”
He was right, of course. I hated funerals, but I would’ve felt bad if I hadn’t come.
Now, he nodded slightly before turning to Dawn. He reached out and touched her arm. A lock of dark hair fel over his forehead as he bent his head, offering his condolences. I turned my attention to the large iron gates separating the town from the plot of meaningless statues.
Seth stood there, dressed in his black uniform. There was no doubt he was watching us. I ignored him as we left the cemetery.
For the rest of the day, I tried to forget that we’d lost so many innocent people.
And that Mom had been responsible.
***
I didn’t get to do anything with the daggers in the next practice. When I pitched a fit about this, Aiden watched on with amused patience.
“Come on.” I pushed the mats off the floor. “How am I supposed to get caught up when I can’t even touch a dagger?”
Aiden nudged me out of the way and took over mat duty.
“I need to make sure you know how to defend yourself—”
“She hasn’t practiced with Covenant blades at al ?”
Seth leaned against the door frame, arms folded across his chest. He watched us with a lazy expression, but his eyes were extraordinarily bright.
Aiden straightened, barely bothering to look at him. “I would swear I shut and locked that door.”
Seth smirked. “I unlocked and opened the door.”
“How’d you do that?” I asked. “The door locks from the inside.”
“Apol yon secrets. Can’t give them away.” He winked at me before turning those amber eyes on Aiden. “How can she be prepared to fight if she doesn’t know how to wield the only weapon she wil have against a daimon?”
Seth gained cool points in my book with that question. I looked at Aiden expectedly. The cold, distasteful expression he wore earned way more cool points.
“I was unaware that you had any say in her training.”