Blood Past

Chapter Seventeen. Jealous? Who me?

The next day Noah had surprised her by pasting drawings of monster faces over the dummies’ heads.

“Now you can stop thinking about whatever it is your thinking about when you swing at these guys, and just concentrate on their monstrous faces.” He had patted one, seeming proud of his handiwork.

Eden had laughed at the ridiculous gesture but didn’t know what to say when the damn trick worked! For the rest of the week she improved in leaps and bounds in sword training until she was keeping up with Val using the short sword, and even besting her when they used Katanas. Val was stupidly proud of her when Eden disarmed her.

After that, Eden had progressed to Noah, who fought with more power. His blows reverberated through her sword and into her body like a toothache and she had to shift everything she had learned to counter his more powerful attack. They had fought for hours on end, the world just blurring around them as they immersed themselves in the training. It was almost as if Noah wanted her to get up to speed almost as badly as she did. Come Friday, Val had decided to leave them to it and had gone to train in the combat room with Cameron and the other Neith. Eden faced Noah with determination.

She was determined to disarm him.

By that afternoon she had done just that, but she’d been so aggressively focused, she hadn’t pulled back when the moment was upon them and her blade sliced over the top of Noah’s lower arm.

He hissed and dropped his Katana. Eden felt as if she’d been kicked in the gut. She dropped her sword and hurried to him to check how bad it was.

“It’s just a shallow cut,” Noah assured her. “I heal quickly. See.” They both watched as the cut closed over as if it had never been there.

“God, Noah, I’m so sorry,” she whispered, afraid to look up at him. Hurting him brought back memories, terrible memories. Heart pounding, Eden couldn’t take her eyes off his arm as she said,

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry about Denton. Sometimes I can’t believe that was me who hurt you like that. It sounds ludicrous to even have to say it out loud but I’m sorry… for stabbing you.” A surprising ripple of shivers shuddered down her spine at the feel of Noah’s hands sliding around her neck as he cupped her head, tilting it back so she had to meet his eyes. They shone a dark violet now as they bored into her with a sincerity that left her breathless. “I forgave and forgot that like a day later.”

Eden’s heart began thumping even louder for an entirely different reason now. It thumped for Noah’s proximity, for how much his citrusy, familiar scent made her want to sway into him. Instead, she reached up and caught the arm she’d injured, her fingers brushing over his skin. She watched his eyes spark at her touch, felt the heat leap off of him. “Took you a whole day huh?” Eden smirked sadly.

The door to the training room squeaked open breaking the spell between them and they stepped back to see Cameron hovering in the doorway. “Val and I are heading for some lunch at the Douglas’, you want to come?”

Unsure of what she was feeling and what she’d been about to do, Eden gladly accepted, ignoring Noah’s probing gaze as they strode out of the training centre.

***

In celebration of Eden’s progress, Cyrus announced he was taking them all out to dinner. He had invited Councilman McLeish and his family but they’d said they were otherwise engaged (yeah, like Eden believed that for a minute… douchebag), so when they finally crowded in together at an Italian restaurant on the corner of the Mile, Eden found herself in the company of Cyrus, Val, Noah, Tobe, her parents and Nana, Cameron and his mother, Mary. Conversation was easy between them all as they waited for their starters, and Eden had to fight to keep the giddy smile off her face. She’d never experienced anything like this before. Good people, family, coming together for a nice meal. It was so… real

A pang of hurt echoed in her chest as she thought about Stellan, as she always did when she thought of family. Shrugging off the grief before it could take hold, Eden laughed at October and Nana’s bickering and continued to listen in on the warm conversations around her. Noah caught her looking around in wonder and smiled at her, sending another flurry of butterflies into riot in her belly.

She glanced down, still not sure how to cope with the fact that she’d well and truly forgiven him and was back to pining for him.

“Well, isn’t this a surprise.”

At the somehow familiar voice, Eden looked up with the rest of their group to find Shona, Mark and the flirty Neith, Natalie, standing at the head of the table with Shona’s parents. There was a marked resemblance between Shona and Natalie that Eden hadn’t quite noticed before. They were sisters. Figured. Cyrus greeted their parents and insisted they join them. The wait staff amiably found more seats and Eden watched incredulously as Natalie practically flew into the one they’d squeezed in beside Noah. Trying to tamp down the spark of jealousy that flared at the sight, Eden turned to speak with Tobe about the Kaiser Chiefs’ new album. It didn’t take long for her attention to waver back to Noah and Natalie, especially when Natalie mentioned her with this sickly sweet, passive aggressive antagonism that made Eden wanted to stick a fork in her eye.

“So, I heard about those cutesy drawings you had to put on the dummies so Eden could take a swing at them, Noah. That was so nice of you,” Natalie sighed dreamily as though Noah had just rescued a bag of drowning kittens. She turned now to Eden, all wide-eyed and innocent. “Don’t worry, Edie. Some people just take longer to get a handle on these things. It takes a very strong stomach to cut off a head.”

You slimy, slippery, sugary little… Eden growled inwardly, feeling her fingernails bite into her palms. “You know it might not be so hard if it happens to be the right head.” The table grew hushed at the clear underlying threat in Eden’s words.

And then Mhairi threw her head back and laughed. Eden relaxed a little as if everyone else did, tittering now at what they assumed was a joke. She couldn’t even look at Cyrus. What was the one thing he’d asked? Be polite and don’t be aggressive.

Excusing herself from the table, Eden tried to still the trembling in her hands as she hurried off into the empty ladies’ room. She was barely inside two seconds when the door banged open and October practically fell in, laughing hysterically. “OMG. That was genius!”

“No, it wasn’t,” Eden snapped. “I’m supposed to be a responsible Ankh that people can trust. Not threatening goddamn Neith!”

“Oh come on, Eden, it was just your sense of humour. They all got that.” She shrugged, disappointed in herself. “I just thought I’d stop being such a mouthy bitch when I transitioned you know. Clearly not.”

Despite Eden’s frosty warning looks, Tobe was chuckling again. “It’s in your blood to be a mouthy bitch. It’s got nothing to do with you once being one of ‘them’. Plus she totally deserved that.

She called you Edie.” Tobe shuddered. “And what was with the octopus hands all over Noah?!”

“Hmm, like I care.”

“Oh right,” October mocked. “I really believe that. Not. ” Bristling Eden spun on her. “Have you spoken with Cameron yet?”

“Eh talk about deflecting.”

“Well?”

She grimaced. “I tried OK. But he’s been avoiding me lately.”

“You have to make him listen then.”

“OK. I will. If you tell Noah how you really feel,” she challenged with a smug grin.

It was Eden’s turn to grimace.

Tobe snorted. “That’s what I thought.”

The bathroom door opened, drawing their attention to Val’s head as it peeked around the frame.

“Ladies, we have to leave. McLeish just called and they think they’ve found the den. Cyrus and I are heading out. Noah will escort you home.”

“Wait.” Eden’s heart began racing. “Can’t I come? I’m totally ready.”

“No.”

“Pl-”

“No.”

Sharing a disgruntled look with Tobe, she followed her friend out of the ladies’ room, wondering if and when Cyrus and Val would ever be comfortable with her going on a hunt.