Shay looked at me, slowly lifted his hand, and caressed my cheek. Looking into his eyes felt like stumbling upon a hidden garden.
I quickly returned to my own seat, short of breath, my heart pounding.
I could feel his eyes on me as I scratched shapes on my notebook page. “I wanted to learn what was in the book because I needed to know more about the Keepers and Guardians.”
I turned to face him. Shay watched me curiously. I was relieved to see that he didn’t appear offended by my abrupt retreat.
“But it’s clear that everything that’s happening here is about you, Shay. We need to find out who you are.”
He didn’t speak, but nodded once.
I pointed at the leather-bound tome. “So we know that cross is on your neck. But we don’t know what it means.”
Shay turned back to the image. “Are these triangles on my neck too?”
“No.” With some reluctance I dragged my chair close to his so I could look at the book.
“But you think they’re important?” He pointed at my notebook. I glanced down and was shocked to see that I’d drawn at least ten triangles across the white page.
“I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve seen them before, but I don’t know where.” I chewed on my lip for a moment, letting my mind wander.
“Oh!”
I rummaged through my bag and pulled out my Organic Chemistry lab workbook.
“Are you having trouble in chem?” Shay frowned as he watched me flip through the pages.
I shook my head and kept turning through the book until I found the introductory notes from Monday’s experiment.
“Look. I knew I’d seen this. It’s in the historical introduction to the alchemy lab.” I pointed at the triangles. “These are alchemical symbols.”
Shay rose and came to peer over my shoulder. “It’s a good thing you read the introduction. I just skipped right to the experiment.”
I smiled and continued to read. “These four triangles represent the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water.”
I looked at the image in the Keeper’s text and then back at the workbook.
“But I have no idea what that has to do with a cross.”
“Looks like you just found your first research question, Cal.” He tapped me on the shoulder.
“Fine. But is there anything else for me to work with besides that proverb? What is it again?”
“The cross is the anchor of life,” he intoned in mock solemnity. “That’s the last line of the book. Then the picture.”
I jotted the phrase down amid the scattered triangles on my notebook page.
“What comes before the proverb?”
“More nonsense.” His frustration trickled out with the reply. “There are two lines set apart from the text at the very end of the book. The last line is the proverb and the other is ‘may the Scion bear the cross.’”
“May the Scion bear the cross. The cross is the anchor of life,” I murmured, then looked at Shay and saw comprehension dawning in his eyes even as a chilling wave poured down my spine.
“What does Scion mean, Shay?” I whispered.
His Adam’s apple moved up and down as he swallowed. “It means ‘descendant.’”
“Descendant of whom?” I was right, he is someone.
“It isn’t specific; it can be a descendant of anyone. Sometimes it’s used to mean ‘heir.’”
“Shay—” I reached for his shoulder, hoping to turn him. I was afraid to touch him, but I wanted to look at the tattoo again.
“No,” he said sharply. He pulled away from my hand, pacing toward the tall bookshelves that surrounded us.
I jumped up. “That has to be you. You bear the cross. It’s on your neck. You’re the Scion.”
“No, no, no.” He backed away as I approached him. “This is all—it’s some kind of trick. Or sick joke.” His face was drawn. He glared at me accusingly.
“I have a tattoo I can’t see. My uncle isn’t a person, but a witch. And now I’m some special descendant who is mentioned in a book that was transcribed hundreds of years before I was born? I don’t think so.”
When I realized he was about to bolt, I did the only thing I could imagine would stop him.
“Shay.” The razor-sharp edge in my voice locked him in place.
In that instant I leapt forward, shifting into a wolf in midair, and knocked him onto the floor. My forepaws dug into his chest, pinning him to the ground. I shifted back into human form.
“You may wish I was lying, but you’re looking at a girl who can turn into a wolf whenever she wants. Remember?” I brushed his cheek with my fingers, too aware of the way my body melted against him. I closed my eyes, taking in his scent, the heat of his body.
Shay reached up and wrapped his arms around my neck. One hand cupped the back of my head. He pulled me toward him. Before I could react, his lips were on mine.
The kiss started slowly, a sweet, tentative searching. The soft touch of his mouth mesmerized me. I parted my lips for him, letting desire draw me down.
Shay’s kiss deepened; his hand ran along my back, tracing the length of my braid, sliding beneath my shirt to stroke my skin. I felt like I was drinking sunlight. My fingers moved from his chest to his neck and stroked the line of his jaw. I pressed into him, wanting to know more of the mysteries he pulled so easily from my body. More of this freedom, this wildness.
Shay grasped my hips and in a swift motion turned us, pinning me to the floor. His hands moved beneath my shirt, his body pressing hard against mine.
I could smell his rising desire mixing with my own, our feverish need infusing the air like lightning about to strike. Instead of being pulled down into him, I was rising up, legs wrapping around him. His fingers moved carefully, tracing my curves, lingering in places that stole my breath, binding me to him and yet setting me free. My own gasp of pleasure against his mouth brought the world hurtling back.
The room spun as I pulled out of his embrace, stumbling toward the table. My heart rammed against my ribs, insistent and painful.
I can’t do this, I can’t. But I wanted to. More than anything.
He scrambled to his feet, smiling at me. The warm light was in his eyes again.
“What’s wrong?”