Reckless Souls (Saints Academy, #1)(54)

surprisingly wide eyes.

“Yeah,” she whispers, like she can’t believe this is going to happen, and it startles me that I

managed to find something we could offer her a glimpse of, to make her stick around. We just need

her to agree to spend the rest of the day with us and hopefully this is a good start.

“So you really haven’t seen snow before?” Adonis asks, breaking the silence we’ve mostly

carried with us, not wanting to spook her and send her running for her dorm.

“Only in old movies,” she says in response, nibbling her bottom lip nervously.

Before any of us can say another word, I watch as her mouth widens. Jaw hitting the floor in

surprise as she gapes up at the sky. I know what has her attention, a tiny snowflake flutters through the

air, heading downward. I can feel the shift in the air and the temperature drop, but I can’t pull my eyes

from her, mesmerized by the sheer awe dancing across her face.

Her blue eyes glisten as I feel a few drops land on my forearms, and I watch as she shivers.

Fuck. I didn’t consider that part.

Before a solution can even come to me, movement behind Rhea catches my attention, and I turn to

find Xander stepping up to her, his front to her back as he wraps his arms around her.

I freeze, fearing we’ve burst the trust bubble, but to my surprise, she’s too caught up in the snow

falling from the sky to worry as Xander’s natural body heat wraps around her.

“She could have had my jacket,” Khaos grunts under his breath, making me smirk as I turn my

focus to the sky.

“You were too slow, but don’t say anything else about it, we don’t want to ruin this,” I whisper to

him, hoping Rhea didn’t hear our conversation.

Thousands and thousands of snowflakes fall, coating the grass and icing the lake with the

temperature drop, all while we stand and pay witness to the beautiful show. The silence nature

provides enhances the ambiance and I can’t deny how important this moment is.

“How are you making this happen?” Rhea asks after a while, peering over at me, and I shrug.

“My family are angels, we each have a weather type that we are drawn to, this is my sister’s,” I

answer honestly, watching as she wets her lips, tilting her head back to look up at the snow again.

Xander somehow manages to wrap her even tighter in his hold, leaving me desperate to be near her.

It’s like magic has been cast upon us or something, leaving us off kilter and confused by our own

actions as we fall deeper and deeper under her spell without any real reason why.

I look down at my phone after a while, noticing the time and realizing we’ve been out here for

almost an hour. As much as Xander’s hold is warming Rhea, her lips are still starting to turn blue.

My eyes meet Adonis’, and he must sense my desire to get her inside now, because in the next

moment, he’s standing before Rhea, drawing her attention down from the sky.

“So, about that party,” he murmurs, making me turn to face them fully as Xander remains at her

back, and I feel Khaos leave my side, slowly prowling around them to come to a stop on their other

side, boxing her in.

“I don’t—” Her response is cut short as Adonis reaches out, tucking a loose tendril of her soft

brown hair behind her ear. She gapes at him for a moment, before finally finding her tongue again.

“I’m not soft and pliant you know,” she mumbles, making me frown.

“If we thought you were, we wouldn’t be here,” Khaos interjects, rolling his eyes before giving

her a pointed look when she shifts her gaze his way, and she shakes her head.

“Why are you here?” she asks, still not seeing how we all just naturally gravitate toward her.

“Because we want to be,” Xander mumbles against her ear, making her shiver as she lifts her

hands to grip his biceps. I don’t even think she realizes she’s seeking him out on her own.

“That makes no sense,” she retorts, focusing back on Adonis before her as he grins.

“No one said it had to, because we’re not even sure ourselves,” I state softly, extending a hand for

her to take.

We all wait on baited breath as she eyes the arms around her, Khaos and Adonis who stand close,

before fixating on my hand.

It feels like an eternity passes before her fingers release Xander’s arm and slowly slip over my

outstretched hand.

Mine.

My heart thunders in my chest as she steps out of Xander’s hold, following my lead as I steer her

back through the woods, causing a shift inside me that I can’t quite explain. We’ve barely taken a

dozen steps when a leather jacket slips over her shoulders, and she glances at Khaos, but he’s focused

straight ahead, not uttering a word.

I don’t want to get lost in the silence again this time, fearful she’ll get trapped in her own mind

and come up with a hundred reasons why she has to run away from us when we get back to Agion.

“So, you know nothing about yourself and the magic you come from, huh?” Adonis blurts, falling

into step on her left side, and she shakes her head nervously. I almost want to strangle him for being