Blinking quickly, he swiveled back to the game. “Your move.”
Elena made that move on autopilot, somehow ending up with a triple word score. Where her luck would’ve normally made Vivek scowl and promise retaliation, today, he made a three-letter word that wouldn’t have challenged a seven-year-old. In return, she added four letters to the board to deliberately create a nonexistent word—and waited for Vivek to challenge her.
He didn’t.
Five moves later, he said, “You’d never have asked me that question unless you already knew I was a viable Candidate.”
20
Elena gave a jerky nod.
“How did you get my blood to do the test?” Vivek supplied his own answer before she could. “Guild physical, right?” Glancing at her, he turned the chair around again. “Do you think I need to be fixed?”
She heard the bitterness, knew she had to face it head-on if they were to go forward as friends. “I think you’re unhappy deep inside.” This wasn’t the time to pull her punches. “You’ve built an extraordinary life.” She waved her hand to encompass the room and everything that resulted from his skills with the machines that inhabited it, said, “Hell, you’re the reason half of us are alive. I think you’re brilliant and gifted, and gorgeous, too, while we’re at it.”
Clenched jaw, the tendons stark. “No need to go overboard.”
“I don’t lie to my friends.” Vivek was classically handsome, the bones of his face clean and sharp against brown skin that would be warm if it was touched by the sun more often. It was true he was far too thin, but his shoulders were broad, his legs long. “Put on some muscle, some weight, and you’ll have women eating out of your hand.” She paused. “If you don’t scare them off with your attitude.”
A scowl, then narrowed eyes. “You trying to get me mad?”
“You’re always more fun mad.” Blowing out a breath, she locked her eyes with his. “I asked for you to be tested because, amazing as you are, I know here”—she slammed her fist against her heart—“you hurt.
“I’m hunter-born. I know exactly what it’s like to attempt to cage that instinct.” She’d tried so hard when she first realized how much her father hated anything to do with hunting. “It feels like being clawed to pieces from the inside out. The fact that you’ve managed to stay sane? It makes you stronger than I could ever be.”
Vivek snorted. “You slit a vampire’s throat in broad daylight, shot an archangel, and lived to tell the tale. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.” His eyes dropped. “What’s that in your hand?”
“Confirmation of your Candidacy.” Smoothing out the mangled piece of paper, she put it on a scanner. Two seconds later, it showed up on one of the screens. “Because of the amount of damage to your spinal column and how long you’ve had the injury, it’ll take years for you to get back full use of your body.” She wouldn’t lie to him, wouldn’t pretend it would be in any way an effortless transition. “That tick on the right means you’ve been cleared to proceed to the next stage. If you decide you do want to be Made, the process can begin within twelve hours.”
Vivek released a shuddering breath. “Jesus, Ellie.” Swallowing, he did something using the complex mouth controls on his chair to shift the form to the main screen, the Scrabble game minimized in a corner. “It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I would never walk, never run, never fuck”—a wry smile—“never hunt.”
Elena said nothing, knowing he needed her to listen now.
“Once I did, I vowed not to look back, only forward.” This time, his grin was self-mocking. “I don’t manage it all the time. You’ve seen me manfully brooding—not sulking—enough times to know that. But,” he added, “I try to be conscious of any downward spiral, and I’ve found ways to enjoy my life outside of the job. Case in point: the hot brunette. Just because I can’t fuck doesn’t mean I don’t understand pleasure.”
“V, that never crossed my mind,” she said honestly. “Especially after I walked into your Academy room to ask if I could borrow a pen and found Neve Pelletier screaming in orgasm.”
A dazzling grin. “One of my proudest moments.” Moving his chair away without warning, he rolled to another bank of computers and made a call before returning. “Sorry, saw something come in Sara might be interested in.”
“You have eyes in the back of your head?”