Though Noah had already helped Skylar up, Mason wearily stumbled to her, looking worn out and soaked from the downpour. The rain finally stopped and the sun peeked through the puffy clouds, creating a rainbow. It was a beautiful sight in contrast to what they had just been through.
"Are you hurt?" Mason asked, still out of breath, pulling Skylar into his embrace. As he always seemed to do once she was safe from having her life threatened, he pulled her back, cupped her face, and looked at her with a sigh of relief. Then he ran his hands through her hair and down her arms, looking for wounds.
Speechless, Skylar nodded her head. Having witnessed this surreal moment, she was simply stunned. She wanted to cry with relief now that it was over. It took every ounce of effort to hold the tears at bay. Seeing something red, she rooted her eyes to Mason's wound. "You're hurt."
"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. I'm going to go back in to check on Amanda and Everett," he replied tersely. Then he turned to Noah and Tim. "If you have time, I have a few questions."
Inside, Amanda and Everett were still tied up. Softly moaning, Everett shook his head, trying to get himself together. The color came back to his face and the fact that he was moving his body showed he would be fine. Amanda, however, looked like she was pissed as hell.
"Did you forget about us?" Amanda huffed, narrowing her angry eyes at Mason. "You could've untied me first. It only takes one second to zap your rays at the damn rope. You had all the fun and left me out. Everett was knocked out, not me. Just because I'm a girl and just because I don't have powers like you, doesn't mean I can't kick ass."
Rolling his eyes and without a word, Mason jetted light out of his fingertips, cutting through the thick ropes that were tightly binding Amanda's and Everett's wrists. Strangely, even with their god-like strength, neither Amanda nor Everett had been able to free themselves. This led Skylar to wonder whether the rope Alena had used was made of some kind of special material.
Amanda stood up briskly, setting her eyes on the bloodstain on Mason's sweater. "What happened to you? Never mind. Since you'll live, you deserved it for deserting me." Then she turned on her heel.
Everyone else followed Mason to the family room. The room had leather sofas, an oak coffee table, and a huge plasma TV. With a high ceiling and a few oil paintings hung on the walls, it looked elegant, like the rest of the house. Mason walked out and returned with towels in his hands.
"Thanks," Noah and Tim said in accord, draping them around their shoulders and finding their spots on the sofa.
Instead of tossing one to Skylar, Mason wrapped it around her, never taking his eyes off her. His face held no expression, but there was profound meaning behind those striking eyes. So many emotions were bottled deep within-pain, relief, and even happiness. Skylar tried to interpret what he was thinking, but he let go all too soon.
Everett plunked himself on the other sofa, looking dismayed and rubbing his temples as if he had a headache and Mason found a spot next to him.
"That hurt like hell. I don't wish that kind of pain even on my worst enemies. Looks like you've made some friends," Everett groaned.
"This is Noah and Tim," Mason introduced. "They are Poseidon's descendants."
"We knew your kind existed, but we've never took the time to look for other half bloods," Everett explained. "Are there more of you?"
"Yes. There is a group of us," Noah answered.
Skylar noted how Amanda was admiring Noah and Tim.
"Do you live around here?" Amanda asked. Her demeanor and tone became more cordial.
"No, but if you don't mind, we like to keep our whereabouts to ourselves. Just in case." Tim winked at Amanda. Amanda lit up with a flirtatious smile.
"Well, I can certainly understand," Everett supported. "We were trying to keep to ourselves too, but Alena found us. Do you know anything about her?"
"About a year ago, Alena took an interest in Noah during our senior year in high school. She was new to our school," Tim explained. "They dated until we found out who she really was-meaning she tried to kill us. She escaped and we lost track of her. I guess she went into hiding. Then she appeared again."
"Apparently, she was after my body too," Noah joked, twitching his brows.
"I can see why," Amanda murmured.
Skylar let out a small giggle, her mood lightened by his humor, and especially seeing Amanda acting so flirtatious, which she'd never seen her do before. "Both of you were at the mall," Skylar said to Noah and Tim.
Noah raked his hair back with his fingers while letting out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, about that. I was told to keep an eye on you . . . sort of." Noah looked uneasy.
"Keep an eye on me?" Skylar questioned with a sharp tone. Her pitch elevated. "And was that you spying on me through my bedroom window from next door?"
Mason glared at Noah. If looks could kill, Noah would have been a dead man. "You watched her?"
"Look, I'm not authorized to say much, but it isn't what you think," Noah continued. "I saw her naked, but that's all."
"What?" Mason stood up, looking like he was ready to give it to him with his fist.
Noah raised both of his hands. "Relax, dude. I was just kidding, okay?"
After Mason sat back down, Noah continued, "I was instructed to keep an eye on Skylar, making sure she was safe. We know what type of blood runs through her veins. Like Alena, her blood is poison, but at the same time, we know she's not evil. We were told not to harm her. We were also instructed to find information about your family. Obviously, we knew where you lived. Our boss doesn't want us saying much. We wanted to make sure you were on the right team."
"You have a leader? Who is he or she?" Skylar asked.
"Sorry. I can't disclose that information."
Skylar released a irritated sounding sigh. She had hoped for an answer.
"Does your leader want anything from us?" Everett asked.
"No. Our mission was to keep Skylar safe from Alena and only interfere if it was absolutely necessary."
"Why does your leader care if Skylar lives or dies?" Mason jumped in with his question.
"Like I said before, I'm not at liberty to say much."
Mason stood up again, his fingers sparking with anger. "What are you at liberty to say?"
Tim stood up, ostensibly to protect Noah. Seeing Tim get up, Everett stood up too.
"Whoooa!" Noah raised his hands again. "Everyone, just calm down. We're not the enemy. We had the same goal: we were trying to keep Skylar safe from Alena."
Amanda jolted up, looking like she'd had enough. "Boys, sit."
Taken in by Amanda's words, there was an awkward stretch of silence. Finally, after what seemed like forever, they all sat back down, albeit guardedly.
"Speaking of Alena, where is she?" Amanda asked, breaking the silence.
Surprisingly, no one said a word. The room was quiet for a few long seconds until Tim spoke, "Mason zapped her. It was pretty nasty. Her hair looked like Ms. Frankenstein and her eyes popped out and-"
"That's enough," Mason interrupted, standing up. "She's dead. Death is nothing to celebrate, even if she was evil. She was someone's daughter, someone's friend."
Amanda gave Mason an "are you kidding?" look.
"Okay, maybe she didn't have any friends. Regardless, I took a life." Mason's tone was low and soft. "It's nothing to be proud of. She was our kind. I'm almost positive she wasn't born evil. Something must have triggered it, or someone influenced her. Maybe her dead mom, like she said. We are all born with a clean slate, and what happens afterward depends on the people that surround us. I'm not sticking up for her. I just wish-I-she was at least a little human, after all. A life is a life. I . . ." He turned to Noah and Tim without finishing his words. "Thank you for your assistance. If there is anything you need, we will return the favor. We can exchange our contact information just in case. If you'll all excuse me, I need to find Nick." Mason headed out of the room.
"Our dear, Nick is with Kayla," Amanda informed. "He has no idea what's going on. I'm sure he'll be upset he missed our reunion ."
Mason turned to face Skylar, looking impassive. "Amanda will take you home. You have an early class in the morning. As promised, since there is no current threat to your life, you can go home now."
"I can take her home," Noah said. "I'm on my way out anyway."
Mason paused. "Whatever she wants. I'll be in my room." With that, he sauntered toward the stairs, leaving Skylar confused.
Something in the pit of Skylar's stomach told her Mason's wall could not be broken. She only wanted to chisel a piece at a time, but now it felt like the little piece she'd chipped away had sealed itself back up. She couldn't help but feel as if Mason had just broken up with her, even though they weren't officially going out.