Moving Objects

Chapter 13

"Do you know what this says?"

I nodded my head and she raised her brows again before handing it back to me. I wasn't sure what to make of her reaction, but she didn't seem angry. Could she even read Russian?

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I sat down in the grass and wrapped my hands around my bare legs. It wasn't often I wore shorts these days but given that I was leaving in a few hours, I felt that it was appropriate that I spent a few minutes here. God knows how long it'll be until I get to be here again. The tombstone was the same as the others who were buried here, but this one was amongst the newest.

I set a few wildflowers I found on my way here on top of the stone and brushed my fingers over the grooves of his names. It felt strange being here. It brought closure to most people but being here was a stark reminder that my childhood best friend was dead. I was never going to get to see his curly hair or his cheeky grin. The thing I missed the most was the twinkle of mischief he got when he had a prank forming and wanted me to be in on it.

I could hear footsteps approaching me and I looked up as Eddie folded himself down in the grass with me. I gave him a flat smile and rested my head against his shoulder, heaving a sigh.

"It feels weird leaving without him," Eddie said. I nodded my head and bit my lip. It did feel weird, it felt like I was leaving a small piece of who I was behind here. But Eddie understood that because a piece of him was being left behind too.

"Promise me something?"

"What?" I said, looking up at him.

"No matter what our allocations are, promise that we will always keep in touch?"

"I promise."

Eddie nodded and rested his head on top of mine, watching the sunrise over the hills with me.

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I was bouncing on my feet as I waited to be handed my allocation package. Get this bad boy and head off to the nice, hot, heat of Bora Bora! I watched Eddie be handed his and he tucked it under his arm with a neutral expression. I forced myself to be still as the Guardian handed me my allocation envelope. I nodded and tucked it under my arm while I waited for the rest of the Novices to be presented theirs.

We were dismissed and Eddie and I headed out, meeting Lissa and Christian outside while Dimitri kept his distance. I could feel Lissa's excitement through the bond and I excitedly tore open the envelope and pulled it out at the same time as Eddie.

"Ready?" I asked. He nodded and we both unfolded our letters. My breath caught in my throat as I read the three words on my letter. I felt like my heart was going to fall out of my ass.

"What is it?" Christian asked and I looked up to see Eddie looking at me, his face slightly pinched.

"I got Lissa," he said, handing the letter to her. She pulled it from his hands and looked at it before looking at me. "

Are you two partners? That'll be amazing!" Lissa exclaimed.

I felt disappointed, hell I felt like the only reason I was looking forward to becoming a Guardian had been taken away from me.I shook my head and handed my paper to her, blinking to keep the tears burning at the back of my eyes from falling. I could hear the words echo through her mind.

Rosemarie Hathaway: Unallocated.

Lissa made a noise in the back of her throat and I raised my eyes to Dimitri, who had a confused look on his face as well. He stepped forwards and read over Lissa's shoulder. He gave me a sympathetic look.