Concealed (Unbound, Book 4)

Chapter Nineteen

Her eyes widened. "You didn't."

I smiled wider, nodding as I perched on the chair in front of the counter. "I did. Calin took me as a surprise on Friday. He and Maible planned it all out so that Devland believed I was staying at her house. We went to Briarville and got Aiden to stop the sale of my mother's home."

"That's great!" Luna exclaimed, then sobered. "Did Devland find out?"

"Uh, yeah. That was inevitable, though, since Aiden had to have the executorship of my mother's estate amended. I don't know how it works. Technically, it's always me, but Devland had guardianship of me, so he was the trustee or administrator or something. Now, even though Devland still has guardianship over me, Aiden has control, which I'm good with."

"Were you in trouble?"

"He tried grounding me. It didn't stick."

"I see." She looked at me, tilting her head. "You're still shielding yourself."

"Yes."

"Nora—"

"I know, I know." I took the coffee she held out. "I need to stop, but I don't want to. Honestly, I love not having to feel what others are. You should know that."

"Is it working?"

I paused with the cup halfway to my mouth and looked at her, wondering how she could sense the fact that I still required Calin on occasion. "Why would you ask that?"

"You seem jittery."

"So?"

"So, people who can sense others and have regular abilities too need to find a way to release pent-up energy, Nora. Remember? If you shield yourself, you limit the ways in which you can release that energy. Eventually, it'll be too much."

"And what?" I scoffed and took a sip of my coffee. "Let me guess. I'll burst?"

"Yeah." She nodded as I laughed.

"That's what my mother said when I was bound. At least you didn't liken it to a can of beer bursting in the freezer."

Luna smiled. "It's a good analogy, actually."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. My energy was low, so I was trying to rebuild it. Now, I need it for something else. I don't want to lower the shield until I've accomplished what I want."

"What happens when you burst at the wrong time?"

"I can control it."

"You're sure?"

"Yes." I nodded. "I've only ever burst when I woke from a dream, Luna. Never while I was awake."

"That was while you were bound. Now, you have access to it." She stepped back and grabbed a pot of coffee as a couple of people entered and sat at a table. "Just... be careful. I'm not saying this so that you'll contact Zach. I'm telling you because I don't want to see you make a mistake that you'll regret."

She patted my shoulder as she passed by, and I watched her for a moment before standing. I waved as I went back out to my car, contemplating what she'd said. It was right, I knew, but I hadn't thought of it. Of course, I would have to get rid of the excess or whatever, but I had been truly trying to save that for helping Maible.

Since regaining my memories, I didn't ever want to find myself without enough energy again.

*****

At school, I parked in the back of the lot and trudged inside, hating the sun for shining so bright when I was in such a foul mood. What Luna said kept bouncing through my thoughts, and I knew that I had to do something to limit my excess energy. Today.