Eleos (Book two in The Empaths series)

Chapter Six

Tristan was standing outside of Lucy's room when she emerged from the bathroom twenty minutes later, laughing with Rachel and Lilith about the communal bathing pool.

"That is so weird," Rachel giggled. "I can't even begin to imagine..."

"No, don't... don't imagine anything," Lilith laughed, cutting her off.

"What are you guys talking about?" Tristan asked as they approached.

"Nothing," Lucy replied. "It's probably better left unsaid."

Tristan eyed them with a suspicious look before he shook his head and replied, "You're probably right, it's best I don't know."

"Are Riley and Jared back yet?" Rachel stuck her head into Lucy's room, looking for them.

"Uh, no," Tristan replied. "When I left them in the bathroom, Riley was investigating how everything worked and from what I could tell, Jared was pretty much standing with his face under the showerhead groaning."

"They're going to be ages," Lucy said. "Come on, they can meet us downstairs." She took Tristan's hand and they set off to find the dining hall.

"Is the dining hall the same place we were all hanging out last night?" Lilith asked as they turned a corner to head down the stairs.

"I thought that room was for formal banquets and parties," Lucy replied, looking up at Tristan, who shrugged.

"Well, let's check there first and hopefully that's where they meant," Rachel said, looking back over her shoulder.

Lucy could sense that she was checking for Jared. She could feel Rachel's unease without him. Their bond was stronger than ever, and Lucy knew exactly how she was feeling. When Tristan wasn't with her, she felt like a small piece of her was missing, like she had left it behind, and couldn't quite function properly without it.

It was a strange feeling, considering how used to being on her own she had been. Some days it irked her a little because she had worked so hard to get herself back to a place where she was independent and strong. The thought of placing her value and strength in the hands of another person frightened her, a lot. Life had a way of taking the things that meant the most to her, and allowing herself to become so attached to another person was just like waving a big red flag in front of an angry bull.

In a way though, she felt something very similar, if not quite as strong as what she had with Tristan, about the rest of their little group. She worried about them all the time, especially now. And the thought of anything happening to any of them was too much to bear.

"Lucy, are you alright?"

Lucy shook her head and focused on Rachel, who was looking back at her wide-eyed. Her eyes drifted from Lucy's face down to their joined hands.

Lucy hadn't even realised she'd taken hold of Rachel. "Oh, Sorry, Rach. I was just...,"

"Worrying," Rachel replied, finishing her sentence. "I know, I can feel it."

They had all stopped walking mid-way down a wide hall, reacting to Lucy's sudden mood change.

"We all can," Lilith added, reaching out to put a comforting hand on Lucy's shoulder.

Lucy blew out a long breath. "I'm fine, really guys. It was just one of those thoughts that occasionally pops into my head and freaks me out a little, but really, I'm okay."

"Where did it come from?" Tristan asked, a tiny bead of sweat running down his forehead.

Lucy reached up and wiped it away. "Don't get me started on my crazy brain. My train of thought baffles even me sometimes." She smiled at her friends. "I'm sorry if I frightened you all."