the stairwell and into the impressive aquatic center, the sound of lapping water greeting me. Wood-slat benches lined the perimeter, along with sleek towel stations and patches of greenery climbing the high concrete walls, while three aquatic areas occupied the large space. The first included a splash pad with multiple nozzles on the blue rubber surface. The second consisted of a shallow pool with two walk-in edges and legit sand coating the bottom. The third was an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Lights glowed from the tiled edges as black and white lane lines split the water.
A body glided along the surface of the far lane, executing an effortless freestyle as a fractured compass tattoo shifted in and out of the water.
So much for finding a solitary sanctuary.
I should leave—preferably before Kaden noticed me. Not only was I not good company, there was still a high chance of my emotions exploding everywhere right now.
But the idea of sitting in my room for another minute kept my bare feet glued to the floor. At least here, the only other person in the vicinity had his head bobbing in and out of the water, so there was that. I walked over and sat down on the edge of the pool a couple of lanes away. Hugging one knee to my chest, I rested my chin on it and dipped the other leg into the brisk water. The gentle surge against my calf made me miss the ocean. Miss home. But that part of my life was over, wasn’t it?
With the Clinic still after us, it was clear we wouldn’t be going back to Point Reyes. And I didn’t know if I ever would. Maybe years from now, but not anytime soon. Claire would be long gone and probably have forgotten about me by then… But I couldn’t dwell on that. I needed to focus on the future. My non-suppressor future—whatever that meant. I wondered if I would start lighting things on fire or accidentally burn whoever I touched like Asher had. I sent up a silent prayer hoping that never happened.
Of course, there was always the possibility that even without the suppressor I wouldn’t develop any abilities, and I was freaking out over nothing. Well, not nothing, but—
“Here for a late-night swim?” Kaden’s deep voice startled me. “If so, you’re not really dressed for the occasion.”
He floated in the next lane over, his arms thrown over the plastic rings. His dark hair dripped water onto his broad shoulders, and when he pulled off his goggles, rings marked the edges of his eyes.
Butterflies swarmed in my stomach. I still had no words for either an apology or my gratitude. Or at least none that seemed adequate.
“Not here to swim.” I hugged my knee closer. “Just needed an escape from my room.”
“You sure?” Kaden pushed his wet hair back. “I could probably find some floaties somewhere.”
“I know how to swim, you jackass.” Yep, such good company.
“Did you know it only takes three inches of water for someone to drown?” Kaden messed with the goggles in his bionic hand. “Just three inches. That’s all it takes.” He shrugged. “Always thought that was interesting.”
“Good to know.” I removed my leg from the water. My room had to be better than this, and clearly he wasn’t in a receptive mood either.
I started to get up when Kaden said, “Trade?”
I sank back down on the pool edge.
“How’s your wrist doing?” He twisted his around. “Mine’s feeling just fine.”
My lips tipped up for the first time in two days as I stuck my leg back into the water. “That’s not a fair trade.”
“How do you know? I could’ve hurt my wrist since the last time we saw each other.” He grinned, but it didn’t fully reach his eyes.
My stomach dipped. I didn’t miss the playful glint those sea-blue depths usually held or the fact that he hadn’t called me Firefly once since the Holding-Site-debacle. I absolutely did not miss either of those things. Nope. Not at all.
“It’s better. I have a checkup tomorrow afternoon.” I adjusted my brace. “Real trade? How’s your forearm and back?”
“I might have some scars, but nothing I’m not used to.” Kaden lifted his forearm, showing me where the ice shards from Hurricane-Griffin had struck. The faint pink skin looked much better, like miraculously so—that nifty Elementum healing at work—which made me think of his jawline. What had caused those scars? And why hadn’t they healed like these? But it felt too personal to ask.
“Can I offer an altered trade?” I swished my leg through the water.
“Intriguing.” Kaden lounged against the lane line. “Altered how?”
“All you have to do is listen.” I snuggled deeper into my fleece.
Kaden sent me an arched expression.
“I wanted to say thank you for helping me the other night at the Holding Site, and I’m sorry for what Griffin said about your brother,” I said, catching my hand halfway to my neck. “I just needed to tell you that, since I never got the chance earlier. So, thank you and I’m sorry.” This was probably a good time to make my exit. “I’ll leave you to your workout. I didn’t mean to—”
“I’m sorry, too.” Kaden locked eyes with me. “For what your aunt did. That was messed up.”
My body tensed. How did… Oh, right. Raine had been in the audience for that particular life-altering event. She must have told him.
“Yeah.” I glanced away. “I’m still processing it all.”
Kaden nodded. “Are you going to do the blood panel?”
The blood panel. How could I have forgotten? I mean, sure, there’d been a lot going on, but still.
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
“Why wouldn’t you?” He tossed his goggles onto the tiled edge of the pool. “Are you afraid because of what happened to your mother? Or is it something else?”
My cheeks heated, remembering he had witnessed my minor freakout and must’ve put two and two together. “It’s not so much that. Although, I guess that’s easy to say when I’m not facing down a needle.” I rubbed the crook of my arm. “And it’d be nice to know what to expect regarding abilities when the suppressor fully wears off. But I just… I don’t know if I’m ready to know. Which is silly, isn’t it? Knowing or not knowing won’t change the facts.”
“That’s true.” Kaden kicked his legs under the water. “But it’s probably the emotional connection that’s scaring you.”
My brows pinched. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “It seems like you’ve built some sort of scale up inside your head, and now you’re afraid to measure yourself against it.”
Well, crap. Was he right? Was I afraid? Afraid to see that even after everything, I still didn’t belong here. Because if I was really being honest with myself, I did want to belong here. And sure, the main reason had to do with my mom and finding out if she was still alive, but it was more than that. I couldn’t fight this feeling that this was somehow the piece I’d been missing in my life all these years. The reason I’d always struggled to fit in.
But it felt like too much to hope for—and too crushing if it wasn’t true.
“Whether you do the blood panel, or even have abilities or not,” Kaden continued, “only you can control how it will affect you emotionally and how you move forward.”
Not going to lie, being the one in control sounded nice. But I wasn’t sure I had the strength to face it all just yet.
“What was it like when you first developed abilities?” I unclasped my knee and lowered it to the tiled edge in a half butterfly pose. “Was it difficult to control?”
“It was difficult to control at first.” Kaden stared out over the lanes. “The genetic alterations the Clinic makes to create an Elementum are tied to the hormonal and molecular changes the body goes through at puberty. So, every time my emotions or hormones spiked, I lashed out with ice. At one point, my Handler had to isolate me completely because he was afraid I might accidentally hurt my family. But eventually I got the hang of it.” His jaw flexed, making his scars stand out. “The Clinic made sure of it.”
A shudder went through me. “The Clinic held your whole family?”
Kaden shook his head. “Just me and my brother. My parents weren’t allowed into the Summit, only to the Holding Sites to visit us from time to time.”
No wonder his brother meant so much to him; they’d gone through hell together. But if his parents weren’t held by the Clinic, did that mean…
“Your parents are Neutrals?” If so, that meant he hadn’t always been a part of this world.
“They were.” Kaden nodded, staring out across the lanes. The soft sorrow in his voice made me want to wrap my arms around him—but again, too personal. “When I was fourteen, Arc extracted us during one of our Holding Site visits, but my mom got caught in the crossfire and was killed. We ended up losing my dad not long after that.”
My heart sank. He must have lost his brother about two years later then. And now he was all alone.
“I sometimes forget you’re new to all this,” Kaden said, clearly done talking about that subject. “It’s…”
“Annoying?” I offered up.
“Refreshing.” His lips tipped up slightly.
Could’ve been worse. I was like mountain air. Or toothpaste. “Well, if you need another dose, the Summit is one of the Detainment Hubs, right? What are the others?”
“Yes, it’s one of three.” Kaden lifted the lane line and glided into my lane. “The Summit is concealed within the Rockies here in Colorado. The Pinnacle, or the Pin, is hidden deep in the Catskills in New York. And the Crest is the founding facility and the only Hub that Arc doesn’t know the precise location, but we’re pretty sure it’s somewhere near the original site in Silicon Valley.” He leaned back against the tiled edge next to my submerged leg. “Supposedly it’s where the Clinic performs their highly experimental studies.”
That made sense with my mom somehow being involved in the Horizon Project. But what didn’t? Silicon Valley was only a few hours away from Point Reyes. Why would Aunt Viv choose to live so close? It seemed extremely risky… unless she’d always believed Mom was still alive and was being detained there. Maybe Aunt Viv was the reason for the three question marks at the end of the Phoenix file.
“It’s rumored that the Crest holds information damning enough to take down the entire Clinic,” Kaden added, gliding a hand over the water. “But that feels like a pipe dream.”
After everything I’d learned and my brief experience in that glass cage, I could understand why he felt that way. It seemed like an unbeatable fight.
“If you know where the other two Hubs are, why not infiltrate them?”
“All the Hubs are highly secure, remote facilities. Protected by the best security systems and divisions of expertly trained Enforcers. It’d basically be a suicide mission.”
Facing off with one Enforcer had been challenging enough—and would have been downright impossible if Kaden hadn’t shown up. I couldn’t imagine facing an entire division.
“All these questions,” he said, “makes me wonder if you’re thinking about sticking around.”
“I don’t think I get a vote.” I gripped the pool edge. “Although, that could change if I end up having abilities, right? They wouldn’t kick out an untrained Halfbreed, would they?” My chest rose and fell rapidly—too rapidly. “Oh, crap. What if they do? And I can’t control the abilities I have? Most Elementums learn when they’re younger, right? What if I can’t figure it out? And will I need to take Stabilizers now? What if they can’t formulate one because of my weird Halfbreed genetics? Will I have to keep using the suppressor to—”
“Breathe, Firefly.” Kaden reached up and gripped my chin gently, our eyes locking. “Just breathe.”
I inhaled deep a few times as the calloused hand against my skin helped ground me back to the tiled edge.
“There you go.” Water dripped down his outstretched arm. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out.”
“We will?” I breathed.
Kaden dropped his hold. “Of course. Everyone here at the Breakpoint will help you out.”
My stupid heart stumbled. Right, not just him. That made more sense.
“Of course,” I repeated lamely, plastering on a smile. “All my new friends.”
“Plus, you can’t be any worse than Saylor when she started out. I heard she flooded her room multiple times.”
I narrowed my stare. “Helpful.”
Kaden shrugged, a smirk finally lighting up his eyes.
“At least Saylor will help me if I accidentally light something on fire. She’d probably volunteer as my own personal fire extinguisher.” Which might not be a bad idea. Or I could just start carrying one around.
“I’m wounded, Firefly. You make it sound like I’m not even allowed to apply for the job.” Kaden placed a hand over his bare chest. “I’ve always dreamed of being a personal fire extinguisher.”
“Uh-huh, sure.” I waved a dismissive hand. “You’d probably sit back with a bowl of popcorn and say let it burn.”
“That sounds an awful lot like a challenge.” Kaden grinned. “I guess I’ll just have to prove my skills.”
My muscles locked up. “What are y—”
One second I was perched on the edge of the pool, and the next a soft, rubbery hand grabbed my uninjured arm and yanked me forward. I hit the brisk surface with a yelp. Water rushed up all around us as we both plummeted under. When we reached the bottom, I pushed off of a solid chest and propelled myself back up, resurfacing with a fit of coughs.
Kaden emerged a moment later, shaking his head like a dog. Water went flying as I treaded water, glaring daggers at him.
“See? Putting fires out already.” Kaden let out a full-body laugh, accompanied by a heart-wrenching smile—one that could steal hearts and never give them back. “Firefly, you look—”
I splashed water at him. “If you say a drowned rat, you’ll regret it.”
Kaden chuckled. “What I was going to say before I was so rudely splashed, is you—”
“Rudely splashed?” Laughter burst from me as I sent another wave of water at him, which he effortlessly blocked. “You’re the one who pulled me into the pool. Or has all that chlorine affected your brain?”
Kaden gently grasped my unbraced wrist, stopping the onslaught of water and pulling me closer. He wrapped an arm around the small of my back to help keep me afloat as that minty cologne enveloped me. “You really should choose your fights more carefully.” He ran his thumb over the center of my captured wrist, sending shivers down my spine. “Picking a fight with a Hydro in a pool? Not the smartest idea.”
“Probably not.” I tried not to focus on how little space there was between us or the heat rolling off his body. I wanted to physically push back from the building intensity while simultaneously wanting to climb closer. It was the oddest sensation.
Then Kaden released my wrist. And I’m not sure what came over me next. Maybe it had something to do with my life basically imploding? But my hand had a mind of its own. I reached up and slid my hand around the nape of his neck, drawing his head down and closing the small distance between us. The soft contact of our lips meeting jolted my system until I realized Kaden was… just floating there as if he was in shock.
I pulled back, hitting an unyielding arm. My heart fluttered like an ensnared hummingbird. “I’m not sure what that was.”
A blistering heat consumed me as I fully considered the advantages of drowning when Kaden reacted. His hand tangled into my wet hair, and he captured my lips with his own. He pulled me closer while my legs unconsciously wrapped around his waist, eradicating what little space remained.
Underneath my palm, Kaden’s body hummed with confined power, eliciting a gasp from me. He seized the opportunity by tilting his head and deepening the kiss, causing all thoughts to evaporate like fog being claimed by the sun.
Vaguely I felt him move us through the water before being pressed back against the pool wall. The tile bit into my back. But I didn’t care as I nipped at his lower lip, earning a deep growl from the back of his throat. My hand slid into his wet, silky hair as the frenzied kiss began to slow, transforming into something different—something softer. The sweetness of it all flowed through me like nothing else I’d ever experienced before, which was a little frightening.
Softly releasing my lips, Kaden skimmed his nose across my cheek and the world slowly came back online. A cold sensation dotted my temple, followed shortly by another. My eyes blinked open. Was that snow?
Tiny white crystals drifted down, turning the aquatic center into a winter wonderland. Mesmerized, I reached out and caught a few flakes on my palm. But then I caught sight of Kaden’s shoulder. A faint glow surrounded his profile. It was the same one I’d seen around Clay at our last training session, but this time it was accompanied by a… warm, low-level hum that flared out from my chest. I wasn’t sure if this was just an escalation of my pattern-tracking or maybe it was an ability coming through. Wouldn’t that be just my luck. Others could create a firestorm while I got stuck with heartburn.
Then I looked up at Kaden and the relevance of it all faded away. His face locked down right before my eyes, making my heart stall. In an effortless move, he lifted me up and onto the pool edge.
“I can’t do this.” His jaw flexed. “Not with you. I’m sorry.”
Ice blasted my chest as I searched his gaze only to find genuine honesty shining back at me. Emotion clogged my throat and the blistering heat from earlier returned with a vengeance. Was this really happening?
“I’m truly sorry.” Kaden pushed back from the pool wall. “I think you should go.”
Too shocked and embarrassed to do anything else, that’s exactly what I did. I left, not caring that I was completely soaked as my numb feet carried me away.