Something crawled in my ear. I swatted at it. I felt it again, slithering down my neck this time. I reached to scratch the place where it had been. Stifled laughter filled my ears.

“Erik, you’d better be out of my arms’ reach when I open my eyes, or I’ll make you sorry,” I grumbled, without opening my eyes.

“Won’t be hard, your arms are pretty short,” Erik teased.

I opened my eyes, rolled over to face him, and groaned at the dull ache in my side.

“Think you’re funny?”

“Sure do.” He smirked.

“Did you meet a nice girl in the city?” I asked, changing the subject.

Erik did his eyebrow wriggle. “I met a girl who was nice to me.”

I felt another stab. This one was something akin to jealousy, and I immediately hated myself.

“I’m sorry I asked.” I only hoped that he didn’t know how sorry I actually was.

“Where’s your boyfriend? I expected to find him here since we left you all alone last night.” Erik’s tone changed to one of mild disgust.

“Why don’t you like him?” I demanded, sitting up.

“It’s not really so much that I don’t like him,” Erik replied evasively, averting his gaze.

“Then what is it?” I was perplexed by the hostility between the two guys. It seemed deeply rooted, yet there was no underlying cause that I knew of.

“We’re just not compatible, I guess,” Erik mumbled, looking uncomfortable.

“You don’t have to date him. I just wish you’d be civil to him.”

“For you Talia, I would do anything.” Erik bowed gallantly.

“So you’ll be nice to him?” I pressed.

“You said civil. Nice is pushing it,” he warned.

“Civil,” I agreed. “Thank you, Erik.”

“You’re welcome. Henri got held up in D.C. and he won’t be back until tomorrow. So, it seems you have another day off,” Erik informed me.

I got up, dressed, and made my way over to the medical building. The Medic removed my bandages and confirmed my stitches had dissolved. I was now left with two thin scars; one on my stomach and one on my back. The skin was tender and pinkish. I was amazed by how quickly the wound had healed. The Medic used a laser scanner, passing it over my skin multiple times until the scars were nonexistent. The skin was still discolored, but he assured me that, too would fade in a few hours. My internal damage would take a little longer to heal but cosmetically I was as good as new.

Since I’d been planning on returning to practice that morning, I had no idea what to do with myself now that it was canceled. After spending the night with Donavon, I felt better about the Erik situation. But I was still hesitant to return to my cabin. Just seeing Erik made me think and feel things I still didn’t fully understand. So, yeah… staying away from both my home and my teammate seemed best.

Both Donavon and Penny were working, so I took the opportunity to have some much needed alone time. I strolled leisurely around the compound. For the first time in months, all of the thoughts in my head were my own. I hadn’t realized how heavily everybody else’s stresses were weighing me down until they were gone.

Henri was overwhelmed by his position as team leader. He constantly worried that he was too young to be in such a high position. He worried I wouldn’t perform in the way he had hoped when he’d first requested me as part of the team. He worried that I’d get hurt and Mac would blame him.

Erik maintained a carefree attitude on the surface. He was indifferent to The Agency and the war with The Coalition. If it were up to him, he wouldn’t have ever gone to the McDonough School. Unfortunately, like every other Talented child born in the United States, that hadn’t been an option. But for a person who pretended to be so self-absorbed, Erik had a lot of other concerns swirling around inside his head. He worried that he would disappoint Henri by not taking his responsibilities seriously enough. Erik was growing tired of his party-boy lifestyle, yet he worried that going out regularly was all that kept him sane. The constant training and missions were draining, both mentally and physically. But most of all, Erik worried about me; a fact that I hadn’t truly appreciated until the constant coil of tension inside of my stomach was no longer present.

Maybe my feelings for Erik are only a reflection of his feelings for me, I mused. I hoped so. After all, my mind and Erik’s seemed to have a strong connection, even stronger in some ways than my connection with Donavon. I could project my thoughts, my feelings, and my will onto anyone, but Erik was the first person who’d turned the tables on me.

I wandered in the woods, relishing the blissful emptiness in my head. I sat by the lake and skipped stones over the water’s surface. I rested in the dirt, not caring about my clothes and let the sun warm my face. I closed my eyes and the back of my eyelids lit up, bright reddish-orange from the sun’s rays. It reminded me of Penny’s hair. I was so glad I had a girlfriend to talk to about my boy problems. As the thought crossed my mind, I smiled wider—I had boy problems. How very normal of me.

I’d felt different my whole life, mostly because I was different. Going to the McDonough School and meeting other kids like me had made me begin to feel better. Yet, I still felt different because I never bonded with the other students. But now, for the first time, I had a boyfriend, a crush, and a best friend to talk to about both of them. I couldn’t remember a time when I’d felt more “normal”.

After my quiet afternoon at the lake, I still wasn’t ready to return to my cabin. Instead, I lounged in the grass outside the Crypto Bank, waiting for Penny to finish work for the day.

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“Do you have dinner plans?” I asked when Penny finally emerged.

“Would you mind going back to my room to eat? The kitchen is making sweet potato ravioli. It’s my absolute favorite.”

I smiled. “Sounds perfect.”

I trailed Penny up to her room and then made myself comfortable on her bed while she ordered dinner. I aimlessly flipped through the movies on her wall screen without actually reading any of the descriptions.

“What’s on your mind?” Penny asked after I failed to answer a question she’d posed three times.

“It’s nothing, I’m still just a little out of it from the last couple of days.”

“Erik?” Penny guessed.

“What? Why would Erik have anything to do with… anything?” I retorted defensively.

“I’ve seen you two around each other, Tal. It’s obvious he likes you.” Penny said, rolling her eyes. “And everyone talks about how Erik has changed since you got here.”

“It’s not like that. He just sees me as a younger sister or something,” I mumbled, even though I knew that wasn’t entirely true. I remembered the conversation I’d heard between Erik and Henri while they thought I was still asleep. “Besides, I have a boyfriend… Donavon,” I added hastily.

Penny looked doubtful. “How do you feel about him?” she asked softly.

I knew that she was talking about Erik.

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “Sometimes I think maybe I have a little crush on him.” My cheeks burned with embarrassment. I quickly looked down at my hands but it was too late to take it back.

“A little crush?” Penny snorted.

“I don’t know. I’ve never really felt like this about anybody. I spend so much time in his head. It’s confusing. You don’t understand,” I added lamely.

“You spend just as much time in Henri’s head as you do in Erik’s,” she reasoned. “Why is Erik different?”

I gave her a long, searching look. “Henri has a boyfriend, so that’s not an issue.”

Penny laughed. “Well that does explain the difference. What about me? Do you go in my head?”

Her question took me by surprise.

“No, no, of course not,” I stammered.

“I understand if you do,” she said quickly. “I mean it’s your talent and it’s really cool. I just, you know, was wondering.” It was Penny’s turn to blush.

“I’d never go in your head, Penny,” I assured her. “You’re my friend and I know it’s a huge violation of someone’s privacy to do that.”

She smiled. “Thanks.”

“I think that’s why most people are afraid to be close to me. They’re scared I’ll read their thoughts, learn their secrets,” I continued.

“Do you read most people’s minds?”

“Not if I can help it. Unfortunately, some people are really strong projectors, and I end up hearing their thoughts without meaning to,” I explained. “It’s risky for me, too. When I read someone’s mind, I have to open up my own. In the process, they have an open window into my head. They can see my thoughts and feel my feelings. It makes me completely vulnerable.”

Just then, room service knocked on Penny’s door to deliver our dinner. Over ravioli, the conversation turned lighter. We talked about Penny’s boy problem—her crush of the week: Randell. The evening ended up being exactly what I needed to relax.

When I finally hurried through my cabin door, just before curfew, Henri was the only one there.

He greeted me with a toothy grin. “Hey, how’re you feeling?”

“Good,” I answered truthfully. “I’ll be ready to practice tomorrow.”

“I’ll take it easy on you.” Henri winked at me.

I smiled and made my way to the bathroom to perform my nightly bedtime ritual of washing my face and brushing my teeth. I took my time and when I emerged, Henri’s light was out and Erik’s bed was still empty. Even though I’d stayed at Penny’s all night to avoid seeing him, I was still disappointed Erik wasn’t back.

After getting into my bed, I opened my mind and found Donavon awake in his cabin.

“Hey, I’m sure you’re busy getting ready for tomorrow. I just wanted to say goodnight,” I sent to him.

“Are you coming to see me off? We’re leaving just before sunrise.”

“I’ll be there.”

“Good. Night, Tal.”

Sleep didn’t come until after I heard the cabin door open and the squeak of the springs in Erik’s mattress compressing under his weight.

I was up, dressed, and waiting outside Donavon’s cabin the next morning when he emerged with Arden and Harris. I couldn’t help but grin when I saw him. He gave me a small smile in return. Taking my hand as we walked across the compound, Donavon gave it a little squeeze when we neared the hangar.

I gave Arden and Harris quick hugs and wished them luck before they boarded the hover-vehicle, leaving Donavon and me to say our goodbyes.

“Be careful,” I pleaded.

“There’s no reason to worry. I’ve been on a ton of these and this is a quick one—nothing serious.”

“I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you, too, Tal. I love you, and I’ll see you as soon as I get back.”

I stretched up on my tiptoes and kissed him hard.

“Guess you really will miss me. Now I’ll be sure to hurry home, maybe even tonight,” Donavon joked, matching the intensity of my kiss.

When we broke apart, Donavon jogged up the steps of the hover-plane to join his teammates. At the landing deck, he turned and gave a quick wave before disappearing onto the plane. I remained in the hangar, watching the plane until it was little more than a speck on the horizon.

Whenever Donavon went on a mission, I worried about him. But this was the first time I’d actually been at Headquarters to see him off. Now that I’d been on a hunt myself, I understood the risks and appreciated the potential dangers he faced. The thought that, should something go wrong, I might never see him again made it feel as though the knife was still jabbed in my side.

Since I was awake, I decided to swing by Medical for one last checkup. Dr. Daid was on duty and seemed pleased to see me. Unlike the previous day, his expression didn’t become dour when he spoke about me returning to practice. In fact, the doctor was impressed with my body’s ability to heal so quickly.

“A little exercise will be good for you,” he proclaimed. “Just don’t overdo it.”

The sun shone brightly when I left Medical, so I headed back to the cabin to meet the boys for practice. Henri and Erik were both up and getting ready when I walked in the door.

“Did your boyfriend get off okay?” Erik asked, trying to sound uninterested.

“Donavon got off just fine. How’d you know that’s where I went?”

“Harris said they were leaving on a mission this morning. You weren’t here when I woke up, so I figured that you’d gone to say goodbye,” Erik answered.

“Have you eaten?” Henri interrupted.

“Nope, I waited for you guys. But I did go to Medical. Dr. Daid said I’m cleared to train.”

“Good to hear. Let’s get to it.” Henri looked immensely relieved, and I wondered if the real reason he hadn’t come rushing back from D.C. was because he hadn’t been onboard with me returning to practice quite so soon either. “Captain Alvarez left me a message this morning,” he continued. “He has a couple of upcoming missions already scheduled for us.”

“Really?” I was shocked. I’d figured my abysmal performance would put me on the sidelines for a while.

“Yeah. Despite the whole getting hurt thing—which, by the way, is always a risk and does not mean that you’re a bad Hunter—you did really well. Everyone was impressed,” Henri praised me. I knew that he didn’t actually mean “everyone”; Mac clearly wasn’t impressed.

“Wow, thanks.”

“Don’t let it go to your head,” Erik teased.

I shot him a death look, and he had the good grace to feign fright.

The first day back at practice was surprisingly easy. Once we started moving, my tight muscles stretched and loosened. My side was sore, but it felt much better than I’d anticipated. We worked steadily the entire day, and I felt a sense of fulfillment when we finished for the afternoon.

Unsurprisingly, Donavon’s mission was not so quick that he returned that evening. In fact, it wasn’t quick at all. Days passed without word from him. I became increasingly more anxious, calling Mac’s Communicator morning, noon, and night. The Director assured me everything was okay and that I would be the first to know if something went wrong. Every night, lying in my bed, I opened my mind and tried to reach out to Donavon. I knew he was too far away; never once did I receive so much as a buzz in response.