Sauter (Ironside Academy, #3)(2)
She pulled his hand down with shaking fingers—the Alpha woman had already seen her eyes—and watched as the other woman thrust out her arm, offering Isobel her palm.
“Maya Rosales,” she introduced herself. “You can call me Maya, or Guardian Rosales if you like. I keep the chapel.”
Isobel’s brow furrowed as she stared at the hand, some of her remembered pain slipping away as she was distracted by the very hot, vibrating body curled behind her. Theodore felt like he was seconds away from lunging forward and ripping the older Alpha’s entire arm off.
“K-Keep the chapel?” Isobel’s voice cracked, the words barely dragged into existence as she slipped her hand weakly into Maya’s.
“The academy tries to keep a Guardian on grounds for the students who still follow the Gifted religion.” Maya immediately turned Isobel’s hand, revealing the deep wounds spidering up her arm. They looked like scattered lightning bolts, raw and puckered, a deep angry red. Stitches knitted her skin back together.
Theodore finally snapped, gripping the other woman’s wrist between his thumb and forefinger. He flung it away from Isobel before tucking her arm gently back in against her chest.
“These are my children,” Maya continued, without so much as a flinch at Theodore’s overreaction. “They came to work as my Soul Keepers.” The Guardian stepped out of the way, revealing a girl around Isobel’s age and a boy who couldn’t have been older than nine. “Sophia and Luis. They don’t usually accompany me on my hospital rounds, but Luis is quite the Ironside fan. I hope you don’t mind.”
“I’m sorry.” Isobel glanced between them all. “I don’t know much about the Gifted religion.”
“Yeah, Icon kid and all that.” Sophia cocked her head, watching as Theodore pulled out his phone, angling his screen away from Maya. “Soul Keepers are like chapel assistants. Glorified cleaners and librarians, really.”
The girl was stunning. Her skin was golden with a rich olive undertone, her hair cut into a shining dark bob, her features regal and full of grace, just like her mother. Her lips were naturally full, flushed with a pink colour that matched the second-hand shirt her brother was wearing. The boy was also beautiful, with a wary, shy gaze and oversized spectacles that hung down his nose. He pushed them up nervously as Isobel looked at him, but they immediately drooped down again, teetering on the tip of his nose. He had the same curious, narrow stare as his sister and mother.
“I was the one who suggested the chain,” Maya said.
“What chain?” Isobel peeked at what Theodore was doing with his phone.
He was texting Kalen.
Theodore: Need help.
Theodore: Isobel is awake.
Theodore: Annoying Guardian lady saw her eyes.
“That one.” Maya gestured to Isobel’s arm, which was still tucked against her chest, held there protectively by Theodore’s free hand.
She wiggled it out of his grip, frowning at the delicate, gold chain wrapped around her wrist. She had been too distracted and disorientated to notice it before. It was looped several times, the other end disappearing into the blanket, reappearing to lead up to Theodore’s wrist, where it circled in a firm grip. She didn’t recognise it instantly, but the longer she stared, the more peculiar it seemed. Almost like it was glowing slightly from within. And then she realised what it was. It was the chain that had appeared when Sato kissed her.
“By the time they found you, you had already been out there for something like six hours,” Maya explained. “They thought you wouldn’t survive, so I was called to bless your body when you passed.”
“Out where?” she asked, barely above a whisper.
“The hiking trail,” Theodore supplied, dropping his phone.
Kalen took her back to the trail. How much did they know? Eve’s involvement was fairly obvious by the fact that it had all happened inside her house, and several people had seen her greet Isobel at the door. But did they know why? And where was Eve now?
She stared down at her wounds again, frowning even harder. She was full of stitches, which meant Kalen hadn’t taken her body back in time. Or maybe he had, but her wounds had been too serious.
Maya spoke up again. “Your father arrived with your possessions, and I was there when the nurses searched your bag. I saw the chain and knew what it was immediately.”
“They’ve been visiting every day,” Theodore whispered against the shell of her ear. “Waiting for you to wake up. Sticking their noses into everything.”
“And now you have woken up.” Maya smiled. She looked like she was waiting for Isobel to thank her.
“What is it, then?” Isobel held up the chain, deciding to act dumb. Her voice cracked again, and she winced, prompting Theodore to reach for a pitcher of water set beside the bed. He pushed a cup into her hand, and she thanked him with a strained smile, sipping the cool liquid.
“It’s a soul artefact.” It was Sophia—the daughter—who spoke, looking a little bored, or maybe she was just uncomfortable. She seemed to be standing protectively in front of her little brother and shooting Theodore the occasional wary look. “Like from the stories, back when bonding was more common.”
At Isobel’s baffled expression, the other girl rolled her eyes. “So the gods chose to bind people together, right? Well, they used to bestow gifts on bonded couples to show their blessing. Glowing halos, crowns of flowers, matching wedding cloaks, love birds following them around, red strings and golden chains tying them together.” She waved her fingers toward the chain, her blue-painted nails flicking dismissively. Either she didn’t believe what she was saying, or she wasn’t sure that Isobel was worthy of the god-given gift.