Free Starbound by J.L. Weil

yet.
    Zeke was the first to move. He gave me a devilish grin and then embraced me in a bear hug, lifting me off my feet. “Christ, Katia. It’s been a long time.” His voice had a sparkle of mischief in it and genuine glee.
    I wrapped my arms around his neck, squeezing my eyes shut, and held on. “I’m glad someone is happy to see me,” I murmured. A feeling of relief spiraled through me. I wasn’t being burned at the stake…yet.
    “Always, Katia.” He set me on my feet, and I couldn’t stop smiling. His summer-blue eyes were full of humor. “You’re one of us.” Zeke was always so easygoing, easy to forgive.
    Olivia took his place the second he released me. “We missed you,” she said, her quiet voice filled with emotion.
    “Me too,” I replied, my eyes misting with hers.
    She wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve, smiling. And just like that I felt something click inside me. This was what I had been looking for. The same thing I had run from in my youth was the one thing I needed. Being with others who embraced our gifts made more sense than anything else right now in my life.
    “I can’t believe you are guys are just welcoming her with open arms. Um, hello. She left the circle. Why does she just get to stroll back because she is bored?” Elena’s expression was darkened with outraged and eyeliner. She stepped forward from the shadows.
    I took a deep breath. I’d known that not everyone would be openhearted.
    “Cut it out, Elena,” Zeke replied, slicing Elena with a look of warning.
    Elena stabbed me with hateful daggers. “She is the biggest joke.”
    I bit my lip and returned her glare with one of my own. I could only take so much.
    This time is was Seth who spoke. He had been absolutely quiet since I had stepped through the clearing, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t felt his eyes one me. “Knock it off, Elena. Kats has every right to be here—as much as we do.”
    She glanced at Seth who had stepped beside her. “You guys sicken me. I can’t believe you.”
    “Give it up, Elena. We don’t want to spend the whole night listening to another one of your bitchy rants,” Zeke cut in before Elena could continue in a full-blown tantrum. She was prone to them when she didn’t get her way. Some things never changed.
    I met Seth’s eyes and the world stood still. I hadn’t known what to expect or how I would feel when I saw him again. We hadn’t exactly been on the greatest of terms the last week, so I figured it was going to be awkward to the tenth power.
    I was right.
    “Hey,” I said, unable to think of anything intelligent or sarcastically witty.
    “Hey,” he replied. The sound of his voice squeezed my heart.
    Why does he have to be the guy that made me feel lightheaded? Why did it have to be Seth who made my breath catch? Why was it when I looked at him, the rest of the universe disappeared?
    Even when I probably should have been miffed and irritated with him, I couldn’t be. There was something about Seth that made me want to ignore his less than stellar qualities. Like that he could be a little rough around the edges. He might have a quick temper, a protective streak a mile long, and he could be an insensitive jerk, but under all those jagged edges, there was a guy with a huge heart. And even with his flaws laid out on the table, I knew that I didn’t just want to be friends with Seth.
    Shit. I was in so much trouble. My heart was in so much trouble.
    I couldn’t figure out why it took me so long to realize that what I wanted was him. I wanted Seth.
    With our gazes still locked and my heart pounding in my ears, I found myself lost inside eyes like the rolling plains of Ireland. It felt like he could see inside my soul. As if he knew what I had just come to understand. His eyes warmed the same time my body flushed.
    “I can’t believe we are all here again,” Olivia squealed excitedly, snapping me back from la-la land. “I am so glad you came.” She grabbed my hand in