Free Scorched Skies by Samantha Young Page A

around in paranoia, afraid The White King had spies watching her, waiting to see what people she treated with friendliness and affection. The people he could target next. Well she wouldn ’ t give him that. She ’ d protect her friends even if they hated her for it.
    Rachel frowned at her formalness. “Of course. We left messages on your answering machine. We even called around, but Charlie and that guy,” Rachel pointed over at Jai, “Told us you weren ’ t up to seeing anybody.” Her eyes narrowed as she glanced once more at Jai. “Who is that guy, Ari?” Staci nudged her and Rachel blanched. “I ’ m sorry. Never mind. I ’ m… I ’ m also sorry about what happened at the hospital.”
    Ari shrugged. “Don ’ t be.”
    “You must be so mad at the doctors for letting your dad out, for not catching the clot?”
    “They didn ’ t want Dad to leave. It was nobody ’ s fault,” she almost choked on the lie.
    Staci took a tentative step forward, her cheeks pale. “Do you need anything?” her voice cracked on the last word and Ari had to force herself not to pull the girl into a hug. “Do you want us to come home with you?”
    “Mom,” Rachel nodded a head over her shoulder to where her parents were standing by their car, “said you ’ re welcome to stay with us for as long as you want.”
    “Tell her that ’ s very kind, but I ’ m OK. I ’ ll be in touch.” With that last lie Ari pulled away from them, gripping onto Charlie ’ s hand and letting him lead her away. If he was surprised by her touching him, he didn ’ t show it. Instead he threw a ‘ don ’ t follow us ’ look over his shoulder at the girls and hustled Ari towards Jai. Ari felt sick. Really, really sick. She was afraid she was going to hurl on a gravestone. Rachel and Staci would never see her again. They ’ d assume she ’ d walked out of their lives with no explanation out of pure selfishness and they ’ d hate her for it.
    “Ari,” Charlie whispered, tightening his hold on her. “Breathe.”
    With a shudder, she sucked in crisp, metallic air and nodded wanly at Jai as they approached.
    “Everything OK?” her guardian asked quietly.
    “It will be,” Charlie replied and he said it with such conviction Ari almost believed him.
    Feeling better, Ari slipped her hand from his and got into the SUV. The guys followed suit, Jai driving.
    The car was filled with a heavy silence as they drove back towards town. The Sandford Ridge cemetery was on the southern outskirts of town and instead of taking the main route back in, Jai decided to lose the other mourners and take the quiet highway running between Fairmont Woods and pull back into Sandford at the northwest end. The road stretched before them in dreary emptiness and Ari had to shake herself out of her morbid thoughts. She watched the woodlands pass them by and listened to Charlie squirm a little in his seat. She was making the guys uncomfortable, but she really couldn ’ t care less right then.
    “What the…?” Jai ’ s quiet question brought her head up to the front windscreen. A few yards up ahead across the road, a thick fog had gathered and appeared to be moving towards them at a speed that seemed abnormal.
    “What ’ s going on?” Charlie asked, taking the question right out of Ari ’ s mouth.
    For some inexplicable reason her heart began to beat wildly in her chest. Something wasn ’ t right. Her spidey senses were tingling. “Jai?”
    And just like that a splutter, growl and creak brought the SUV to a stall. Jai cursed, unsnapping his seat belt as the fog flowed around the car that was now frozen in the middle of the highway like a sitting duck. “Stay here,” he ordered and jumped out of the car before Ari could protest.
    What was going on? Her eyes flew to Charlie but he was watching out front. She turned to see Jai walk around to the front of the car, his head cocked like he was listening for something. The waiting was making her heart go crazy and