Free Flutter (The Discover Series) by Melissa Andrea Page B

sun so unstable and with this storm coming in unexpectedly, the process will most likely take a little longer than planned. So we, and by we , I mean you , just need to be patient.”
    I could feel the corner of my mouth tug up, and I gave Aaron a crooked grin; I knew it didn’t reach my eyes, but the gesture was what mattered. Maybe I had this kid all wrong. He had enough backbone to stand up to me, and that made him deserve a little less attitude from me.
    “As you can see I’m not a very patient person or a people’s person these days.” I said in a form of an apology.
    “Really?” he mocked sarcastically, and my grin widened. “I hadn’t noticed.” He grinned back and I laughed, all was forgiven.
    The tension between us seemed to blow away with the chilly wind, and I went back to my pacing. I could feel my forehead distort with aggravation, but I couldn’t help it. I just wanted her to be out of that ice hole so I could breathe easier; not that I wouldn’t still worry about her, but I could control the worry to a bare minimum by actually being able to see her. Aaron started to speak, and I figured listening to him would be a good diversion.
    “We have been doing this for hundreds of years Adan, so we pretty much have the process perfected. Her Watcher is very familiar with the way we do things, and from what I hear, has been doing this with her since she turned five.”
    That surprised me, “Since she was five? How can that be? Does that mean she knows who she is?”
    “That I don’t know. Her parents, the counsel, they had planned out all the safety precautions before she escaped with her Watcher. Her whereabouts were something only the King and Queen had known - well besides the Watcher of course. Everything was kept from the rest of our people, so no matter how much the Dark One s tortured us we wouldn’t have anything to give to them.”
    Something dark and sad crept into Aaron’s eyes, and I wondered if someone close to him had been one of the very few unlucky to come into contact with a Dark One . I decided not to ask him about it.
    “How did they escape? The Watcher and Princess I mean.” I asked wondering how many of their kind knew the actual truth. 
    “No one knows for sure really, but everyone has some sort of theory and they’ve just evolved over time. The most recent, and now common one, is that her Watcher had help from an Earth Creature.”
    “An Earth Creature?” I asked.
    “That’s what we call your kind.”
    “Why?” I asked. This was a story I had never heard before.
    “Because of your fur,” He said matter-of-factly. “They are all earth tones. Your kind looks like they were created from the soil of your land. And legends have it that they really were.” He sounded impressed, and I knew that I was. His people were smart.
    He looked to me for an answer, but I had just thought of something and suddenly everything made sense to me. Aaron had just given me the last piece of the puzzle. “Is that why they are coming after us?”
    He looked at me like the answer to my question was obvious, but up until now it hadn’t been.
    “Of course, didn’t you know that?”
    “No. We could tell they were coming at us harder, but we didn’t understand what they wanted or what they were looking for. Those who had come into contact with them had been too badly traumatized to answer questions. Some were even less fortunate.”
    That same, dark look from before reshaped the lines on his face and his tone of voice matched. “That’s what they do best. They prey on the weak and unprotected.”
    I wondered who he had lost to them; and I suddenly felt very guilty. “Why do your people think one of us was there?”
    “There is a family in our village; they’re extremely popular and highly trusted. One of the sons from the family swears his father was there, the night the Princess and her Watcher escaped with the Earth Creature. The Dark One s must have gotten word of that, and they’re