Free Tempest by Jenna-Lynne Duncan

irritated that he was starting it now. Now that Ana and I were
finally getting along.
    “What'd I do?” Ana
whispered, Luke’s behavior not going unnoticed.
    “You didn’t do
anything.” I shook my head in Luke’s direction as I helped Ana
get in the truck.
    We had barely pulled
away from the motel when Ana began her inquisition. “Well, go
ahead. You promised to give me answers.”
    “What do you want to
know?”
    “What did you mean by
'we’ll find out?' About your parents, I mean? And where are we
going?
    “We are going to my
parents' and that’s why we’ll find out.”
    “We’re going back
to New Orleans? But the aftermath…”
    “My parents live in
Tampa.”
    “So who you live with
in New Orleans?”
    I glanced at Luke to
answer her question.
    “Oh,” her mouth
formed a perfect O shape as she thought over the information I
had just given her. “So you live in a house by yourself in New
Orleans while your parents live in Tampa?”
    “Precisely.” This
wasn’t so bad after all. She could handle the truth.
    “And don’t you
think that’s a little odd, two seventeen-year-olds living alone in
a house?”
    I winced. “We may not
be exactly the age you think we are.”
    “I don’t
understand. Why do you live in New Orleans then?” Her voice had
risen and I was starting to rethink how good an idea this was.
    “Ana, please calm
down. I can explain.”
    “No! Stop telling me
what to do. Answer my question. Why were you in New Orleans?”
    “Because of you,”
Luke took that moment to answer one of her questions.
    “Don’t,” I warned
him.
    “No, I have the right
to know,” she told me, then turned back to Luke. Why were you in
New Orleans for me? I don’t understand. I don’t understand any of
it! You went to my school!”
    “That was an act,”
Luke shrugged, unconcerned with the consequences of his words.
    “You were in my
classes…” Ana’s voice trailed off and she gasped. I knew that
she had put too many pieces together. “Oh my God.” She hid her
face in her hands, horrified.
    “Ana, please calm
down. You have been under a lot of stress lately. Sansha’s potion
may be still in your system. When we get to my parents, they will
explain everything.” I had no choice but to introduce her to our
world now. Luke screwed up my plan to ease her into to it.
    Ana’s body was
responding at an alarming rate. She sucked in breaths, reminiscent of
the time she fainted near Sansha’s. Before I could respond, her
body went limp.
    Luke caught her in a
surprisingly gentle motion. “Keep driving, I got her.”
    I looked her over as
Luke laid her down to rest on his lap. I clenched my jaw. He wouldn’t
have had to “get her” if he had been the one driving. It had
started bothering me every time he touched her. Ana looked peaceful
yet again, now that she was asleep. I listened to her breathing for
any signs of trouble.
    I shook my head. How
could I forget she was human, how much she has been through? Her mind
had taken in too much and her body was trying to preserve itself. We
still had a few hours until we got to Tampa. I looked over again at
Ana on Luke’s lap and cursed. It was going to be a long couple of hours.

Chapter Twelve
    “Hayden!” My mother
met me in the driveway, hugging me with relief.
    “Mother,” I smiled,
though I had nothing to smile about. Luke remained in the car with
Ana who was still sleeping it off. He didn’t want to disturb her
until we moved her inside because he said he was “like her pillow.”
I clenched my fists. That was not his job to be her pillow!
What was going on with him, anyway?
    My father stood inside
the front door. “What are you all doing out here? Come inside,
already.”
    I cleared my throat.
“Well, we are not alone.”
    My father’s lips
parted and my mother could barely hide her excitement.
    “Where is she?” My
mother asked.
    “She has been through
a lot, especially with the kidnapping and the hurricane. She is still
sleeping