Empath (Book 1 of The Empath Trilogy)

  Ch. 54

  I was released from the hospital a few days later with James instructed to stay with me so that he could watch for any complications. He swore not to let me out of his sight. With a bubbling fullness in my chest, I knew that was true.

  My teachers allowed me through the end of the week to heal up since they were still under the impression I was recovering from my first abduction. It would be pushing my luck to ask for more time than that. Given my new capacity for rapid healing, I didn’t really need any more time anyway.

  Stephen was healing from his fight with Sasha. He was apparently stronger than I had thought. He’d taken down a vampire by himself, which was hard to do as he continually pointed out, and Troy and Tonya had taken the other female down. No one had heard anything about the third and we were assuming she was on her own and no longer a threat.

  Since returning to school, Stephen and I had lunch every day on campus and often walked to class together whenever the opportunity presented itself. Because no one knew where Bradley, Gaston and the boy had gone, I was still guarded about as well as any crowned princess. As a result, when I wasn’t with James or Henry, I was visiting Stephen or Tara. I liked visiting her now because the rest of the clan hung out there a lot and I was able to see them all quite frequently. Tara and I were also continuing with our practice sessions. James had told Henry what I had been able to do with the marks and projecting, and he was intrigued with my potential.

  Moving back into the dorm was not as hard as I had thought. Probably because I wasn’t there much. I felt slightly guilty for not getting my money’s worth out of the accommodations; however, James’ house felt more like home. And, as he’d said, I was welcome for as long as I wanted to be there.

  Our relationship had grown slightly more complicated. We were in love, but also were exploring the possibility that our need to be together might be more than a little tied to the psychic connection we shared. Henry and James were using their contacts within the supernatural community to learn more about psychic marks and their effects without giving too much of the “why’s” away, it wasn’t in any of our best interests to have it be common knowledge that a human and a vampire were tied together. In the meantime, I had to work to balance romance with academics.

  Mom and Dad started coming for lunch once a week and James often joined us. At first it had been a bit awkward, but my parents seemed to be genuinely fond of James. And James was excited about my dad teaching him about woodworking. That I couldn’t wait to see.

  It was still a very tempting idea to go abroad for a while, although for now I was busy playing catch up before finals. I had lost a few weeks of studying with all of my near death experiences. Also, James did confirm he would accompany me anywhere in the world I wanted to go. For now I was living only for today, because who knew what the future would bring.

  Acknowledgements

  This is the third edition of this series and, even though I’m sure my editors are tired of it, I still love these characters and have to thank them most of all for coming to me and letting me tell their story.

  I would like to thank, as always, my family and friends for acting as sounding boards and for giving me their honest opinions when I needed them most. Leslie and Dawn for being more than patient test readers and keeping my ego intact while doing so. Of course, my husband for being my biggest supporter and best friend, and my mom for encouraging me to keep trying.

  Also, to my editors, Sean, Sarawho tirelessly read and re-read each book, challenging me to make sure they’re perfect. And helping me laugh when they aren’t. The wonderful cleanup artists, Katie and Brittany who make extra extra sure it all makes sense and help us all look good.

  And lastly, to Grace without whom I never would have taken the chance.