Aaran was brought back from the depths of his thoughts by the heavy hand that landed on his shoulder. Only then did he noticed that he’d been unconsciously scratching the burning skin of his chest, as if doing so could somehow alleviate that annoying feeling.

“Aaran, you could have died in there,” Alexis told him, although there was no true reproach in his voice, and Aaran turned his back to where that ambulance had been, taking advantage of the commotion the escape any further questions.

“Hardly, Alex.”

“Human fire is far from being our element,” he insisted, following him closely, taking his time to make sure that Aaran was really unscathed.

“The girl was safe from the fire. That’s why she survived. Still, if we’d waited for the firemen to put it out she would have probably suffocated to death,” he replied indifferently and his attention fell over Hale that awaited them, leaning against his car, his arms crossed over his chest. “You disobeyed me,” he simply declared but that simple statement was more than enough to make Hale stand up right.

“She wanted to come.”

“That’s none of my concern, Hale. I told you she was to stay at home all night and you brought her here, to a place like this. Who do you think set that house on fire? The traces are so palpable that I’m almost sure they left them behind on purpose, just so we could find them. If it had been their intentions to ambush you, Sarah would have been in danger.”

“I came with her, didn’t I?”

“And you would have died, if Farran had been present,” Alexis added and Hale faced him fiercely.

“None of this would have happened in the first place if you hadn’t decided to protect that useless Human!”

“That’s a completely different matter, Hale. And one that doesn’t excuse your disobedience, nor your stupidity. There won’t be a second time, are we clear?” Aaran asked, slightly raising his voice, which made Alexis take a step back and Hale lower his head. “Alex, go and meet Sarah at the hospital. It would seem this was merely a warning. It’s Farran’s style, after all, to play with its prey before hunting it down. Still, you never know. Keep them safe. Hale and I will stay a bit longer and see if we can find any clues that might point out to where they came from.”

Alexis simply nodded before disappearing. Aaran rarely showed any emotions and Alexis was one of the few that actually knew how dangerous his emotions could be. The shadow of anger that had filled his voice a moment ago told him that it was best to obey without further complains. He just hopped Hale would share in his good sense and be smart enough not to anger him any further.

* If you want to know more about this book or simply access earlier updates, please visit the official site at http://carpersanti.net/gaea/

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