Our arrival hadn’t gone unnoticed. Several Guard stared, others made it a point to ignore us. Jackson and I were the black sheep of the team and I could imagine what they were thinking right now. Although I was glad I couldn’t. I counted at least two dozen Guard as we made our way to the football field where there were almost a hundred empty blue and gold painted chairs set up on the grass.
Jackson pointed to the last row of chairs. “Let’s set up back here.”
“You don’t have to protect me from them,” I said, looking into his hardened gaze.
He shrugged. “I’m not. These are the best seats in the house.”
I scanned the area, remembering the night before Ally’s birthday when the field teemed with Shadowed and we came close to losing. Only Cooper’s bravery had kept me and Ally’s body safe. He’d fought tooth and nail for us, yet I hadn’t had time to thank him. I thought I’d found a friend but I’m pretty sure there was a proximity factor involved in our friendship as we’d barely had a conversation since training started. Not that it wasn’t completely my fault for creating that gap…
“You okay?” Jackson asked cutting off my thoughts.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Nothing will happen,” he said softly, as he tilted his head indicating the rest of the Guard. “She is going to be safe, I think there are more Guard here than humans.”
I blinked a few times and turned away. Of course he was talking about Ally. I should have been thinking about her too.
Focus, I channeled Jackson’s constant reminder.
Families and friends of the graduates settled onto the bleachers on the far side of the field. I spotted Marie in the crowd, settling in her seat, smoothing her floral print dress across her lap. She adjusted her oversized white hat and looked up at Henry who held her matching purse as he sat down next to her. His hand moved to her lap, weaving his fingers in hers.
Who would have thought?
I’d been too busy when I was in Ally’s body to realize that the both of them had a life outside of taking care of her. One that was closer than I’d thought.
Jackson nudged me. “It’s starting.”
The student band began an upbeat song filled with off-beat drums and clashing cymbals. I tuned them out and focused on the entrance to the field as the crowd held its collective breath, waiting for a recognizable face.
They marched in procession in alternating blue and gold caps and gowns, but I didn’t need to look too hard for Ally. Six Guard flanked the middle of the procession on either side.
Ally’s golden hair shone against the blazing afternoon sunlight. Her transformation had intensified her beauty and, like her classmates and others in the crowd, I found her hard to ignore. Her head tilted up as she scanned the bleachers. Some might think it was a ‘holier than thou’ stature, but I knew it was the fact that the Guard were blocking her view as some of them were taller than her.
A tugging sensation pulled my attention to the spot next to her. Cooper marched proudly by her side. I could feel his excitement from our distance although underneath his grin he appeared distracted. He checked out the crowd, one face at a time. I’d heard from Calliope, one of the few times she’d spoken to me in the last few months, that Ally had been moved to a secure location in the After when she wasn’t at school. She had used some money from her father’s inheritance to do some ‘renovations’ at the house to hide the fact that she needed to keep hidden until Felix was sure the threat from the Shadowed was over. Hence the increased Guard patrol for her graduation.
I kept the blond boy in my periphery as they neared, but I couldn’t pretend not to notice his gray eyes when they found me. Cooper held my gaze even as he walked and I didn’t need to turn to know what Jackson’s expression would be. Cooper’s mouth quirked up and he tossed me a small wave before his eyes flicked toward Jackson, revealing a not so nice grimace.
Jackson let out a low hiss.
Not that I expected them to suddenly get along, but I thought they’d at least be civilized since we were all on the same side.
The front of the line moved down the aisle closer to where we stood. I fought to keep my eyes off Cooper and duly spotted Ally’s ex-boyfriend, Seth, walking at the front of the line. He looked thinner. I could imagine how miserable Ally had made his life after getting back into her body and discovering he’d cheated on her with one of her best friends. Then Jamie came into view and I waved to her. She beamed back, giving me a quick wave with her good arm before skipping toward the stage and taking her place in the front row.
The memory of how I’d involved Jamie in Ally’s case came flooding back to me. It was my fault she was close enough that night for the Shadowed to take her and break her arm while restraining her. Jackson had reiterated that it wasn’t my fault, but I don’t think I could ever let it go or forgive myself. That was, until she was at least completely healed.
Heather flounced by, her long locks traded for a short brunette bob whispering across the glossy fabric of her gold gown. She’d always been a happy girl, but today she absolutely glowed. I understood why when house-party Brody snuck up from a few students behind her and she slid his arm around her waist. He held her close as they walked together to their seats.
Krystal and Ally arrived several students behind them. Krystal had been one of my main suspects in Ally’s disappearance but it turned out her big secret was her antics with Seth behind Ally’s back. I glanced at Ally who appeared unfazed and wondered how much of it was an act. When I had inhabited her body I’d felt her devotion and love for Seth, I’m sure it was a blow to her ego, and not just her heart, to find out about Krystal and Seth. I watched Krystal shuffle quickly up the line while Ally used the grass as her own personal runway. Even though the gold gown wasn’t flattering on any of the girls, Ally made it work for her. Her eyes found mine as she passed. The eyes I saw through for a week. They definitely looked better on her. A small smile touched her lips as she proceeded.
The rest of the students filed into their seats just as the band completed their song.
“Finally,” Jackson moaned.
I stifled a laugh and watched a top-heavy man approach the podium on the stage.
“Students, families, and friends,” he started, his voice echoing across the field. “Today is a momentous occasion for these amazing individuals who sit before me.”
His voice faded to the background as I scanned the crowd. The Shadowed hadn’t attempted any other contact with Ally or me since that night, but with the number of Shadowed who got away that night, I knew we couldn’t be too careful.
A man caught my attention. Everyone else sat on the bleachers, but he stood in front of them. I recognized him almost immediately: Jamie’s father, Robert Blackhorn. He was leaning against a chain-link fence separating the field from the crowd. His navy suit was tailored to his thin frame and his blond curls jutted out from under a hat. But it wasn’t his outfit that caught my attention. It was his hardened glare in the direction of my great-granddaughter, Ally.
I bumped Jackson with my elbow. “Hey.”
“I see him.”
Of course he did.
Always one step ahead of me.
“Shouldn’t he seem a little happier to see his daughter graduate?”
Jackson’s mouth twitched, but he stayed calm, professional. “I’ll be right back.” Jackson disappeared and reappeared behind Robert. At least mine wasn’t the only personal space he managed to challenge. What was he going to do? Become corporeal? I think the sword would cause a scene.
“Hey.” Cooper’s voice spoke close to my ear, jolting