"No." I spoke so quickly, my eyes widened in surprise. I hadn't known that I knew any of that.
"Why not?" Saren knew. She measured every thought I had. "Why not, Davy?"
"Because he's powerful," I blurted out. The knowledge simmered beyond my reach. Now I grabbed it. "He's powerful because his blood is in me. He's connected to me."
Saren smiled and stepped back. "You're doing well. You might not need my help."
I frowned. I wasn't sure how I felt about that.
"He's more powerful than all the hunters." She still watched me.
I nodded. I hadn't known that, but it made sense.
"You don't like that?"
"Like what? That he's connected to me?"
She took a stalking step towards me. "That really bothers you. You don't like that he's connected to you, do you? You really don't like it."
I looked away, but I couldn't ignore what she'd said. Did I like it? No. I'll be honest. Everything was too much. I wasn't ready for this, much less ready for my abilities to help someone else. Roane was something personal, too personal to me. I didn't enjoy that I helped him become more powerful. At least, I didn't enjoy that I hadn't made that decision. It was taken from me.
"He doesn't know how powerful he is." Saren glided close behind me. "He knew you were the Immortal, but he didn't know your power would go to him. That's not why he wanted you to take his blood."
"Then why?" I turned back around. "No riddles. I need to know."
"Because he was answering something inside of him. Something in him beckons to him just like I beckon to you. It doesn't make sense, but it will. Someday. And as for what you heard just now, you needed to know they were here. You're the Immortal. You'll start to know everything that happens, whether you want to know or not. Right now, I'd be less worried about the Roane Elders and more worried about that Mother Wolf. She's a bitch."
And I needed more on my plate. "I'm supposed to go to an empath meeting. My sponsor is making me go."
Saren laughed. "I'm your sponsor, Davy. Don't go. You'll overwhelm them. They'll feel inside of you and most won't make it to the hospital. Trust me. And dump Blue as your sponsor. She doesn't mean well in the end."
My eyes snapped to her. "What do you mean by that? She's like a mother to me."
Saren smirked and stepped back. I felt her absence before it happened so I reached out and grabbed her arm. "Don't go."
She glared at my hand. I felt like it had been scorched and I let go. I didn't have another second to react. Saren was gone. I almost expected a puff of smoke to linger where she'd been, but there was nothing. Just air. Now I was really frustrated.
"Davy?" Emily called out behind me. "I thought you were leaving for something? Where do you go all the time?"
My roommate was such the inquisitive one. I wasn't too worried. She'd forget about it in two seconds, but I was relieved to see that her normal coloring had come back to her cheeks. In the broad sunlight, she almost looked like nothing had happened. She had changed to a similar outfit that Saren had worn, but her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Pippa was dressed in something that made her look like a hippie, complete with the same two braids as before. The shirt was full of flowers and her pants were brown suede?
"Davy," Emily spoke again.
"Oh. Right. I'm not going anymore. Something…I changed my mind."
"Oh. Well, we're going to get some breakfast. Did you want to come with?"
Pippa shifted behind my roommate, but the movement was so small. I wouldn't have noticed it four weeks ago. When she refused to meet my gaze, I shook my head. "I'm going to head to the library instead. There's something I need to look up."
Emily frowned. "You're going to do homework?"
"Yeah."
"By yourself?"
"Who else would I go with?"
"I'm the one who usually forces you to do homework. With me. And you're going alone?" My roommate looked too speculative for my taste. "Are you sick?"