New aura

From skin to meat to the bone. I hated it. Hated it. Hate.

I sighed. Then, experimental, I pushed out with my aura, while focusing on my mental image of Contessa. Seeing if there was a pulse, a clue. Anything even from my fragile, wretched companion.

I looked at Rain. He had his mask off and his hood down, and was pale enough in this gloom that old notches and scars on his face stood out. Other kids his age had circular scars from pimples, and Rain did have a couple of those, but mostly they were lines of pink, or marks in the skin.

More than anything, his eyes were wider.

I wanted to ask, and I didn't want to ask. The Scholar strangled the Monster, one fighting the other.

You need to know, Victoria.

"Sorry," I told Rain. Noncommittal. Hoping he'd clarify if my aura was different.

"I've dealt with worse," he said.

I hesitated, and then I asked, "Is it awe, fear, or something else?"

"It's always been fear. I've never felt your awe, exactly," he said. "So maybe it's the awe? I don't know."

I frowned. "If you had to give it any label at all, what would you call it?"

"Interest? Attraction. Like when I noticed Erin for the first time."

Of fucking course. I couldn't help but grimace.

I nodded. "Thanks for the clarification."

- Infrared 19.7