I cling to Adam’s fingers as I lift my head.
Castle is standing over our table and Kenji is leaving to deposit his bowl in the kitchen. He claps Castle on the back like they’re old friends and Castle flashes Kenji a warm smile as he passes.
“I’ll be right back,” Kenji shouts over his shoulder, twisting to flash us an overly enthusiastic thumbs-up. “Try not to get naked in front of everyone, okay? There are kids in here.”
I cringe and glance at Adam but he seems oddly focused on his food. He hasn’t said a word since Castle arrived.
I decide to answer for the both of us. Paste on a bright smile. “Good morning.”
Castle nods, touches the lapel of his blazer; his stature is strong and poised. He beams at me. “I just came to say hello and to check in. I’m so happy to see that you’re expanding your circle of friends, Ms. Ferrars.”
“Oh. Thank you. But I can’t take credit for the idea,” I point out. “You’re the one who told me to sit with Kenji.”
Castle’s smile is a little too tight. “Yes. Well,” he says, “I’m happy to see that you took my advice.”
I nod at my food. Rub absently at my forehead. Adam looks like he’s not even breathing. I’m about to say something when Castle cuts me off. “So, Mr. Kent,” he says. “Did Ms. Ferrars tell you she’ll be training with Kenji now? I’m hoping it will help her progress.”
Adam doesn’t answer.
Castle soldiers on. “I actually thought it might be interesting for her to work with you, too. As long as I’m there to supervise.”
Adam’s eyes snap up to attention. Alarmed. “What are you talking about?”
“Well—” Castle pauses. I watch his gaze shift between the two of us. “I thought it would be interesting to run some tests on you and her. Together.”
Adam stands up so quickly he almost bangs his knee into the table. “Absolutely not.”
“Mr. Kent—,” Castle starts.
“There’s no chance in hell—”
“It’s her choice to make—”
“I don’t want to discuss this here—”
I jump to my feet. Adam looks ready to set something on fire. His fists are clenched at his sides, his eyes narrowed into a tight glare; his forehead is taut, his entire frame shaking with energy and anxiety.
“What is going on?” I demand.
Castle shakes his head. He’s not addressing me when he speaks. “I only want to see what happens when she touches you. That’s it.”
“Are you insane—”
“This is for her,” Castle continues, his voice careful, extra calm. “It has nothing to do with your progress—”
“What progress?” I cut in.
“We’re just trying to help her figure out how to affect nonliving organisms,” Castle is saying. “Animals and humans we’ve figured out—we know one touch is sufficient. Plants don’t seem to factor into her abilities at all. But everything else? It’s … different. She doesn’t know how to handle that part yet, and I want to help her. That’s all we’re doing,” he says. “Helping Ms. Ferrars.”
Adam takes a step closer to me. “If you’re helping her figure out how to destroy nonliving things, why do you need me?”
For a second Castle actually looks defeated. “I don’t really know,” he says. “The unique nature of your relationship—it’s quite fascinating. Especially with everything we’ve learned so far, it’s—”
“What have you learned?” I jump in again.
“—entirely possible,” Castle is still saying, “that everything is connected in a way we don’t yet understand.”
Adam looks unconvinced. His lips are pressed into a thin line. He doesn’t look like he wants to answer.
Castle turns to me. Tries to sound excited. “What do you think? Are you interested?”
“Interested?” I look at Castle. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about. And I want to know why no one is answering my questions. What have you discovered about Adam?” I ask. “What’s wrong? Is something wrong?” Adam is breathing extra hard and trying not to show it; his hands keep clenching and unclenching. “Someone, please, tell me what’s going on.”
Castle frowns.
He’s studying me, confused, his eyebrows pulled together. “Mr. Kent,” he says, still looking at me. “Am I to understand that you have not yet shared our discoveries with Ms. Ferrars?”
“What discoveries?” My heart is racing hard now, so hard it’s beginning to hurt.
“Mr. Kent—”
“That’s none of your business,” Adam snaps.
“She should know—”
“We don’t know anything yet!”
“We know enough.”
“Bullshit. We’re not done yet—”
“The only thing left is to test the two of you together—”
Adam steps directly in front of Castle, grabbing his breakfast tray with a little too much strength. “Maybe,” he says very, very carefully, “some other time.”
He turns to leave.
I touch his arm.
He stops. Drops his tray, pivots in my direction. There’s less than half an inch between us and I almost forget we’re standing in a crowded room. His breath is hot and his breathing shallow and the heat from his body is melting my blood only to splash it across my cheeks.
Panic is doing backflips in my bones.
“Everything is fine,” he says. “Everything is going to be fine. I promise.”
“But—”
“I promise,” he says again, grabbing my hand. “I swear. I’m going to fix this—”
“Fix this?” I think I’m dreaming. I think I’m dying. “Fix what?” Something is breaking in my brain and something is happening without my permission and I’m lost, I’m so lost, I’m so much everything confused and I’m drowning in confusion. “Adam, I don’t underst—”
“I mean, really though?” Kenji is making his way back to our group. “You’re going to do that here? In front of everyone? Because these tables aren’t as comfortable as they look—”