The Change (Unbounded) by Teyla Branton Page B

times grander than all the other houses we’d passed. I had the impression of endless manicured lawns, towering trees, elaborate flowerbeds, ornate pillars, and many windows before I was whisked inside.
    “We’ll meet you in the gym,” Ava told Ritter. “I’ll show Erin to the main floor guest room. Will you be staying tonight?”
    “Yes, but don’t bother to make up a room. I probably won’t use it.” Another glance at me had my face flaming. Was his comment related to me and my strange attraction to him?
    “Unbounded can’t read minds or anything, can they?” I asked as Ava led me down the hall.
    Her step hesitated ever so slightly. “A few Unbounded have the ability of being sensitive to others’ feelings, depending on the situation and how well they know the person. Extreme emotion or stress can accentuate or hinder the ability. It’s unreliable even in the best of times, but still helpful, even vital, for many operations. It’s a talent the Emporium most desires, though fortunately their inbreeding hasn’t been successful at giving them enough of what they want.” Two seconds of silence, and then she added, “Why do you ask?”
    “Ritter makes me uncomfortable.”
    She laughed. “He makes everyone uncomfortable. But don’t worry—his ability is combat, not mind reading. Besides, anyone can learn to block a casual reading, and there are other methods we use when going up against the Emporium to protect ourselves.”
    “And I guess they use those same methods against you.”
    “Of course.”
    Some part of me noticed the details of the carved wood panels that bordered the hallway, the elaborate crown molding, the many light fixtures, and the elegant furniture, the exquisite paintings that were probably originals, but for the most part I felt numb to the sensory information. What was opulence when compared to near immortality?
    “Ah, here we are.” She pushed open a door to the guest room, or guest suite, rather, since we entered a spacious sitting room that connected to a bedroom. The walls were papered in here, but they had the same crown molding and elegant furnishings in shades of calming blue. “Dimitri bought you clothes today, and I had the housekeeper put them in the closet. You won’t be disappointed. Dimitri has a good eye.”
    “He’s had enough years to learn, I guess.” I kept my words light, but I was touched that he’d taken the time.
    “Hurry and change into something appropriate, so I can show you to the gym before I leave.” She didn’t trust me. I could tell from the deliberate casualness of her comment, the alert way her body moved.
    “When can I see my family?”
    She sighed. “Be patient. You have a lot of time.”
    “They don’t.”
    She gave me a wistful smile. “No. They don’t. Look, go along with this meeting in New York on Saturday, and then we’ll set something up with your family.”
    “I have no skills. I can’t help you.”
    At that she smiled. “I believe you have the potential to become one of the most valuable Renegades alive today. Your talent just needs to be awakened.”
    I snorted. “Even if fighting is my talent, I’d hardly have the corner on the market. You and Ritter are far more skilled.” Something didn’t add up here. There was more I didn’t understand, more she wasn’t willing to tell me.
    “Don’t worry about your skills, or lack of them. Ritter will prepare you well enough physically. I’ll brief you more thoroughly on the plane to New York, but for now, only a few of us know all the details. It’s safer that way.”
    Safer? Or an excuse to lead me on?
    Keeping my doubts to myself, I took a few steps toward the bedroom door. “Whose house is this? Dimitri’s?”
    “It belongs to a friend of ours.”
    “Unbounded?”
    “Of course. He lent it to us when we came to Kansas.”
    “Yet you also have that house next to my grandmother’s.”
    “You visited her often. It was a good way to see you.”
    Keep tabs on me, she