Part 5
A few seconds later, Veronica walked in. Her father stood up, his voice laced with nervousness: "Did you use your powers to teleport here?"
Veronica: "I don't want to be at school while I'm being watched."
Her father stepped toward her: "Even if you're being watched, you shouldn't use your powers. You're only helping them find you."
She sat down, her hands trembling visibly.
Father: "Aila, bring some water."
Veronica lifted her head and locked eyes with Ethan: "Who are you?"
He stepped toward her, holding out his hand: "I'm Ethan… I'm here to—"
The father interrupted him: "Ethan is the son of an old friend; he's a commander in the army."
She shook her head dismissively: "Okay… Can you leave? I want to talk to my dad alone."
Father: "You can talk in front of him; he knows everything."
She looked at her father in shock: "What are you saying? Did you tell him I'm different? But why? It's a secret, and you always told me I had to hide my powers!"
Father: "He'll protect you."
Veronica: "How? He's just an ordinary human! Were humans able to protect me when I was a child? And will they be able to protect me from Atlas?"
Aila approached, holding a glass of water: "Here you go, miss."
Veronica: "I don't want anything from anyone!"
She grabbed the glass and hurled it to the floor, shattering it into pieces. She turned quickly toward the door to leave, but she froze in her tracks.
The shards of glass were floating in the air right before her eyes.
Ethan moved calmly toward her, his gray eyes gleaming with a strange light. Veronica stared at him, her heart nearly stopping with fear. He drew closer, and with every step he took, the sharp shards of glass drifted nearer to her face.
She took a staggered step back, losing her balance. Just as she was about to fall, Ethan caught her firmly by the waist.
He leaned in and whispered, "Do you think you're the only one who's different, my sweetie?"