my own?
I had never been good at these kinds of decisions.
Zayvion told me once that I was not a killer. I remembered that now. Remembered him laughing, remembered him reaching out to me as a bullet tore through me. Strange, the things you think of in the last moments of your life.
I walked over to Zayvion, letting the net he cast glide over my head, then continue on to land somewhere behind me. I stood so close to him, I could feel the heat of his body.
The memory of his smile, of his body, strong, warm, naked, against mine flashed through me. He had been there for me, more than anyone but Nola. If I had the time, I would mourn the loss of that, the loss of him.
I placed my hand on his chest. Even though I was fast, too fast, and all the world was too slow, I know he felt my touch. His body tensed.
I am not a killer. Not if there is any other choice. And I was making another choice. A choice for both of us.
I reached into his mind. Just like he told me Soul Complements should not, because once Soul Complements touched mentally, they would not be able to let go. And now I understood that.
Oh, baby, it felt wonderful to be touching him like this. It felt right.
Zayvion arched his back in pleasure, and I felt his pleasure under my skin as if it were my own. Sweet loves, this was good.
I felt him laugh inside my mind, inside my mouth, echoing through me, as if we were one person, not two. Joined. Soul Complements.
I gloried in it. Never wanted it to end.
But I am a stubborn woman.
“Tag,” I said. “You’re it.” Then I knocked him unconscious.
Zayvion crumpled at my feet.
And somebody threw a lead coat over my shoulders. All the magic in me, all the magic I was pulling out of the well, pumped out of me in a heartbeat.
I was suddenly emptied.
Whoa.
I lost my knees, fell on my ass next to Zayvion, who stirred, already waking up. Gotta love a man with stamina.
Maeve stood above us. She didn’t look happy. I didn’t know what her problem was. We were both still alive. Wasn’t that the point of all this?
“I am going to remove the void stones,” she said like a traffic cop telling me which way to go and how. “You are not going to draw upon the magic in the well. Do you understand me?”
“Yes.” Weird, but my voice came out all breathy, like I was exhausted or something.
Maeve removed the lead coat, and I got a look at it. Not a coat, but a blanket with tiny, round, black river rocks sewn into it. Void stones, like the one she’d put on my lap. Smart woman.
“This was not a test to see if you were Soul Complements,” she admonished.
Zayvion moaned, swore. And yes, Maeve was angry at me, but I couldn’t help but grin as Zayvion blinked up at me and realized where he was. Namely, flat on his back on the floor.
He moaned again. “I can’t believe you did that.” He dropped his hand on my knee, and levered to sit.
“Hey, I was supposed to use anything and everything to survive, right?” And even though I was smiling, a sick sort of dread gripped my throat. What if I had done permanent damage to him? What if I had done permanent damage to us? What if I had failed the test and now they were going to take all my memories away? My life away?
Zayvion’s hand was still on my knee. “They’re not going to take all your memories away.”
“Did you hear me think that?” I asked.
He nodded, and in my mind I heard him say, Loud and clear.
His voice in my mind was not at all like my father’s voice. His voice was familiar, comforting, warm.
Are you always going to be able to hear my thoughts? I thought.
We’ll have to find out.
He pulled his hand away from my knee. We were close, just inches away from each other, but we were not touching.
“Think something,” he said.
I thought how maybe I’d like to get the hell out of here.
He shook his head. “I didn’t hear you. Can you hear this?”
I listened, strained to hear him in my mind. Nothing.
“So only when we touch?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said. But he didn’t sound very sure of it.
There had been a lot of noise going on around us. A lot