logged off at once, leaving nothing but dark screens behind. I raked one hand over my face, suddenly feeling a wave of exhaustion crashing against me. Sighing heavily, I looked for the nearest chair and sank down on it.
“I don’t understand it,” I whispered. “I don’t understand what’s going on. It’s just crazy.”
“I know,” Soren said. He pulled up a chair and sat right in front of me, so close that I could breathe in his scent. “I think there’s an explanation for what we’re going through. In fact, I’m pretty certain of what this is about. These urges that we’re feeling… It’s just like you said, they aren’t normal. They are extraordinary. I can promise you that much.”
Indeed. Even as he spoke, I could feel that pull again, that desire to be closer to him. And as he gave me a tender look, my heart beat faster.
“There’s a scientific explanation for what we’re feeling, Maya. And it’s something that can make us both very happy, if we only allow it happen.”
I frowned. “How do I know you’re telling me the truth? I’m not even sure what you’re getting at.”
He hesitated for a second, but then leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath.
“There’s a test I can do, but…”
“But?”
“Since you don’t trust me, I don’t think I should suggest it.”
“Oh, Soren, come on.” I sighed. “Enough with vague statements. What kind of test are you talking about?”
“A blood test.”
“A blood test, really? How does a blood test have anything to do with what I’m feeling?”
“Look, I didn’t choose to feel like this, either. I understand your confusion and frustration.” Soren sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “For what it’s worth, I can’t stop thinking about you. And I don’t know exactly why, either. I suspect, but without the test, I can’t say for certain. All I know is when I close my eyes, I see your face. When the world is quiet, I hear your voice. When I smell flowers, I imagine it’s your perfume. I want you so badly it’s making me crazy.”
My breath hitched, and my skin buzzed with that electricity Soren always sparked in me. He felt the same way I did. And he didn’t know how to handle it either.
“What’s the reason for this...connection?” I asked him, and this time I made a point of smoothing out my tone. I just couldn’t be angry at him. I couldn’t blot out all of my mistrust either, but my anger was easier to put aside. “Aiken said something about a gene. What was he talking about?”
Soren grimaced, and it was easy to tell that he was reticent about whatever this mystery gene was. “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you more than that. Not yet.” He matched my tone, his voice dipping into a careful whisper. “I know that there are things you’re not ready to tell me either, Maya. Like the true reasons for all your mistrust. Like what happened to your sister.”
I swallowed hard, not realizing he’d been that perceptive. Or perhaps I wasn’t as good at hiding as I thought.
“I guess you’re right.” It wasn’t easy to admit but it actually made me feel better to be candid about it. “I guess we’re all stuck with our secrets, aren’t we? Even Dylan seems to have secrets of his own.”
We said nothing after that. We just sat there in the room’s silence while that magnetism that propelled us toward each other seemed to charge the air around us. Despite everything—my suspicions, my anger, my frustration—it felt like those feelings inside me simply refused to go away.
“I’m just going to check on Dylan,” Soren said all of a sudden, wearily rising from his chair. His tone was now professional and clipped, and that made my heart clench even tighter. “I’m confident that he’ll get much better now, but I still want to keep a close eye on him.”
Before he left, though, he stopped before the door and looked back over his shoulder. His eyes found mine for a split second, and his lips pulled into a sad smile. I knew that he wanted the same thing I did—for us to be able to trust each other—but we couldn’t yet. And the way things were going, I wasn’t sure if we’d ever be able to at all.
9
Soren
“Damn…” Kain leaned back in his seat, whistling through his teeth as he finished watching the recording of the video call with Aiken and the Prospero siblings