look with Ethan and Josh before turning to the double-sided mirror. My own reflection stared back at me.
Just as I was about to get up, Karen’s voice came through the speakers.
“That was incredible!” She sounded more animated, more excited than I’d ever heard her. So did the cacophony of chatter in the background. “Just amazing!” She cleared her throat, shushing some of the other excited nerds before speaking again in a slightly calmer tone. “Now we need to observe the abilities in action—to illustrate that Light has indeed been transferred.”
Needing no further instruction, Ethan and Josh got to their feet. Ethan curled his fingers, and a bright blue ball of menacing fire appeared, while Josh lifted the solid stone coffee table up to the ceiling with a flick of the wrist.
They had us repeat the process a few times, measuring the levels of Light and my vital signs, sometimes taking the guys into other testing areas where they could use their abilities to their full potential by basically blowing shit up.
While practicing was good, none of this was new to us. We were almost bored, going through the motions for the sake of the scientific process, to make sure everything was recorded accurately.
It wasn’t until toward the end of the session that we learned anything interesting. We were discussing what I’d observed about how the process of drawing Light to me worked, and I explained that I seemed to be able to draw it directly from specific individuals. In the next round of tests, Karen asked me to draw directly from Ethan and transfer to Josh.
Ethan stood at my back, his hand resting lightly on my hip. His other hand gripped mine, and I threaded my fingers through his.
Josh stood several feet away, his hands in the pockets of his chinos, his perfect lips turned up in a slight smile.
I was getting tired, but I inhaled deeply and focused on my connection to the fire fiend behind me. I took my time, making sure to block all other sources of Light while drawing on Ethan’s alone.
As with all things, when it came to my Bondmates, it came easier than anything. I didn’t even have to pull—I just opened my arms and his Light charged into my embrace.
As soon as my skin began to glow, I lifted my free arm and sent the Light to Josh. I nearly gasped as the sheer power of Ethan’s force flowed through me. For a few seconds, we were all connected. It felt incredible on a soul-deep level—so good I absentmindedly arched my back, a familiar ache in my lower belly building unexpectedly.
Ethan’s hand on my hip gripped tighter, and I shut the flow down, the glow fading.
Josh didn’t look so casual anymore. His hands were out of his pockets, his smile replaced by a much darker, more heated look.
Karen’s voice came through the speakers, throwing cold water on the moment. “Mr. Mason, if you would . . .”
She sounded a little amused, but Josh squared his shoulders and, as he’d done countless times already, lifted the coffee table into the air. The heavy piece of furniture burst into bright blue flames, singeing the ceiling and startling us all.
Josh’s panicked eyes flew to us. He was effortlessly keeping the flaming table off the ground and away from other flammable things, but he clearly had no idea what to do about the angry blue flames.
Ethan wrapped one big arm around my waist and reached the other over my shoulder. It took him longer than usual, but he put the fire out, and Josh lowered the charred, smoking mess back to the ground.
“What the fu—”
The door burst open, interrupting Josh’s confused utterance, and the entire research team swarmed into the room.
Some threw a barrage of rapid-fire questions at us, furiously writing everything down, while others inspected the coffee table. I was so fascinated myself I didn’t even mind the session was going past time. A flurry of theories buzzed through my mind, but I carefully avoided sharing too much of my own thoughts. If there was one thing I’d learned from both my upbringing and my time in Bradford Hills, it was when people knew things about you, they could use them against you.
After a solid half hour of this, and declarations that we had to repeat it in future sessions, they finally allowed us to leave. Everyone trickled out of the room, chatting excitedly. As Josh, Ethan, and I passed the door to the observation room,