“So you realized you could command the shadows when you were twenty-two,” I repeat. “How long after that did you come across a wraithwolf?” I ask the question that’s been burning inside me fordays.
“I was wondering when you’d bring that up again.” He looks to the ceiling, his face focused before releasing an annoyed laugh. A reaction that doesn’t make sense, and I know I’m missing something.
Those who command the same element will experience a mind link, allowing them to communicate telepathically, even across great distances.
Which means he can speak with the wraithwolf, even when they aren’t in the same room, and something tells me that’s exactly what he’s doing.
“What did it say?” I ask, and when the edge of his mouth tugs up, I know that I’m right.
“You’re an observant one, aren’t you?”
“You’re easy to observe,” I tell him casually. The corner of his mouth tilts up even more.
“Are you saying you like to look at me, Nova?” And there it is again. That nickname, the one he so rarely calls me, the one I want to hear him call me again.
“Beats staring at the walls.”
He chuckles, and it’s far too pleasant a sound.
“Now tell me, what did your wraithwolf say?”
“He said he likes you. Even more so when you’re yelling at me.”
My grin widens. “He must like me a lot then. Can I meet him someday? I’ve never seen a wraithwolf before.”
He hesitates, but then he says, “That can be arranged.”
My heart races at the thought.
“What’s it like? Having him inside your head? Is he always there?”
“He’s there when I allow him to be. But he keeps his pathway always open, which I’ve begged him not to do. It’s a bit unsettling hearing his inner monologue about the animal he’s feasting upon, but I can close things on my end. For the most part though, histhoughts are a welcomed distraction, and oftentimes, I prefer viewing the world through his eyes.”
Fascinating.
“How did he find you? Or how did you find each other?”
“He found me on the beach. The one I took you to,” he says, his brow furrowing as if reliving a painful memory. “Or at least, that’s where he firstfeltme. I had a…difficult day, my ability to wield shadows had recently surfaced, and my father…”
He stops, and I worry he’ll never tell me. I worry he’ll shut me out and forbid me this glimpse into his life. A glimpse that, for some reason, Idesperatelywant.
“Let’s just say he was a bit displeased. So I was venting my frustrations to the sea, and I—” He looks to the ceiling again, shaking his head, and I want to do the same because I know there’s more to it than that.
“What’s he saying now?” I ask, more than confident his wolf interrupted him.
“Ajja wants me to tell it more accurately.” He pulls his bottom lip into his teeth. “I wasyellingat the sea, and somehow, he could hear me. He was across the continent, but the pathway between us had opened, if only just barely, allowing us to start hearing each other’s thoughts, and a few weeks later, he found me.”
“Was that strange? Hearing him in your head for the first time?”
“I guess you could say strange would describe it.” He scratches at the stubble lining his jaw. “I nearly fell off my horse the first time I heard him.”
“And you both accepted the Etherbond?” I ask.
“We did.”
“Isn’t that reckless? Dangerous? Your lives are linked now. If something were to happen to him—” The words pour out of me,but I clamp my mouth shut when I realize my tone sounds far more concerned than it should.
My stomach drops when I notice how he’s looking at me, like he’s just as surprised by my outburst as I am.
