The new Mageia looked shell shocked, I thought as the cameras panned back and forth. Like previous Touchpoints, they were still wearing their Machi Thanatos gear, which was pretty standard: black tac pants and black t-shirts with the logo of their respective countries. What was different with this group was that each shirt had had the logo cut from it. Some were ragged like theyhad been ripped off; others looked like they had been cut with a knife. I’d never seen that happen before, and he wondered what the story was behind it.
There were about sixty or so Mageia on the stage, and literally a thousand or more Somas in the room. Odds were definitely not in the Soma’s favor. As I looked at the men and women lined up around me, the scent of desperation was strong in the room. After being rejected so many times, maybe itwasbetter not to even try.
From my position off stage, I watched as the line of five-star rated Somas began moving forward, stepping onstage and brushing fingers with the new Mageia, who seemed confused at the process. I guess I couldn’t blame them for their confusion. Before a few days ago it was likely they hadn’t even known theycouldbond with a Soma, much less how these things were handled in Illyria.
Then it happened: Two females, a Mageia and a Soma, touched fingers and both jerked their hands back as if stung. The women looked at each other for a moment in shock and awe as applause and shouts went up around them. I couldn’t hear the shouts but I could feel the reverberation of the sounds through the floor. It was believed that the stronger the response at a Touchpoint, the more powerful the pairing would be. The response he’d seen was a good indication they would make a great match.
The proctors herded the delighted Soma off the stage to one of the curtained off private areas to wait for the conclusion of the Touchpoint. The Mageia would still have to meet the other Somas, but with a response as strong as that, it was unlikely that there would be a more powerful match. Usually the magic just made a slight tingling sensation in the hands, not that kind of shock, unless both Soma and Mageia were very strong and an especially good match.
Of course, just because two people were compatible magically didn’t automatically mean that they would end up Bonded, but it was a strong indicator. They would be given the opportunity to get to know one another and make the decision of whether they would like to undergo the Bonding ritual.
It wasn’t common, but if a Mageia was compatible with more than one Soma, it was Mageia’s choice as to who they Bonded with. If they Bonded, they would be sent to a special training program fornewly Bonded pairs; it was another program established by Polemos. The Mageia could also choose not to Bond at all, but I hadn’t heard of a Mageia refusing a match in recent memory.
I had matched a couple of different times, but the Mageia had always chosen someone else to Bond with. I didn’t resent their choice, not really; I actually understood it, but it saddened me. I didn’t want to be a liability.
I stood on the opposite side of stage and watched as Dagan got to the stairs and began crossing, his right hand outstretched to lightly brush fingers with the Mageia in line. I held my breath as my friend moved slowly, taking his time, brushing his fingers through each of the outstretched hands. He was almost at the end of the stage when he and a female Mageia both jerked their hands back as if burned.
All the breath left my body as I watched my best friend find his match. The joy on Dagan’s face as he rubbed his hand then stepped forward and bowed to the female Mageia made something twist uncomfortably in his chest. The girl blushed and smiled at him before extending her hand. He took it and stepped forward. The proctors tried to convince her to return to the line, but she shook her head adamantly and Dag glared balefully at the proctors who tried to separate them. It happened like that sometimes; the match was justrightfor both participants.
I saw Dagan look around, and I knew he was looking for me.Shit.
The pair were escorted to the end of the stage and walked down the stairs. It took Dagan a moment to realize that it was Rhu in front of him and not some other soldier.
“Rhu!” he exclaimed when he realized it was me. “Rhu, this is Deliah! Deliah, this is my best friend, Rhuyin.”
I took her hand and felt a strong tingling sensation in my fingers. Time seemed to come to come to a screeching halt. I felt my eyes close a moment as I felt the tell-tale spark that sprang from Deliah’s hand to my own. It was stronger than any of the responses I’d gotten from Mageia in the past. But I just…couldn’t. I couldn’t do this to my best friend. Iwouldn’t. Dagan had stood by me foryears, helped me, supported me, practically made me part of his family. I would not betray him like that.
I opened my eyes and met Deliah’s, which were a warm brown that matched her golden skin. Dagan was distracted by well-wishers at just that moment, and Deliah glanced at our joined hands. She raised her eyes to mine and raised an eyebrow, but I shook my head at her.
“No,” was all I said, with a small glance at Dagan. She seemed to understand the weight of everything unsaid behind that single word, because she just nodded once before releasing my hand and smiling sadly at me.
Dagan was a good Soma and would do a great job protecting his Mageia. I had seen how Deliah had comforted some of the frightened and confused Mageia at the beginning of the Touchpoint. They would make a good pair.
I kept repeating it over and over in my head. It took another Soma prodding me from behind to realize I had lost track of the activities on the stage. I stepped aside to make room for the Somas who were stepping down from the stage.
As I quickly moved aside, I struggled desperately to keep focused. It wasn’t until a long while later that I realized that one of the proctors of the Touchpoint was Captain Kopanos himself. I swallowed hard, hoping the man wouldn’t notice me. The role he had held at the Academy had been much coveted, and the captain had never forgiven me for being the cause of his transfer. He had also never been promoted beyond the position of captain, something else he blamed me for.
The line slowly snaked around as all the Somas were presented to the new Mageia. If a Soma and Mageia seemed to have a reaction, the Soma was escorted to a waiting area to have the opportunity to spend time with their potential match. That was where Dagan and Deliah had been led.
My throat was dry and my hands more than a little shaky as I resumed my post. I felt like my heart caught in my throat as I saw Kopanos turn and spy me, his eyes narrowing.
Shit.
I refocused my gaze on the Mageia on the stage. Normally I would keep track of the number of matches that were registered to try and remember what my own odds were, but I had lost count when Dagan had matched. And of course, it didn’t matter anymore, since I would never take that stage again myself.
I could feel Kopanos’ eyes on me as I remained at the post as the ceremony was drawing to a conclusion. I knew many of the people around me were speaking to each other, but I tried not to read lips unless I was involved in the conversation. It was too much like eavesdropping for my tastes, but sometimes I couldn’t avoid catching snippets.
“…that hurt!”
“…cute ass, but I…”
“…weird custom. I would have thought—”
“…where the hell did Helios and Kat disappear to? Won’t…”
I watched as men and women I had walked beside during previous Touchpoints stepped forward, their senses focused on the hands they brushed. I imagined what they felt, their skin sliding over his own. Some hands were dirty, others calloused. Sometimes rough nails caught on skin, jagged and broken, but the faces blurred together. I could smell their scents, some fearful, some injured, some exhausted, but too many for me to identify any one person.
I tore his gaze from their faces to the back of the stage, trying not to think about the number of times I had crossed it, and the number of times I had been rejected.
