When I saw Quinn’s abused, dying body, all I could think of was saving her. But now we had to live with the consequences.
I pressed a hand to my stomach. I chained this woman to me. The full weight of her presence existed inside my chest.
Academically, I understood what a tether was, but actually living with one blew my mind.
It was incredible and horrible.
Incredible, because I felt her; horrible, because I couldn’t look away.
My mental powers let me read surface thoughts and go deeper if I was willing to sacrifice awareness of my body. But it didn’t let me observe the day-to-day sensations another person went through.
I knew a woman I’d never met better than the back of my hand.
She was not a morning person. The train shifts left her miserable, with small knocks and bruises every morning. I didn’t know how she did it; I only felt the ache. I didn’t know how she hurt herself, only that it hurt.
Her emotions changed on a dime. One minute she’d be laughing, and the next, a wave of unease washed it away. However, I couldn’t see her surroundings to know what she responded to.
Her gut panged with hunger; unless she was with friends, she didn’t eat. I didn’t understand what was going through her head to make those choices.
I lifted my hand; a vague outline slowly resolved in the dark.
Maybe I didn’t know her at all.
‘Are you with Quinn?’I’d asked my lover last night.
‘Yes.’
One word. That was all he gave me.
I dropped my hand onto my face, torn between screaming into my pillow and suffocating my lover with it.
They were together, but I didn’t know why. Ezra disapproved of my actions. If he hated her, then he wouldn’t be training her. His gym was almost sacred. Yet, without fail, he took the time to work with the woman I tethered.
My lover valued hard work and dedication more than anything in this world. Did she have qualities that drew him in? Or was he keeping his enemies close?
I tried to sleep, but rest slipped through my fingers.
I was standing outside The Happy Rooster, much too early, when Matt unlocked the door.
He jerked back in surprise. “Architect.”
“Just Alexander.” I gave him a tight smile, grateful to be alone for once while waiting for the pub to open. “We’ve talked about this.”
Although everyone in the family knew my face, they saw it clothed in layers of rich colors with slicked-back hair and dark eyeliner that made my baby blues pop. The Architect made his presence known. However, me, simple Xan, wore the same uniform as my trainees and kept to myself as I watched the family I created bloom.
Matt bobbed his head, though he fidgeted. He showed me to my favorite table, a little round one in the far corner. I had a great view of the entire Rooster, with very few people noticing me.
With coffee in hand and a small bowl of porridge on order, I pulled out a stack of reports from my spy network on the other families and waited.
‘Xan, what’s wrong?’Ezra asked in my mind when he woke a short time later.
‘Nothing,’I lied.
‘Do you want company?’
‘No. It’s time I met Quinn.’
‘Past time.’
