Jude only hesitated for a beat before bringing his hand up and pressing his fingers and palm to hers. The corners of his eyes twitched and he flinched minutely, like he was experiencing something mildly unpleasant, and Ezra deduced that Ruth the Elder must be inside his mind.
“Both AA.??’p’Zx and Human Jude have given their consent for the bonding to proceed,” Ruth the Elder announced a minute later, and the aliens in attendance once again recited something in a language that was all garbled consonants and throat sounds that Ezra didn’t think he could replicate if he practiced for a hundred years. Ezra let himself look to Titan for clarification. Titan subtly pointed a finger at the sky and mouthed the words “thank you,” explaining that this was another show of thanks to the universe.
“The bonding shall commence,” Ruth the Elder announced, sounding even more official than she had before. “Take position, dudes.”
They really should have gone over this in more detail during the rehearsal dinner, Ezra thought to himself as all the aliens got up in unison and began kneeling, already aware of what they were meant to do. Jude’s family was left looking awkward and alarmed, the only ones still sitting in their chairs while the aliens “took position.” Corbin was the only human in attendance who didn’t look bothered by being hopelessly lost—he was too busy flirting with Lennon with his eyes.
Once again, and with great reluctance, Ezra sought out Titan. Strangely, unlike the other Darvrokians, he was still standing upright. Their eyes met right away, almost like Titan was expecting Ezra to look, and once they did, he gave Ezra the tiniest nod as if to say, “I’ve got you.”
Slowly—demonstratively—Titan lowered himself to his knees.
It was such a small act of kindness, but it hit Ezra with the crushing weight of a fallen tree. Pinned by it, too surprised to move, he simply stared at the alien across from him.
His heart skipped a treacherous beat, and finally he followed Titan to his knees.
Titan wasn’t a good guy, he reminded—almost chastised—himself as Titan held out his arms to either side and bent them at the elbows. He was a douchebag. A jerk. A grade-A asshole who did not deserve the time of day… but when he looked across at Ezra to check in on him, makinga little “okay, now you” gesture with his head, Ezra couldn’t help but think that maybe there was something more to him than his rotten personality.
Maybe he wasn’t a lost cause.
Maybe…
“I will now join the minds of AA.??’p’Zx and Human Jude,” Ruth the Elder said in her declarative, raspy old lady voice. “You will give me your concentration and assist me in making this connection so that it is a very good bond, please.”
“Bow,” mouthed Titan, then bent his head forward. Ezra cast one last look at Al and Jude, who had placed one hand each on Ruth the Elder’s outstretched hands as she maintained the same goalpost position that Ezra had assumed, then copied Titan by lowering his head. He doubted his concentration would do much to help the bonding process, but he squeezed his eyes shut and scrunched his nose in his best attempt at juicing up his telepathic abilities. He tried to keep his thoughts focused on Al and Jude and how much he was rooting for their happiness, but he mostly ended up thinking about how much keeping this position was killing his arms, and that he really ought to start hitting the gym.
The ceremony continued.
Ruth the Elder began to hum low, guttural tones in the back of her throat, and the audience echoed the sound. As one, they grew louder and louder, until the entire room felt like it was vibrating from the noise.
Only one sound cut above the odd choir.
A gasp.
Jude.
Ezra lifted his head in alarm to make sure he was okay and found Jude’s eyes wide with surprise. His pupils were blown out, the blackness almost swallowing his irises completely, but he didn’t seem to be suffering. If anything, his slightly parted lips and the high arches of his eyebrows suggested unexpected pleasure.
Across the way, Al smiled at him, and while no words were spoken, even Ezra could tell that they were communicating with one another.
The bond was being put in place.
Again, like a magnetic pull he couldn’t overcome, Ezra found himself seeking out Titan, and was surprised to see that he’d lifted his head as well. His eyes were trained on Al, so intently focused that he didn’t notice Ezra was watching him.
So intently focused that he’d forgotten to keep up his guard.
The usual facade he wore—smirking asshole, the golden child—was gone, and without it, he looked somehow younger.Softer.Susceptible to hurt. It was obvious that he was feeling some type of way about the bonding ceremony, but the specifics were too muddled to read.
He was happy for his brother, Ezra was certain…
But his smile was sad, and his eyes were the color of the turbulent sea.
Something heavy and uncomfortable prickled in Ezra’s stomach. He swallowed and tasted tears.
It wasn’t that he was upset to see Titan like this. It was just…
He got it.
He understood what it was like to feel happy for someone, yet so sad at the same time.
