You set your phone back down on the nightstand, letting out a sigh.
It’s one in the morning.
You’d rather be asleep, but your brain is too awake.
Instead, you creep out onto the landing, peering down into the dark living room.
You’re half-expecting to find the couch empty. For Ziros to be working out again, or maybe demolishing every ounce of food in the kitchen. Or maybe for him to pop up behind you when you least expect it.
But, nope.
He’s actually already out.
Sleeping peacefully.
You shake your head, quietly shutting yourself back in your room. At least someone’s getting some sleep.
He must have been more exhausted than he let on.
Maybe being separated by such distance drained him more than you’d realized.
You feel a bit guilty at that realization.
“I’ll set you free soon,” you whisper into the dark as you lay down in bed again.
There’s no two ways about it.
You can’t hold onto him forever, and clearly the longer you take to free him, the more danger you’ll both be in.
After all, it was only because of your connection that you came so close to death.
You lie down in bed again, this time vowing that you’ll really get some sleep.
Who knows. Maybe you’ll even get lucky and have nice dreams, considering you can’t stop thinking about what exactly, uh, you’ll have to do to free him.
It’s not the only way, of course, Elena had said.But it’s certainly the most straightforward.
The idea is this:
When you’re, you know,together, that’s when the link between you should be strongest and most visible—assuming you can manage to focus on it.
And that’s the time when each of your energy cores will be the most charged, so it’s the safest time to cut it.
If you use your own energy to slice the tether rather than trying to snap it like you did before, it should be a permanent cut.
And…in theory, at least, it shouldn’t hurt you or Ziros.
Not as long as your energy core—whatever that is—is fully charged and centered.
Which the old lady assured you, without even a hint of bashfulness, it should be so long as you’re both having a good time.
Ah, to be so old and self-assured, you can talk about such things without regard for what others might think of you.
It was awkward.
For you, anyway. She seemed totally at-ease.
And now you’re even more eager to get home.
