Now that the thought is in my head, I can’t think of anything else. Images of Echo in her kitchen with a big beefy faceless brute caging her in against the counter as she makes them coffee. Him tossing her over his shoulder like a caveman as he carries her to the bedroom. Her smiling softly, lovingly, as she looks up at him.
“Soren?”
I stare at her, trying to work out what question she asked me while I was trapped inside my mini mental meltdown.
“Where does the boyfriend live?”
Boyfriend.
Not hers. Wren’s. Right. Keep it together, Soren. Your mate is witnessing you falling apart right in front of her, save the breakdown for later.
“Imberton, it’s a small city,” I say, knowing that I let the silence drag on for long enough that it’s become awkward.
“Mostly human, right?” Echo chirps back.
“You know it?” Maybe it’s where her boyfriend lives, too. Maybe weavers are drawn to human companions and mediocre sex or something.
She shrugs. “It’s a few hours from Stoneraven. I’ve been close to there pretty recently.”
“Do weavers often date humans?” I ask, unable to stop the words from blurting out.
She frowns thoughtfully. “Not sure. I can’t say that I know that many other weavers. Some have relationships before the academy in whatever world they were placed in, but mostly we were all just kids, so it’d be a teenage lust, puppy love type thing. So does that mean that this guy we’re going to ask about Wren is a human?”
I nod.
“If you give me his address, I should be able to take us right there,” she says.
I scribble it down for her. While I don’t know the street or building name, I know what it’s close to, which seems to be enough for her.
“Right then, boys, I need you to be touching me for this to work. Hold on tight. It might feel a little different to how you usually travel.”
I place my forefinger and thumb in a loop around her wrist, deciding that this is probably as inoffensive a place for direct contact as anywhere. Brogan has no such qualms about casual touch and slings his arm around her shoulder.
If I hadn’t known she was my mate already, the moment our bare skin makes contact for the first time would have drilled it home. It’s as though literal sparks of electricity fly at the point where we are touching and I feel a gentle heat run through my fingers, right the way up my wrist, along my arm until it reaches my chest. A golden thread connects us from heart to heart. If I squint hard enough, I can just make it out. It’s a little faded and will grow brighter if our bond strengthens, through time together and more close contact.
Echo’s breath falters as she stares down at my hand and then her eyes dart up to meet mine. A silent question there. But I don’t think she’s ready to hear the explanation for what just happened, what we are to each other. Not just yet, anyway.
“Hold tight,” she mumbles.
And then the world is dissolving around us and I feel buoyed up with a rush of energy. My chest feels tight and I can feel and hear my heart pounding in my ears.
In the next moment, we’re in the middle of an alleyway that smells faintly of bread and baked goods from the bakery next door. She’s landed us right next to Wren’s boyfriend’s apartment.
“How did Wren get here when she was seeing this guy?” Echo asks.
I explain about how when I have a soul to reap, I can travel to their location or nearby so whenever there was one that needed reaping here or in any of the neighboring towns or cities, I could drop Wren off and then pick her up later.
“Not the easiest way of seeing your boyfriend,” she mutters.
We take the elevator up to his floor. It’s pure luck that I remember Wren mentioning that he lived on the third floor, overlooking a brick wall, and not much else. The entire area is a little dated, it’s a mixture of residential apartment buildings and businesses. Along with the bakery, there’s also a couple of tattoo studios and a small corner shop.
Once we get to his floor, Echo glances at the two of us. “How do you want to do this? Does one of us take charge or something?”
I take a step back. I know it won’t be me that’ll get the most out of this guy, or anyone seeing as I’m the least personable of the three of us.
“How about you take the lead, babe, and the two of us will hang back for support if you need it?” Brogan says.
Echo brushes down her coat and fluffs out her hair, pinning a big smile on her face. “Okay, let’s do this.”
