The electricity I felt last nightcracklesbetween us, and I feel a blanket of warmthpassingover mybody. I feel his presence as if I were still in my skin. Tempted, I reach out at the same time Theo does, and our hands press together.
We’retouching. Even without our physical bodies, I can feel his fingers as they tangle with mine.
Theo’s eyes drop to the space between us and his eyes go wide. At first, I thinkhe’sjust as shocked as I am at the sight of our hands entwined, buthe’sfocused on something else. Something Ican’tsee.
My stomach flutters, pulse racing. I haven’t felt my own heartbeat in five days, yet it’s pounding relentlessly against my chest.
“Theo…I?—”
“It’s blue,” he whispers, and I have no clue whathe'sreferring to.
“What’s blue?”
Finallyhe lifts his eyes back to mine. Light blue, like a cloudless sky.
“Our string,” he says carefully. “It’s blue.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
THEO
Istilldon’tbelieve whatI’mseeing. One moment, I was overcome with relief that Kennedy returned my feelings, and then the next, I wasoverwhelmedby an all-encompassing warmth spreading over my body.
In my spirit form, I shouldn’t be able to feel physical sensations, but the heat searing between us felt as real as the flames I stoked each night in the fireplace.It urged me to touch her, so I did. And to my surprise, just as our palms connected,a sparklingpowder-blue light began to dance beneath the place where our hands touched.
A string likefinethread appeared, growing outward from the center of my chest and extending toward Kennedy’s heart. As it connected, I felt a tug, and without a doubt in my mind, I knew exactly what it was.
Our soul bond.
Kennedy and I are fated to be together.
“What string?” she asks, slight panic in her tone.
I chuckle wholeheartedly, overcome with emotion. “It’s nothing bad,” Ipromiseher, taking her face in my hand. Thepalm I had pressed to hers is now pressed to her cheek.She touches the top of my hand, making sure it’s really there.
Tears pool in her eyes. “Is this real?”
“It’s as real as it gets, I’m afraid.”
I kiss her again, lightly caressing her soft lips. “I feel like I was meant to wait one hundred and thirty years just to meet you.”
Her knees buckle, and I wrap my arm tightly around her waist to hold her up.The corners of her eyes crinkle as she smiles with delight. “I don’t know what’s happening right now, but I’m really happy about it.”
We both dissolve into a fit of laughter, clinging to one another for support. I pull her into my arms and hug her tightly. There will be time to explain everything, but first,there’ssomething I need to do.
As I pull back, I study the contours of her beautiful face. I drinkher infully, savoring her expression of longing and committing it to memory.
“I’m happy too,” Itellher. Then, I take her hand and tug her toward the door. “This deserves a celebration.”
“Wait! Where are we going?”
Together, we glide down the stairs, Kennedy not letting go of my hand as she trusts me to guide her.
At the bottom of the staircase, I take her other hand and squeeze them both lightly. “I want you to close your eyes and allow your soul to slip from this plane.”
Her eyebrows shoot up her forehead. “Why?”
“I want to show you how to travel through the void,” I explain,wordsrushed with excitement.
