“More or less.”
Which was why it was hard to keep secrets from each other. Which was why I had moved to Portland, nearly fifteen hundred miles away. Which was why a whole lot of things, none of which I particularly wanted to explain to Dr. Simmons.
“And your objects are the same, of course, so that you may combine your Magic together.”
“Sort of,” I gritted out. Max’s objects were the leather bit from the rein of his favorite horse, the first drops of a summer rain, and a porcelain dog figurine his dad had given him as a child. The same base materials as mine (leather, water, porcelain), but unique to him. Everyone did Magic differently, even us dimidiums. Max’s Magic, for example, was sunny and a little rough like saddle leather; it felt warm like summer rain on the back of your neck. Whereas whenever I did Magic, I always ended up sopping wet and in the dark.
“Extraordinary,” he said. “Much like the law of gravitational force. The closer you are in each other’s orbit, the stronger your pull to each other. I often wonder how much progress I would make on my work if I had a powerful partner to help. You must be quite relieved when he’s around!” He chuckled.
“Yeah. Well, if you’ll excuse me …”
By now, I was used to the uncomfortable questions. As dimidiums, Max and I were two halves of one Magical soul. Dimidiums were a relatively recent concept in the Magic world, discovered only in the last century. There wasn’t a whole lot of concrete information on them. There was, however, an abundance of speculation and misinformation. It didn’t surprise me that Dr. Simmons implied that I needed Max more than he needed me.
Funny how whenever anyone talked to me about our abilities, they always found a reason to bring up Max.You two were in a relationship, weren’t you? Your emotional ties are quite strong; I wonder about the impact on you.But whenever questions were posed to Max, they always centered around his strength, his accomplishments, our publications. I barely entered the conversation.
Max walked outside when we reached the front of House Torlaine, to investigate the prickly sensation I was feeling himself, and Dr. Simmons slunk back into the shadow.
Simmons nodded in the direction of Maritza’s cottage. “Well, I’ll leave you to it then. I’d loan you some holy water and crosses, but I’m afraid I don’t have any to spare.” He chuckled half-heartedly and nodded his goodbyes.
“What’d he want?” Max asked after he walked away.
“Just the usual dimidium questions. Can I experiment on you, et cetera.” I shook my arms out, trying to shake loose the lingering ickiness.
Max grimaced.
I’d come here based on a desperate need for cash, and because Dr. Robetresse had asked for my help. It didn’t change how I felt about Max, but if I stayed … we could use Object Theory to actually help people. It was what we’d dreamed of when we’d first started our research on objects. And if we could actually save someone like Dani? It would make all of this worth it. It would certainly silence Object Theory’s critics, who’d been growing in recent years. My own, too.*
We walked into House Torlaine’s cool, air-conditioned hallway, shutting out the bright sun outside. Now, inside with Max, everything felt too quiet, too close. I thought we could probably both hear my heart hammering away.
“Look,” I said, unable to meet his gaze, “if we’re going to be working together here …”
“So you’re staying?” he asked. I didn’t have to look up to hear the excitement in his voice.
“For now. But if we’re going to be working together here, I think we should set some ground rules.”
His posture relaxed, and he leaned back against the rust-colored wall, smiling good-naturedly. “Oh, this should be good.”
“As you know, I’ve given up my Magic. I understand that while we’re here, we may be required to … access said Magic. But I don’t want you doing big spells and using up all my energy and leaving me drained. Granted, with an approved request, we may—”
He arched an eyebrow. “With your approval, I can access my Magic that you withheld for five years when you left without a word?”
I ignored him. “With a request that we both agree on, we may access each other’s Magic, as needed. I won’t be here long, so you might as well use the Magic you need. I think in this way we may be able to work together.” I finished somewhat anticlimactically, blundering ahead despite the increasingly incredulous expressions he was making. Despite his attempts to hide it, he was definitely still a little pissed at me. Well, I guess that made two of us.
“What? No list of demands?”
“That’s it.” I cleared my throat, wondering if I should have added more, then shook my head. “Do you accept?”
He smiled, a spark of mischief in his eyes that I knew well enough to nearly make me regret the whole thing. “Ah, Cella,” he breathed, his voice dropping to a growl. He took a step closer, pressing me to the wall and making my heart do an Olympic sprint. His hands splayed out above me, and he leaned in close to say into my ear, “You know that, for you, I’d do anything.”
I fought to get my breathing under control, and that lopsided grin of his tumbled out. “Nice to see I can still get your blood pumping.”
“You caught me off guard. Anyone would—” Damn our connection. Damn it to hell.
He walked away, still grinning. “Uh-huh.”
CHAPTER FIVE
The Investigation
