There, under the illumination of moonlight, is Jax’s silhouette. He’s barely visible, as if sculpted from ice, and there are no discernible features, but I can tell he’s tall and muscular.
Gorgeous.
“Oh my god. Is that your true form?” My voice shakes from the shock of what I’m seeing—ornotseeing. I take one tentative step after another toward him. “Your harbinger one?”
His head drops down, then tilts to the side. There’s a hint of joyful amusement to his tone despite the fact that I can’t see his actual face.“Not quite… But it’ssomething.”
“It certainly is.” My brows furrow as I drink him in. The way I want to move toward him, discover how he fits around me… It’s all consuming. A craving I can’t explain. “What is this?”
“What is what?”
“What is this between us?” My breaths fog against his glassy form. Frosty swirls spread from the point of contact, and I watch them disappear, mesmerized. “How did you know to come tonight? I didn’t call you, did I?”
He pauses a moment, and it’s not the first time he seems to be choosing his words carefully.
“I sensedyour pulse skyrocket. I dropped what I was doing and had to find you. I saw you watching the performance, though, and didn’t want to interrupt, so I waited.”His voice lowers an octave.“What happened tonight? Your heartbeat was…erratic.”
“I found Blake with someone else before the show.”
There’s a growl, then a long pause only filled with the white wisps of my breathing.
“I’m sorry. He wasn’t worthy of you, Tempest.”His icy hand goes to my shoulder, and I jolt against the barely there touch. Even without any weight behind it, I can still feel him somehow. It’s strangely comforting, and I find myself resisting the urge to rest my cheek against him.
“Honestly, I’m more mad at myself.” My chest heats recalling the look on Blake’s face after I slapped him. “I thought there was something real between us. How pathetic am I?”
“You’re not pathetic.”
“I was nothing to him.”
“Want me to assist him with a well-timed slip?”Jax offers with a chuckle, although something tells me he’s not completely joking.“My skills are at your disposal.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“What can I do?”
The sincerity in his voice disarms me. While I may not be able to fully see him, heseesme. Sees me more than Blake ever did. “Why do you care so much?”
He stills, taking his hand from me. Disappointment floods my veins until his near-translucent fingers brush my own. His touch isn’t sturdy, but it’s thicker than the icy breeze surrounding us.“Like I said before, we have a connection.”
“Tell me more?” I ask, brows knitting together. “Please?”
His fingers interlace mine, gently guiding our hands over the spot between my ribs.“We’re mates.”
“Mates?” My voice wavers with the word. I don’t know what it means, but beneath our palms, in the deepest recesses of my soul, it feels right.
“Mates were created by Fate to combat the loneliness that can come with immortality. Harbingers see it as a gift. It’s not set when the bond will take shape, but once it does, it’s a constant need to be with your other half. I can feel it. Feel you. Always.”
“How come I can’t feel you, though?”
“I’m not certain, but I suspect your instincts are tamped down because you’re mortal.”
There’s a bittersweet quality to his tone. I wish I could see his face right now, not just the fluid outline of him. He ripples before me like a mesmerizing, moving sculpture. If I could, I’d freeze him in place and run my hand along every chiseled groove. It’s my fault he’s like this—not whole before my eyes. I haven’t allowed myself to wrap my head around what he is. Even now that I know who he is to me, what he’s done for me, I still can’t bring myself to fully believe this reality.
To believe in him.
“What we have is unusual.”He clears his throat.“When my mate mark began to form, I was so excited to find you. I rushed to you, though I could sense something was wrong. Could feel your panic. Once I saw you trapped in that car, I realized you were mortal. I… I watched you die, Jolie. Held you in my arms until… It was the worst experience of my existence… Worse than my own death. Worse than the days I struggled with my transition into harbinger life.”
All the air pulls from my lungs and my knees buckle, nearly making me lose my balance. Jax steps closer, bracing me. It wasn’t just my mother who died that day… I did too.
