I sat up a little straighter and focused purely on the Light, letting my instincts take over to an extent. I not only dropped my mental barriers—unlocked the doors, so to speak—but threw them open and shouted, “I’m here.”
The Light was all around us, in the air, in every Variant, and in very tiny amounts, in every living thing.
I pulled, imagining the warm white glow on my skin. As if imagining it had made it manifest, I started to glow. It slowly got brighter and stronger.
Ethan and Josh wore matching brilliant grins. Both of them sat forward, their elbows on their knees, their faces full of pride, wonder, love.
Before the glow became blinding and made it impossible for anyone to observe anything, I reached my hands out. Neither of my Variants took my hand. They just waited, patiently.
I sent the Light to them; it felt like warm water running over my skin.
After a quick transfer, the glow faded, and I stopped the flow of Light.
We sat in silence for a few moments. The head researcher, Karen, usually used the intercom system to give us instructions, her calm voice filling the room through the built-in speakers.
But after I finished my glowing transfer . . . nothing.
I shared a confused look with Ethan and Josh before turning to the double-sided mirror. My own reflection stared back at me.
Just as I was about to get up, Karen’s voice came through the speakers.
“That was incredible!” She sounded more animated, more excited than I’d ever heard her. So did the cacophony of chatter in the background. “Just amazing!” She cleared her throat, shushing some of the other excited nerds before speaking again in a slightly calmer tone. “Now we need to observe the abilities in action—to illustrate that Light has indeed been transferred.”
Needing no further instruction, Ethan and Josh got to their feet. Ethan curled his fingers, and a bright blue ball of menacing fire appeared, while Josh lifted the solid stone coffee table up to the ceiling with a flick of the wrist.
They had us repeat the process a few times, measuring the levels of Light and my vital signs, sometimes taking the guys into other testing areas where they could use their abilities to their full potential by basically blowing shit up.
While practicing was good, none of this was new to us. We were almost bored, going through the motions for the sake of the scientific process, to make sure everything was recorded accurately.
It wasn’t until toward the end of the session that we learned anything interesting. We were discussing what I’d observed about how the process of drawing Light to me worked, and I explained that I seemed to be able to draw it directly from specific individuals. In the next round of tests, Karen asked me to draw directly from Ethan and transfer to Josh.
Ethan stood at my back, his hand resting lightly on my hip. His other hand gripped mine, and I threaded my fingers through his.
Josh stood several feet away, his hands in the pockets of his chinos, his perfect lips turned up in a slight smile.
I was getting tired, but I inhaled deeply and focused on my connection to the fire fiend behind me. I took my time, making sure to block all other sources of Light while drawing on Ethan’s alone.
As with all things, when it came to my Bondmates, it came easier than anything. I didn’t even have to pull—I just opened my arms and his Light charged into my embrace.
As soon as my skin began to glow, I lifted my free arm and sent the Light to Josh. I nearly gasped as the sheer power of Ethan’s force flowed through me. For a few seconds, we were all connected. It felt incredible on a soul-deep level—so good I absentmindedly arched my back, a familiar ache in my lower belly building unexpectedly.
Ethan’s hand on my hip gripped tighter, and I shut the flow down, the glow fading.
Josh didn’t look so casual anymore. His hands were out of his pockets, his smile replaced by a much darker, more heated look.
Karen’s voice came through the speakers, throwing cold water on the moment. “Mr. Mason, if you would . . .”
She sounded a little amused, but Josh squared his shoulders and, as he’d done countless times already, lifted the coffee table into the air. The heavy piece of furniture burst into bright blue flames, singeing the ceiling and startling us all.
Josh’s panicked eyes flew to us. He was effortlessly keeping the flaming table off the ground and away from other flammable things, but he clearly had no idea what to do about the angry blue flames.
Ethan wrapped one big arm around my waist and reached the other over my shoulder. It took him longer than usual, but he put the fire out, and Josh lowered the charred, smoking mess back to the ground.
“What the fu—”
The door burst open, interrupting Josh’s confused utterance, and the entire research team swarmed into the room.
Some threw a barrage of rapid-fire questions at us, furiously writing everything down, while others inspected the coffee table. I was so fascinated myself I didn’t even mind the session was going past time. A flurry of theories buzzed through my mind, but I carefully avoided sharing too much of my own thoughts. If there was one thing I’d learned from both my upbringing and my time in Bradford Hills, it was when people knew things about you, they could use them against you.
After a solid half hour of this, and declarations that we had to repeat it in future sessions, they finally allowed us to leave. Everyone trickled out of the room, chatting excitedly. As Josh, Ethan, and I passed the door to the observation room, a man in a navy-blue suit broke off his conversation with Karen and came toward us.
“Miss Maynard.” Victor Flint flashed me a grin, all teeth, and shook my hand.
“Mr. Flint.” I smiled politely, and he turned to my Variants.
“You must be Mr. Paul.” He shook Ethan’s hand, then Josh’s. “And Mr. Mason. Pleasure to meet you both, and I am deeply sorry you won’t be joining Melior Group in any capacity other than as test subjects. But a deal is a deal.”
He flashed me that grin again.
“You were watching,” Josh stated, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Ethan wrapped a protective arm around my shoulders. Either they didn’t trust him or they were picking up on my unease.
“I caught the tail end of the session, yes. I must say, I was very pleased by what I saw. We’re learning so much already. I have every confidence we’ll be able to give you some clarity about your condition, Miss Maynard.”
“I certainly hope so.” I resisted the urge to cross my arms—I didn’t want to appear rude or standoffish—and settled for clasping my hands.
“Oh, I know so.” He laughed deep in his chest. “And the process is shedding light on things I didn’t even expect, like the events in Thailand. You’ve just solved a problem that’s been plaguing the investigators for months.”
“Oh?” I raised my brows but didn’t say any more. Sometimes the best way to get people to talk was to just be quiet. But Victor didn’t seem at all reluctant to share information.
“Yes, the fire in the parking garage. We determined early on that Davis remotely detonated several explosions as he made his escape.” I remembered the booms, the ground shaking. “But those were primarily on the other side of the facility, where the labs and files were. He was destroying evidence, or trying to—we still managed to recover a good deal. Anyway, those explosions resulted in fires, which spread quickly to other areas, including the holding cells where they were keeping most of the Vitals. But they did not spread as far as the garage, where I believe you were . . .” He looked pointedly at Josh and held his hands above his head, miming the way Josh had kept the ceiling from collapsing on us.
Josh nodded and Victor kept speaking. “There really was no discernable reason for that part of the structure to have caught fire. We couldn’t work it out. Until today. It seems Mr. Paul’s fire ability transferred to Mr. Mason through you, Miss Maynard, just like what happened here today.”
I blinked. Of course, it made sense for one of the head honchos of M
elior Group to be across the major points in the investigation, but I didn’t think he was looking into such minute details.
His assessment seemed accurate. I’d suspected the same thing when I saw Ethan’s ability manifest at Josh’s command, but I’d been waiting until we were somewhere private to raise it with them.
Josh appeared unfazed, his posture still relaxed, his curious eyes studying the middle-aged man in front of us. Ethan, on the other hand, was suddenly breathing more rapidly, his arm tightening around my shoulders.
“But I see this isn’t entirely shocking news to you.” Victor kept the smile plastered on his face, but his eyes narrowed. Before any of us could respond, he pulled something out of his pocket.
“In other news, your clearance has been approved and finalized. These passes will give you access to all parts of the building that your clearance level is permitted to enter. Not that you’ll need to access other areas, but it will make coming and going to these sessions easier. Pleasure meeting you, gentlemen. Goodbye.”
He handed the plastic passes to us, turned on his heel, and disappeared down a corridor.
Ethan backed away from me until his broad back hit a wall. He slid to the floor, threading his hands through his hair.
Josh and I exchanged a worried look and crouched down next to him.
“Baby?” I scratched the back of his neck, my other hand going to his knee. Josh placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“It wasn’t me,” Ethan whispered into his lap. “It wasn’t me, you guys. I didn’t burn them.”
He took a massive, shuddering breath and looked up to the ceiling, relief palpable in every fiber of his being. Ethan had been convinced it was his fault the fires had started. That it was his fault all those people had been burned, even killed. Tyler had explained the investigators’ findings, but Ethan couldn’t be dissuaded, couldn’t forget the distinctive blue tinge of the fire we’d all seen.
Hearing Victor spell it out and seeing for himself how the glowing Light transfer worked had finally made it all click. He wasn’t to blame.
He gave me a brilliant smile, dimples on full display, and pulled us both in for a hug. We sat on the floor laughing, shedding a few happy tears, and then Josh got to his feet.
He held his hand out to me. “Come on. I need to get back to my thesis, and you’re going to be late for lunch with Dot.”
“Shit!” She was probably furious. I was surprised she hadn’t sent Squiggles to find me—or a bear.
While I was in the bowels of Melior Group doing my best impression of a lab rat, she’d spent the morning shopping with Kyo, Marcus, and an entourage of security guards. The plan was to have lunch together at one of Dot’s favorite cafés in the city. She’d been trying to take me there for ages.
When we finally made it to the lobby of the building, Dot grumbled about my lateness but still gave me a hug. Marcus had some work to get back to in Bradford Hills, so he was getting a lift back with Josh, along with all of Dot’s purchases.
Dot kissed Marcus goodbye openly, her short frame plastered to his tall one, then took Kyo’s hand and led the way toward the exit.
“I don’t know about this.” Josh frowned as he held me close. “Maybe we should all head home and Ethan can make you lunch?”
I wrapped my arms around his neck, fiddling with the stiff collar of his shirt. “We have a full Melior Group detail, we have Kyo, and we have my big fire fiend. We’ll be fine.”
After what had happened at breakfast with Lucian, they were all understandably cautious. I was shaken too. The fact that he could get to us in Bradford Hills—probably the most guarded place on the East Coast—was disconcerting, to say the least. But I refused to live my life in fear. That’s what drove the division, the unrest.
“Text me as soon as you’re heading home,” Josh demanded, holding me almost too tightly.
“I promise.” I breathed in his expensive aftershave, resting my cheek on his shoulder.
“Maynard!” Dot yelled, her voice echoing in the cavernous marble-lined lobby. She and Kyo were waiting for us beside the revolving glass doors. “Move it! I’m hungry!”
Josh planted a little kiss on my nose and turned away, taking some of the countless bags off Marcus and heading for the parking garage.
The security detail wanted to take armored cars to our destination, but it was only three blocks away, and Dot and I insisted on walking. It was a beautiful spring day, though a bit chilly in the shade of the tall buildings, and we wanted to enjoy the sunshine and the blossoming trees.
It might’ve been better to take the cars though—the walk turned out to be less than relaxing.
Seeing high-profile Vitals with a couple of security guards had never been uncommon, but lately, it seemed as though anyone with Variant DNA who could afford it was hiring either Melior Group or another security company to follow them around.
Walking down the street, we saw several people being followed closely by frowning armed guards, but nothing compared to the entourage we had. No fewer than eight Melior Group operatives surrounded us, all of them taking their job very seriously and making the lives of anyone walking in the opposite direction a nightmare.
Dot either was oblivious to it or just didn’t care, walking confidently with Kyo just ahead of us. They were downright adorable, hand in hand, leaning into each other, giggling like schoolkids.
I smiled, overjoyed that my friends had found happiness in each other. Ethan squeezed my hand and gave me a knowing look.
“People are staring,” I whispered out of the corner of my mouth.
He chuckled and slung an arm over my shoulders. “People always stare at you. You’re beautiful. You just never notice.”
I huffed and slapped him on the stomach, but I couldn’t stop a wide smile from crossing my face.
We came to a stop next to an older Beaux Arts–style building. The café had cute striped awnings, planter boxes hanging off the low windows, and a door angled into the corner.
“I can’t wait for you to try the crumpets!” Dot grabbed my hand and bounced on the spot. “They make them from scratch, and they’re so good.”
“What’s a crumpets?” Kyo frowned, but Ethan’s face had lit up.
We weren’t allowed to go inside yet though. Several of our guards held their hands out in a halting motion while two headed for the front door to ensure it was safe.
As they reached the door, it swung open, and a furious middle-aged man in a sunflower apron marched out. The guards all reached for their guns, on high alert. Ethan pushed me behind his wide frame as Kyo did the same to Dot.
I couldn’t see what threat this man with narrow shoulders and more salt than pepper in his hair could pose. But then, the short young woman who’d tried to kill me hadn’t exactly looked like a crazed murderer either. Considering what happened with Zara, I was the worst judge of who could and couldn’t be trusted.
“Oh no you don’t!” He wagged a finger in our direction, not even slightly intimidated by all the heavily armed men and women giving him warning looks.
One of our guards, his voice calm, tried to keep him back with an extended arm. “Sir, you need to step—”
“This is my café, and I’ll do whatever the hell I want. You haven’t taken that right from me yet, so I’m exercising it. And you’re not welcome here.”
“Excuse me?” Kyo bristled.
“I may be just a Dime, but I still have rights. This is my establishment, my home, and I refuse to allow guns inside. I refuse to allow people like you . . .” he sputtered, obviously frustrated. “Variant abilities may as well be weapons. I want my patrons to feel safe. I want to feel safe. Leave! You are not welcome here.”
For a moment, no one said anything. The man crossed his arms and planted his feet wide, guarding the door with nothing more than a furious glare and sheer determination.
Ethan sighed, his big chest puffing out, and gave me a sad, worried look over his shoulder.
I reached out
and took Dot’s hand. Her eyes met mine.
“Let’s just go,” I whispered, and she nodded. It wasn’t worth it. We didn’t want to make anyone feel more unsafe than they already did. I knew what that felt like, and I refused to add to it.
Kyo was the most frustrated. “It’s not right. This is discrimination. He can’t just . . .”
Dot took his arm and pulled him along, doing her best to soothe him as our entourage closed in tighter.
We ended up in a diner a few streets over, the four of us seated in a booth. Our protectors spread out, some sitting close by, some posted at the exits.
It was a somber lunch. The food was mediocre; even Ethan didn’t finish his BLT. They didn’t have an espresso machine, so I went without coffee. I really needed it too, judging by the building headache behind my eyes.
After a long, heavy silence, Dot pushed her plate away. “Everyone is acting weird and doing strange things, and it’s scaring me.”
Kyo rubbed her back. “Everyone is scared. That’s why they’re acting weird. I’ve got your back.”
“I know you do, but that’s not really what I mean. I’m scared for my immediate safety, yes. It’s hard not to be, considering . . .” She looked at me, her perfect brows pulling together.
“Considering the constant attempts on people’s lives?” I deadpanned.
“Yeah. But when I say I’m scared, I mean in a bigger sense. I’m scared about what the world is turning into. I’m scared about what all this fear will lead to. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life being followed around by an entire team of agents while I get kicked out of my favorite restaurants and shops.”
“We got turned away from a lingerie boutique earlier today as well,” Kyo explained. “The owner there wasn’t quite as dramatic as the guy at the café, but she made herself clear. Variants aren’t welcome.”
I sighed. “I hate this. And I can see both sides. I mean, I was raised human, never believed there was anything special about me whatsoever. You do kind of feel like Variants get privileges, advantages that we don’t. It’s worse in some parts of the world, but I can see how it breeds resentment. You fuel that resentment with fear—suggest that now, not only do human kids have less access to the opportunities Variant kids have, but their lives are in danger too? I wouldn’t want my family anywhere around us either.”
Vivid Avowed (The Evelyn Maynard Trilogy Book 3) Page 12