“I do see your point there, Naomi. I’m so sorry.” Aidan pulled her into his arms before he could think better of it.
“And Naeemah,” Naomi whispered. “She hates me.”
“She doesn’t hate you. Mom’s just overprotective of her McBrien boys. You know we’re all momma’s boys.”
“Did you know she’s the only mother I’ve ever known?” Naomi laid her head on his shoulder.
“She cares for you in her own way,” Aidan assured her.
“Did you know … when I was nine, I bonded with her?”
Aidan leaned back to look at her with a frown. “You have a mother bond with her?”
“It’s not reciprocated.” She cast her eyes down in embarrassment. “It’s okay. She doesn’t know—no one does. But she knows how it feels to have a bond with someone who doesn’t return it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I overheard her talking with your father once. She bonded Allie as her daughter, but Allie hasn’t returned it. She has a mother of her own.” Naomi pulled away from him. “Second place.” A note of contempt crept into her voice.
Aidan’s heart ached for Naomi and all the hurt she’d experienced in her young life. “I’m so sorry.” He sat beside her, his arm around her waist and her head resting on his shoulder. He wanted to convey the depth of his feelings for her through his healing touch.
“Don’t.” She pulled away from the warmth of his power. “Not like that.” She stood, crossing the room to gather her things. “Scott will be here soon so I’m going to head out.”
“Don’t go.” Aidan followed her. “I’m sorry … I don’t have the words to tell you how I feel about you, Naomi. All I can say is, I love you as much as I love Allie, just in a different way. You are no less important to me than she is.”
“Bullshit,” she scoffed, folding her arms over her chest. “I see the way you look at her.”
“I can’t help that,” Aidan said, wishing he knew how to fix this.
“It’s not that I’m jealous or in love with you that way. I know we don’t make as much sense as you and Allie.” Naomi uncrossed her arms. “I guess I don’t have the words either. I just … it kills me to see you giving up everything for her when I don’t think she realizes what she’s asking you to do.”
“She’s not asking me, Naomi. She’s never asked me to give up anything. Since the beginning, Allie has been my biggest supporter for even coming here in the first place. Allie and I are together, and this is a decision we have made as a couple. I need you to hear me this time, Naomi. My education will not suffer because I’ve decided to attend Oberlin instead.”
“I just want you to be absolutely certain.” Naomi sighed, finally relenting.
Aidan hugged her close, his heart clenching in agony for her pain. Naomi was a dark horse. Depression affected Immortal minds as much, if not more, than it did with mortals. The crush of loneliness and the monotony of the years were sometimes more than some could bear. With Naomi, it was a constant battle, and Aidan wanted so much to help her. Little more than a year ago, he’d discovered he could lift the cloud of depression from her mind with his healing touch, but only for a short while. She’d found it worse when the clouds descended again, so she decided she preferred to stay as she was without his help. Aidan had worked tirelessly to hone that aspect of his healing gift. He hoped he could offer her a longer reprieve in the future.
“Let me help you, Naomi?” he whispered as he held her.
“It’s okay, Aidan. I can handle it.” She hugged him tight, neither willing to let go just yet. “Just being with you helps more than you could know.”
Warmth stirred in his chest, vibrating outward, filling him with a sense of peace and something else he couldn’t define in words.
“I said I was fine. You don’t need to make me feel better.”
“I’m not doing anything. At least not on purpose,” he said. “I don’t know what this is.”
Naomi tilted her head back, gazing into his eyes with a question on her face. Her eyes went wide, and her breath caught in her throat.
Aidan’s own chest constricted, as if a tight band cut off his lungs. He couldn’t take a full breath. Their arms wrapped around each other, locking them in a painful embrace.
“Is this … is your gift progressing?” Naomi struggled to get the words out.
Aidan stared into her eyes, mesmerized. “I don’t think this is me.” His feelings for her crashed around in his mind, as if everything he knew about Naomi restructured in the span of a moment. His thoughts and feelings evolved to a higher level of understanding his brain couldn’t even fathom before. “This is us.” He stared down at her, pressing his head against her forehead.
“What is this, Aidan?” He could see the same realizations forming in her mind. Her heart pounded against his chest as he held her tighter, wanting to be close to her.
“Do you have any idea how much I need you, Naomi?” he murmured against her hair. “I can always count on you to be completely honest with me. You’re always looking out for my best interest, even when my focus is somewhere else, you remind me to be true to myself.”
“Are we … bonding?” Naomi gasped, struggling to catch her breath.
“I think so.”
“But how?”
He saw it the moment her heart stopped beating. It was the same moment his own stilled in his chest.
Golden fire blazed hot around them, like a cage of light separating them from the rest of the world. For that moment, it was only Aidan and Naomi. Nothing else mattered.
Aidan fell to his knees with a sob, pulling Naomi down with him. Both gulped great gasps of air into their lungs. Aidan never tasted anything so sweet. It was like taking a breath for the first time.
His heart leaped at the sight of Naomi’s smile, his pulse racing at a hypnotic speed. He thought his heart might burst right out of his body, so strong was the force of his new heartbeat. But it wasn’t alone. His pulse was strong, but so was Naomi’s, thumping like an echo right alongside his.
“I know what this is,” he whispered, closing his eyes as his perspective changed in an instant.
“I’ve never felt anything like this,” Naomi said. “It’s so powerful.” She looked at him, her gaze uncertain.
Aidan lifted his hands to cup her beautiful face. “Is this what it’s like for Darius and Allie?” Part of him wanted to tear his brother’s face off for daring to care for Allie the way he now cared for Naomi—and he was fully aware of how big of a hypocrite that made him—but the other part of him finally understood what they were going through. “You are a part of me, Naomi. You’re my Syntrophos.”
“Syntrophos.” She tested the word on her tongue. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I saw it happen to Allie and Darius. He once described the feeling to me. He wanted me to know how much he cares for Allie, but he made a mess of explaining it.” Aidan could laugh at the memory now, but at the time, he’d struggled not to kick his brother’s ass for falling in love with his girlfriend. He got it now. No one had invented words to describe what he felt for Naomi. There was no question Allie was the love of his life, and that would never change, but in a way, Naomi was the second love of his life and his best friend. It was the best he could come up with, but that still didn’t do justice to his feelings for either woman. This almost spiritual love for Naomi existed on a whole different plain than any he’d experienced before. It was friendship, but more. It was family, but more. It was … transcendent.
“This is permanent?” Her eyes grew soft, and he felt the tension leaving her body.
“Yes,” was all he could say.
“You’re mine this way? Forever?”
“Yes, Naomi. I am your Syntrophos. I really don’t know exactly what that means yet, but I do know you own a piece of my heart forever.”
The smile lighting her face took his breath. “Aidan,” she whispered, letting her fingers trail through his hair in an intimate gesture. “I don’t kno
w if I’ve ever felt like I belonged with anyone. This is so new. I can hardly fathom it. For the first time in my life … I feel whole. Like I’m finally … enough.”
“You were always enough, Naomi.” He held her tight, hoping she never felt lost or alone ever again.
Chapter Six
Allie
Kelleys Island, October
“Hey, Chloe, you ready to work?” Allie gave her friend her best “I’m so excited to be here” smile. But inside, Allie was a nervous wreck. Since the death of her mother, Chloe was a different person.
Chloe was still mourning.
Chloe was trying to figure out how to go on without Ming Lao.
But the new Chloe was mean. Really mean.
“Whatever.” Chloe stalked across Aidan’s office. He’d left it for Allie’s use while he was at school. “Can we just spar today? I’m in the mood to kick something, so it might as well be your ass.”
Allie winced, trying her best not to let Chloe’s venom get to her. Her friend was in pain. But Chloe didn’t want sympathy. That was the best way to piss her off. Chloe wanted revenge.
“We can in a bit. Let’s have a chat first,” Allie said, hesitating. Gregg had told her to keep trying, and Allie was in it for the long haul. She would be there for Chloe no matter what. Even if that was the last thing Chloe wanted. Allie wasn’t backing away.
“What do we possibly have to talk about?” Chloe leaned her head back against the chair in front of Aidan’s desk. “You want to fix me. I can see it with my gift. You’re trying to decide which approach to take.” She leaned forward. “How about we go with neither and call it a day?”
“I’m your friend, Chloe. I care,” Allie said softly.
“Then say what you have to say and then let’s get to work.”
“I don’t pretend to know how you feel, Chlo. Losing your mom like that. But one of these days, I will lose the only mother I’ve ever known—”
“You’re joking, right?” Chloe sat up and laughed in her face. “You think you can compare losing a mortal mother to what happened to my mother? That was a stupid thing to say … even for you.”
Ouch. “I know it’s not the same. You lost your mother in a violent way. I wasn’t trying to compare, I—”
“My mother died in battle protecting her family. It’s how she would have wanted to go,” Chloe said, her smoky quartz eyes flashing an angry green. “Your mortal mother has been dying since the day she was born,” Chloe hissed. “She has always been mortal. You have never expected to have your mother by your side for eternity. You haven’t lived your whole life knowing she would always be a constant. That you would have both your parents forever. Now, I’m left with a gaping hole in my world, and a broken father who can’t get out of bed. Do not pretend to compare your world to mine. You have no idea what it’s like. To be stuck in this place where every goddamned corner reminds me of her and everything I’ve lost. You are not close with your mother the way I was.”
“I used to be,” Allie said firmly. “Before my Awakening, my parents were my entire world. But bit-by-bit, I’ve had to put some distance between my mortal family and myself. It’s safer for them that way.” Allie leaned forward, resting her hands on the smooth leather surface of Aidan’s desk. “You know who helped me through that? Your mother. She taught me it was okay to make myself a priority. That if they knew what I faced, they would want me to focus on my training. Ming Lao taught me how to do what I needed to do and still keep my relationships with my mortal family without cutting them out of my life completely.” Allie sat back in her chair, staring at the high ceilings. “I never would have had the strength to do that if not for your mother. I can’t imagine how much you’re hurting, Chloe, but if she were here right now, she would give you the same advice. Ming Lao would want you taking care of yourself and she wouldn’t want the hate you have for Livia to destroy the daughter she raised. She went down that road herself, Chlo, she wouldn’t want it for you.”
“Pretty words from someone who knew my mother for little more than a year. You can try to be sympathetic. You can try to help, but I. Don’t. Want it. Especially from you. You still have your family, and you will have time to come to terms with their natural deaths. What happened to my mother wasn’t natural. It was pure evil. And that … monster you’re holding in the crypt? Your sister is responsible. As long as she is here, safe and sound in her luxury, white-collar prison, then you and I are not friends.”
“She’s Gregg’s prisoner, not mine. I don’t want Livia here any more than you do.” Having Livia so close was like a thorn in Allie’s side. She couldn’t forget she was there and she couldn’t do anything about it.
“Then why do you visit her?” Chloe slammed her fist down on the desk between them. “That woman murdered my mother with her abomination of a gift. I don’t care if she’s your sister, I will never forgive her.”
“No one is asking you to forgive her.” Allie walked around to the front of the desk to face Chloe. “She might be my sister by blood, but, Chloe, you are more my sister than she will ever be.” Allie knelt in front of her friend. “I will never forgive her for what she did to Ming Lao and Jin Jing. For what she’s taken from you. I visit her because I want answers.” That was only part of it. She did want answers, but Allie was also drawn to her sister—her clairvoyance craved Livia’s presence. As much as Allie resisted it, she couldn’t stay away from Livia’s cell.
“Why is she still here? Why haven’t we turned her over to the Senate? She should pay for her crimes.”
“I agree, but I don’t think we can release her, Chloe. Navid and my grandparents are convinced she can be rehabilitated … and I think there’s more going on with Livia than we know. I’m still trying to figure that out.”
“I can’t do this, Allie.” Chloe rested her head against her knees, pulling them tight against her chest. A warm glow surrounded her, and Chloe’s breath came in a rapid, panicked rush. “I can’t breathe with her here. Knowing she’s down there in the crypt so near the family she slaughtered, it keeps it all fresh in my mind.” Chloe threw her head back; a baleful tear tinged with blood trailed down Chloe’s cheek.
“It’s okay, Chloe. I’m here.” Allie crouched by her side. “Just breathe. Don’t suppress your power, just let it come.” Allie tried to take her hand but Chloe shoved her away.
Allie watched as Chloe’s shoulders trembled and her hands shook, fighting back the inevitable.
“Let her come to you, Chloe. She just wants to help.”
“No, it’s too much,” Chloe whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. But the warm glow swirled around her, taking on a familiar form. It was beautiful and so very sad at the same time.
The spectral golden dragon lay curled at Chloe’s feet. Although made of mist and power and light, it moved like a living, breathing being.
“She was supposed to be my final gift to my mother,” Chloe cried, refusing to meet her dragon’s eyes. “A guardian to always be with her.”
But the vapor-like dragons Chloe created as a monument to her fallen family had taken on a life of their own. The two she’d made for her late grandparents still lay deep within the crypt, standing watch over them as Chloe had intended. But the one she’d made for her mother refused to leave her side. It came to her when she was in pain. And it had her mother’s obsidian eyes.
“She’s still here with you, Chloe,” Allie said. “She wants you to move on.”
“That thing is not my mother. It does not hold her spirit. It’s a result of an irresponsible use of my power. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I wanted to leave my mother with a noble tribute.”
“I don’t know what happened when you brought this beautiful creature into existence, but whatever she is, she’s watching over you,” Allie said, as the small dragon sat beside Chloe like a sentry. “If a piece of your mother is within her, then you might find her a comfort one day.”
Chloe opened her eyes, taking one look at the shifting, swirling substance
that made up her dragon, and she bolted.
With a deep sigh, Allie rested her head back against her seat, watching the dragon with the sad eyes approached her. She pressed her cold scales against Allie’s cheek. She could feel Ming Lao’s presence in the dragon.
“I won’t stop trying,” Allie whispered.
The noble dragon bowed her head and faded to nothing.
She wasn’t sure any of them would ever be able to look the creature in the eyes and not think of Ming Lao. Allie just hoped one day Chloe could think of her mother with love and bittersweet memories and not feel her death all over again. But Allie wasn’t sure that day would ever come.
Chapter Seven
Aidan
Cologne, Germany, October
“I don’t want to tell anyone,” Naomi said, staring at the ceiling above the sofa in Aidan’s room. “I’m not ready to share our bond with the world.”
“Neither am I.” Aidan came to sit beside her. He couldn’t get enough of being near her. For months, he’d resisted his lingering feelings for Naomi, thinking the worst of himself and now those feelings finally made sense. “I’m not ready for that drama yet.”
“Yeah, I bet you’re not looking forward to telling Allie,” she snapped.
He arched a brow at her. “You’re mad at me for agreeing with you?” Allie wasn’t going to be happy about his new relationship with Naomi. He could hear it now. Literally, Aidan, anyone but Naomi. But Allie knew what having a Syntrophos was like. She knew he didn’t have a choice and she would accept his relationship with Naomi just as he had accepted her relationship with Darius—begrudgingly and in time.
“Sorry.” She winced. “I’m going to need some time to get used to the idea of sharing you with her. I’m experiencing lots of possessive thoughts.”
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