“I’m sorry to hear about your parents,” Aidan said.
“Me too. It was barely a year ago, but it feels like another life.”
“You and Wes haven’t had much choice in this whole thing, have you?”
“None. I would never go back and change it, but ever since we bonded, our lives haven’t been our own.”
“Tell me about Wes,” Aidan said, trying to steer the conversation to happier topics.
“Wes is great.” Ezra’s face lit up with a huge smile.
“And how did a kid from London even meet a guy from New Orleans?”
“We met when Wes was doing a study abroad program through his university. He needed an Immortal host family, so he submitted a request through the Senate, and they placed him with us. After we bonded, he decided to stay for a while. He’s not as close with his parents as I was with mine. My parents took him in and treated him like another son.”
Sounds like an arranged meeting. But Aidan wasn’t sure Ezra realized it might have started that far back.
“And you had no idea what this bond was? That must have been difficult.” Jeez, I sound like a freaking shrink.
“At first, I was convinced we were Complements.” Ezra gazed down at his hands in his lap, a flush creeping into his cheeks. “But Wes is straight, so it freaked him out.”
“The feelings are confusing, especially at first,” Aidan said. “It’s a complicated relationship. Even more for you guys, I imagine.”
“What did you call it? A Syntro-something?”
“Sin-tro-fus.”
“So it’s like a real thing, then? It’s always been a thing?”
“It’s rare, especially in recent centuries, but the Syntrophos have ancient roots. Some say we are the direct descendants of the royal lines of Indriell and its noble houses. Some say we’re the blood of the first Immortals. And some say the Syntrophos bond rises when the world has need of it, which might account for how many of our generation are bonding this way. We have a strong history if you know where to look.”
“I’ve heard things … speculations.” Ezra’s hands twisted nervously in his lap
“Like what?”
“One of the girls says that because we have this special bond, we don’t get a Complement, too. Like there’s no way it would ever work. So, like, this is it for us. This friendship bond and we should make the most of it, if we can.”
“I am happy to tell you that is not true,” Aidan said, relieved he could at least put Ezra’s mind at ease on this issue.
“How do you know?” Relief flooded his face.
“This is between just you and me, okay?” Aidan leaned forward. “I am asking you not to repeat this to anyone other than Wes. I will tell the others when the time is right, but I’d rather keep this from anyone higher up the chain.”
“You have my word. I won’t repeat anything you say.”
“My father shared a Syntrophos bond with a very special woman. She died when I was young, but my father had both a Syntrophos and a Complement, my mother. His Syntrophos was an anchor, who also had a Complement, and together, the three of them were linked through her.”
“An anchor?”
“She was the center of the bond, the anchor that held them together. Each Syntrophos has an anchor. Once you have bonded with your Complements, either you or Wes will emerge as the anchor.”
Ezra nodded, blowing out a big breath. “That’s a relief.”
“How long have you been in love with him?” Aidan asked gently.
“With Wes? Is it that obvious?” He cast his eyes down at his lap.
“My gift tells me a little of what you’re feeling, so I had some help with that. Most people probably wouldn’t’ notice.”
“He certainly doesn’t.” Ezra sighed. “I guess I’ve had a thing for him right from the start.” He shrugged. “Can’t help it. The heart wants what the heart wants, even though it’s never going to happen. I’d give anything to not feel this way.”
“It’s the bond. It’s confusing. You do love him and he loves you. It’s just a new kind of love that isn’t black and white. It’s not a simple friendship, and it’s not romantic love either. I’m told time will help. Eventually, it will make sense to you.”
“So, you have the hots for Naomi? How’s your girlfriend feel about that?”
“Oh, they’ve hated each other for years. Like full on, claws out, girl-hate.” Aidan grimaced, thinking about how Allie would take it when she found out.
“That’s got to be entertaining at least. Girls are so weird.”
“Tell me about it. I love them both but it tears me up inside. My bond with Naomi is new so we’re still figuring it out. I’ve known her all my life and I’ve always had feelings for her, but it makes more sense now.
“Does your girlfriend know about the bond?”
“Nope. I’m putting it off because I’m a coward, and it’s really something I need to tell her face to face.”
Aidan’s gift wanted to reach out to Ezra to help sooth his emotions, but that wasn’t the answer. “It won’t always be this difficult, Ezra.”
“You’re saying there are other fish in the sea, and I won’t always feel like this … awful, I love him, but I can never have him, stabbed in the gut anguish I feel all the time?”
“You’re the dramatic sort, aren’t you?” Aidan shook his head with a smile. “You are going to date tons of guys, and Wes will hate them all, telling you they aren’t good enough for you. And you’ll hate his girlfriends. But when both sides of the Syntrophos are settled with their own Complements, I’m told they bring the balance needed to the relationship.
“Tons of guys, huh?” He rolled his eyes. “How many gay Immortals my age do you know?”
“I know one.” Aidan grinned. “Let’s call him.” Aidan fished his phone out of his pocket.
“You still have a phone?” Ezra gasped. “How?” He glanced up, eyes wide with wonder.
“I have a very … influential family who aren’t going to take to kindly to me disappearing. I think Cleo intends to pull me away little by little. That’s why Naomi is in Italy and I’m here at school. They know I’m not going anywhere without Naomi. So for now, I guess I have some semblance of freedom.”
Ezra eyed the phone and Aidan was pretty sure he saw drool.
“You want to call someone?” Aidan asked.
“No.” Ezra sighed. “I don’t have anyone to call. “But I’d sell Wes for an hour alone with Instagram and a Starbucks.”
Aidan laughed. “I’m probably not supposed to do this, but you’ll like Graham.” He started to dial.
“What, no!” Ezra lunged for the phone. “Are you crazy?”
“I’m doing the stupid straight guy thing where I introduce you to my one gay friend. Like you’re perfect for each other because you’re both gay, but I’m not an idiot. I just think you two would genuinely hit it off as friends.”
“Don’t dial that phone, Aidan. I will kill you.”
“Too late.”
“Oh, my God, who are we Facetiming?” Ezra scooted in close to sit beside Aidan.
“Come on.” Aidan held his phone up. “Humor me. I have a point.”
“I hate you.” Ezra pasted on a smile as Graham finally picked up.
“You better be dying.” Graham switched on the light next to his bed. “Someone better be dying or on fire.”
“Wake up, sunshine,” Aidan said. “I have someone I want you to meet.”
“Aidan, it’s four in the morning here. You cannot introduce me to cute boys at four in the morning.” Graham’s wavy dark blond hair stood up on end, and he had pillow marks on his face and chest. “At least not before coffee.” He rubbed his eyes.
“You sound like that redhead we all know and love.” Aidan wanted to ask how she was doing, but the less Ezra or any of his new students knew about Allie, the better. “Graham, this is Ezra. We’ve been doing some training together in that class I’ve been teaching.”
&nbs
p; “Yeah I heard about your community service, dumbass. How the hell did you get caught?”
“Not paying attention,” Aidan said dryly, making light of his run in with the Senate. “Be nice and say hello to my student.”
“Hey Ezra.” Graham managed a sleepy half smile. “What’s up?”
“Hi. Sorry. Apparently, straighty here is trying to prove a point.” Ezra’s ears turned pink.
“He’ll get around to making sense eventually. I usually just go with it. Aidan’s a great teacher, even though he thinks he sucks. But when he gets you in the sparring ring, go for his left knee. He’s got this trick spot right behind the join—”
“I do not have a trick knee, Graham,” Aidan interrupted. “Don’t listen to him.”
“You call me. I’ve been sparring with this guy for years. I’ve got all the secrets.”
“I’m going to be the uber stupid, straight guy for one sec, and then we can all pretend like this call never happened,” Aidan said.
“Aidan, don’t be an idiot.” Graham ran his hands through his hair. “Ezra, I apologize for whatever he’s about to say.”
“I’ll be quick. Ezra here is feeling a little down for the lack of eligible gay Immortals his age. And crushing on a certain someone he’d rather not be crushing on.”
“Ooh, straight guy crush? Never a good idea.” Graham winced. “I’ve been there man, it’s not fun.”
”Wait, who did you have a crush on?” Aidan asked.
“Not you.” Graham rolled his eyes. “I may have had a thing for Darius once upon a time.”
Aidan made retching noises, smiling when Ezra laughed.
“Who is Darius?” Ezra asked.
“My brother, who is far too old for Graham.”
“Hey, he’s only like ten years older, and I’m sorry, dude, but your brother is adorable. I could totally gross you out and tell you about my current mad crush on Greyson.”
“Stop talking, little man.” Aidan grimaced. “He’s Naomi’s father.”
“You have no idea. He’s so hot, I don’t even care how old he is,” Graham said.
“Well, I’m pretty sure my sister and my girlfriend agree with you,” Aidan said. “But let’s get back to the point of my call, so you can get back to sleep.”
“Right. Listen, Ezra.” Graham sat up against his headboard. “I totally know what it’s like to feel like the only gay Immortal teenager in the world. But there are more of us out there than you’d think. There’s an online network I can show you. It’s not sleazy at all. It’s just a really great community that offers the kind of support we all need.”
“Like just for Immortals? That would be great, thanks, man.”
“And you can call me anytime. But Aidan, try to make it after ten am, bro. I need my beauty rest.”
“Fine. Go to sleep, little man. Talk to you later.”
“Miss you, Aidan. When you coming home?”
“Very soon.” Christmas break started next week and he couldn’t wait to get home. “Night, Graham.”
“Night, Ezra.” Graham winked and ended the call.
“I will have dreams about that sleepy smile of his.” Ezra sighed.
“That’s not really why I called him,” Aidan said. “I just wanted you to know there are other people all over the world going through the same thing. Immortal. Mortal. Gay. Straight. Bi. Pan. Trans. Everyone our age has tons of crazy shit we’re dealing with. And all we really want is a normal life where we get unlimited screen time, all the iced coffees we want and to fall in love with someone amazing.”
“I guess we can’t all be as lucky as you and the redhead.”
“Yeah. Lucky,” Aidan sighed. “I just have to figure out how I’m going to tell her I’m staying in Germany a few years longer than we planned.”
“Ouch,” Ezra said. “I’m sorry you got caught up in this mess with us.”
“I guess we can all probably relate to that ‘means to an end’ thing when it comes to the Milan Initiative.”
“That’s the first time I’ve seen Ezra really laugh in ages,” Pilar said after Aidan sent his student back to his rooms for the evening. They’d spent the afternoon sparring and Aidan realized Ezra could barely hold a sword correctly.
“He’s a good kid,” Aidan said. “But we’ve got a lot of work to do with him.” Aidan returned their equipment to the freestanding shelves along the far end of the pavilion.
“Not everyone comes from a family like yours,” Pilar said, helping him gather discarded weapons. “His family is young and, like many Immortal families these days, they don’t place as much emphasis on battle training as they probably should. Most of them focus on honing abilities and don’t spend nearly enough time teaching their children how to protect themselves. Some don’t have the time. Others don’t have the resources. You’re lucky.”
“I didn’t think so when I was a kid.” Aidan thought of all the years spent training in the underground. He was only a few years older than Ezra, but he had light-years more experience. Aidan watched Pilar out of the corner of his eye. Ezra said she was a friend, but he wasn’t sure yet. She was an intimidating woman. And tall, taller than Aidan, and he was creeping up on six and a half feet. She was an Amazon warrior from the ancient Greek city of Themiskyra on the Black Sea of modern day Turkey. Her dusky skin shone like smooth copper and her long dark braids fell to her waist. She was gorgeous, but scary at the same time. Pilar was more than two thousand years old, and she’d studied the Syntrophos bond most of her life. She was fascinated with the bond and probably knew more about it than even Gregg. Aidan had already gathered that she kept most of her knowledge close to the belt. She didn’t trust Cleo and Genevieve with her knowledge.
“We’ll be leaving in a few hours. I’ll escort you home before Ezra and I head back to Italy. I’ll be back next week with Wes.”
“I’ll be leaving for Christmas break next week,” Aidan said.
“No you won’t,” Pilar said.
“I’ve had plane tickets home for months. If Cleo and Genevieve don’t want my mother to rain down the apocalypse on their heads, they better let me go home for a visit. I’ll be back when the new semester starts.”
“Leave it to those two to not explain things clearly.” Pilar’s shoulders sagged. “I’m sorry, Aidan, but whatever agreement you have with them, they’ve sugar coated it. They’ve given you freedoms they don’t give anyone else. Not even me. But make no mistake, you belong to the Initiative. You aren’t going anywhere.”
“How do they expect me to keep this from my family if I can’t ever visit them?”
“They know about your ‘community service?’” She said it with a sneer.
“Yes but they’ll expect me home next week. My parents are Governor of the Great Lakes Region, if Mom thinks I have community service keeping me here in Germany for the holidays, she’s going to pull some strings to get me home. I don’t think you understand, people don’t tell my mother no.”
“Get them to come here for your holiday. The Initiative won’t interfere as long as you stay where you are supposed to be and keep your mouth shut. But there is no way you are returning to the States. For any reason.”
“This is bullshit.” Aidan kicked the marble edge of the fire pit in frustration, raking his hands through his hair. “I want my life back.”
“I am afraid neither you nor I have that luxury. Like it or not, we are beholden to the Initiative.” Pilar said, her voice low and concerned. “The sooner you learn that lesson, the better.”
“It’s just … I had a plan to set my family at ease about all of this and now that’s not going to work.” Aidan sank down onto the lounge. He had to get home to explain things to Allie. About Naomi, the Initiative, all of it. And now they’d robbed him of that too.
“They know about your connection with her,” Pilar said, crouching down beside him. “The girlfriend. Do not bring her here.”
Aidan’s blood ran cold. “What connection?”
“Cle
o has discovered your girl is a telepath with a direct link to your mind. Right now, she believes the distance protects your mind from this girl. She does not see this as a useful tool. Do not give her a reason to think it is.”
“Useful? How can sharing a thought with my girlfriend be useful for them.” Aidan’s hands trembled as he shoved them into his pockets.
“Cut the crap. I knew your father a long time ago and he wouldn’t raise a fool. You know exactly what I mean and you need to shut it down while you still can. Cleo doesn’t know it yet, but it’s only a matter of time before she learns exactly what a telepathic mind can do. You know our gifts are fueled by our power, but those gifts that happen up here.” She tapped his forehead. “Abilities that work through the psyche are connected to the power of the dreamworld. You have the link to the dreamworld they’re looking for. Don’t let them find it. You’re strong enough to sever that connection. Do it. If not to protect yourself, do it to protect the girl you love.”
“Why are you helping me?” Aidan asked, his face like iron.
“It’s not about you.” She shook her head. “I can’t do anything to help the kids already caught up in the Initiative, but I can make damn sure we don’t ruin anymore lives.
Chapter Sixteen
Aidan
The Dreamworld, December
“Aidan, I know you love Allie, but if they got their hands on her, you’d never forgive yourself.” Naomi sat on his sofa back in his room at the house he shared with Fitzy. This was her first visit since her move to Milan, and he’d missed her so much. After more than a month apart, it hurt to breathe without her.
Aidan lay with his head in her lap, content to be beside her again. “I don’t know how to protect her from this.”
“Yes, you do. You’re just too chicken shit to do it.”
Naomi was right.
“If you put it off any longer, a lot of people are going to get hurt.”
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