Lightning Kissed

  ***

  “I don’t know. I was only out of the room this morning. It would have to be someone who was monitoring every single thing we did. They would have to know when I left… Wait, you don’t think…”

  This time Theo responded, “We are just thinking out loud here, Collin. No one is being accused.”

  Pema swiftly turned around and countered Theo, “Who else could it be?”

  “Collin?” I inquired again. It was like I continued to call his name, hoping he would jump at the chance to defend himself. He lifted his head slowly, taking the chance to deliberate a decision. A lone tear came down my face and I swiped it away in an instant, not wanting to show any sign of weakness, especially in front of Pema.

  “Do you want me to leave, Eidolon?” His inquiry sounded more like asking to be granted permission to stay. I knew that unless all the evidence left nothing to chance, that Theo wouldn’t make him go.

  “No, Collin. I don’t believe you had anything to do with this.” His words said one thing, but his voice told me he wasn’t quite sure.

  “You have spies in your ranks, Eidolon,” she sneered the word. Pema was awfully pushy.

  Odd didn’t even begin to describe how obtuse it was to hear Theo referred to with a title. She might as well have called him Your Highness. I hated to admit it, but it put me in my place. Regina had been right—as much as I hated it. All the time the Synod had called me in, I really had built myself up, thinking that I was something special. In my own words, I’d thought I was the shit. But it was him. And not only was that okay with me, it was a relief not to be held up to any standard.

  Suddenly, I felt two inches tall next to him.

  “I am aware,” he quipped back. He didn’t even flinch at being called Eidolon anymore. Somehow, in three days’ time, he’d absorbed the title and let it mesh with who he already was.

  Theodore Ramsey was amazing.

  It hit me, shot down through my body like electricity shoots from the sky and splits open a tree. I loved him. I’d known that for years and maybe I had always been meant to love him, even before I was born. I’d taken it all for granted—taken him for granted.

  “Maybe we should take the day to rest.” I suggested. This was me saving Theo from himself and everyone else who wanted a piece of him. “Let’s go visit your parents and reconvene tomorrow. I’m sure they’re worried. They are on vacation in France now. It’s close.”

  At first he shot me a quizzical look, but soon got my drift. His parents hated France. His dad said it was too frou-frou. They would never vacation in France in a million years. This was me testing the proverbial spy-filled waters. He took my hand, squeezing it in reassurance. “I think that’s the best idea I’ve heard in days.”

  Pema flashed out of the room before we could discuss it further.

  “Collin, you are welcome to come with us.”

  He looked at Theo with such reverence and awe. “I would actually love to see the country, but I think your mate-to-be would like to have you to herself. Why don’t you just let me know where you are tomorrow—if you still want me to join you on this journey?”

  “Of course we do, Collin. Let’s go, Colby.”

  As soon as we got into the room, we packed up our things wordlessly. Theo grabbed my hands. “Wanna flash together?”

  I giggled uncontrollably at that. Theo could make something so simple sound so intimate.

  “Yes.” A tear came to fruition in the corner of my eye at the thought. If we’d only had the information we did now, my father would still be alive. How many had been lost in the fray because those who had the facts hid them from the rest of us?

  He raised one of his large hands, cupped the side of my face, and used the pad of his thumb to wipe away the tear that had broken free. “What is it? Is this too much?”

  “No, I just wish we’d known about traveling together when my dad was around.”

  “Ah, Colby, your dad would’ve loved to travel with your mom. I wish we’d known. Hell, I wish we’d known when we were kids. There was nothing I wished for more than to travel with you. We could’ve pretended to be Vikings together instead of me waiting to hear the stories from you. Let’s go. I know Mom wants to sniff me and make sure I’m not getting too skinny.”

  “Ready?” I took his hold again.

  “I’ve been ready all my life.”