“Sorry. You were… loud.”
He blinked at her, startled. “And you used a spell to shut me out. You can understand my thoughts now?”
“Not much. Just… It’s never the way people think, you know? Now that I can understand bits of the Old Language, I realize people don’t think in complete sentences. Or their souls don’t, I guess. It’s more like… impressions. A word here or there. A phrase. It’s more emotion than distinct thoughts.”
“Oh.” He turned at the corner and headed toward a taxi stand. It was the middle of the week and traffic was light, but it still took a few minutes for a car to show up. They slid in the back and Ava rubbed her hands together, happy to be in the heat again.
Rhys leaned forward. “Pardon me. English?”
“Of course.”
He gave the driver an address, then sat back and looked at her. Then he looked away and stared out the window.
“I know you’re worried about me, Rhys.”
“You have no idea.”
“I’m fine. Really. This is normal, right?” She tried to explain it in a way that would leave him unconcerned about her future. “Like you said, we all grieve in different ways. This is a step. It’s hard for me to be around you, because you remind me of… Malachi.” She forced herself to use his name. “That will pass in time. God knows, I’m not the only woman in the world to lose a partner. I’ll be fine.”
She was surprised when he grabbed her hand.
“Just… wait,” he said. “Don’t shut down on me. Don’t draw away.”
The intensity of his voice rocked her. What was going on? Did Rhys have feelings for her? There had been a flirtation at the beginning, but she could have sworn they were past it.
“Rhys, you know I only think of you as a friend, right?”
He shook his head. “It’s not that. I mean, yes, of course I know—”
“I’m not even thinking of anyone that way right now. I can’t.” Her concern for him broke through her resolve. The last thing she needed was to break a friend’s heart before she cut him—all of them—out of her life. “And I don’t want you to think—”
“Ava!” He pressed his lips together when he saw the driver looking back at them suspiciously. “I’m not talking about my feelings for you. Which are only of friendship, of course. I’m talking about—”
“Then what’s all the talk about me shutting down and drawing away?”
“I just…” He almost looked as if he was in pain. “There are some things… some mysteries—”
“Here!” The car jerked to a halt in front of a large, modern apartment building. The driver looked at Ava. “Are you getting out with him, miss? Or can I take you to another address?”
Ava smiled at his concern. “I’m fine here. Thank you.”
Rhys paid the driver and slid silently from the car, holding out a hand to help her on the icy sidewalk. As the taxi pulled away, he put both hands on her shoulders and dipped his head down to meet her eyes.
“There are some magics—some destinies—we can only guess at. As much as I study, as much as I revere science and strive to be a rational scholar, I can never forget this. We are”—he let out a rueful laugh—“descended from angels, Ava. There are some mysteries only heaven knows. Remember that.”
She frowned. “I know.”
“Remember that.”
“Will you just tell me what the hell is going on, Rhys? I’m starting to worry.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the lobby. “Welcome to my world for the past few weeks.”
As soon as Ava walked through the door, her senses were assaulted. There was something seriously… other about Max’s place. She ignored Sari and Renata’s warm greetings. She ignored Damien’s obvious concern. She felt like she was going to jump out of her skin. She flinched when Max put a hand on her shoulder.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“You tell me.” She crossed her arms and stepped away from him. “I don’t… I don’t feel good. What’s going on?”
All five of them exchanged worried glances, but Ava had a hard time focusing on anything but the crawling feeling beneath her skin. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down, but it was difficult. Her instincts urged her to flee.
“Ava,” Damien started.
“Where’s Leo?”
She rubbed her arms. Her skin was going crazy. She whispered another spell to shut out the souls in the room that were practically shouting at her. The tension caused her stomach to pitch.
“I think… I need to go.”
“Ava, why don’t you sit down?” Sari said.
Her breathing picked up. “What’s going on here? What’s wrong with this place?”
Rhys stepped forward and raised his hands. “Remember what I told you, Ava. Remember what I said.”
“What?” She didn’t remember anything. She felt battered. There was too much going on. Too many thoughts. Too many emotions. And threading through the chaos was the echo of a voice that couldn’t be. Malachi’s voice. She hadn’t heard it months. Not since she’d started lessons with Orsala. The memory of it shoved her back painfully. Ava felt the tears come to her eyes, but she blinked them back.
“Rhys, I want to go.”
“No!” Renata almost shouted. “You can’t.”
“Please,” Max said. “Ava, if you’d just sit down and—”
“Where’s Leo?” she asked again. She would see him, then leave. She couldn’t stay in this apartment any longer. “Where is he? I just want to see him and then I’ll go back. I don’t want to be here.”
A door down the hall burst open and Leo came charging out with a smile. “Hello, sister.” He rushed over and picked her up in his arms, swinging her around. She buried her face in his chest and took a deep breath.
“I missed you, Ava.”
“I missed you, too.” His arms were warm and steady around her, a familiar comfort. “I’m sorry, Leo. I… I need to go.”
“No. Please, stay. Everything will be all right.”
“It’s not you. I just don’t feel good.”
“There is someone here, Ava. Someone—”
“Your shirt.” She picked at the button on the front, frowning. Something about it.
“You need to sit down. We don’t want to shock you, but… There’s no easy way to say this.”
There was something about the scent of his shirt. Ava took a deep breath as Leo’s hand smoothed over her head.
“We all missed you so much.”
“What is that?” she murmured, staring at the warm flannel that covered his chest.
“What?”
Her head reared back when she placed the smell. “What the hell?”
Ava shoved away from him, holding up her hands, backing away from all six of her friends.
“Your shirt, Leo.” She didn’t want to be mad, but months of suppressed anger reared up. She’d tried. She’d tried so hard to keep going. And no matter what she did, Malachi followed her. In her memories. Her dreams. Now, even the scent of him crept up on her from his brother’s clothes. It was wrong. So wrong.
Leo only looked confused. “My shirt?”
“It smells—that smells like Malachi’s shirt! Are you wearing his shirts now? Why would you do that?”
Leo grabbed for her hand, but she was already heading toward the door. Whatever sick intervention they had planned was over. She was done. Gone. She never wanted to see them again. She needed to get as far away from their twisted world as she could. Ava was getting off the Irin roller coaster, and she never wanted to—
“Ava, please!” Rhys cried out. He ran to her, wrapping his arms around her before she could open the door. “We didn’t know how to tell you. We didn’t know what was right.”
She whirled around in his arms. “What the hell are you talking about?”
The memory of his voice grew louder. It pressed on her. Without her volition, she saw the mating marks at her wrists begin to glow.
Rhys saw them, too. “Open your mind, Ava. Remember what I said. Look at your arms and listen. Don’t you hear him? Don’t you feel him?”
The memories crashed through her. “Why are you doing this?” she said, tears falling from her eyes. “Why?”