Chapter 35

“Oh, yeah, that’s the stuff,” Allie moaned as she eased into the scalding hot bath water.

Now I know what Aidan meant about brutal training. She was bruised from head to toe almost every day, with near constant broken fingers, toes, and ribs. It didn’t matter that she healed within days; she was still in a great deal of pain most of the time.

As the jets kicked on, she sprinkled the water with a heavy dose of the bath salts Aidan had given her for Valentine’s Day. He’d made them himself, but they weren’t the girly kind of bath salts meant to make her skin soft and fragrant—these were meant to ease sore muscles and give her some relief. They were the bomb. He was nervous about giving them to her, in case she got the wrong idea. Things were much better between them now but not like it was before.

Resting her head against the cool edge of the tub, she inhaled the eucalyptus-scented steam and listened to the gloomy lyrics talking about blame and escape. Allie’s eyes drooped and swirling masses of fog filled her mind. She drifted, slowly slipping beneath the water. Through the muddled cloud of her thoughts, something warm and familiar pulled at her. Her power stirred deep in her chest, and she felt a sense of urgency, pushing her to reach for that elusive thing. Something she lost and desperately needed to find.

Night, Kayla, thanks for listening, Aidan said as he leaned in for a kiss. Allie retreated into the fog. She didn’t want to see this.

What the hell? Allie? His voice echoed in her mind as loudly as if he shouted.

She jolted awake with a splash, spewing water from her lungs. Her heart hammered in her chest.

“Falling asleep in the bathtub, really?” she muttered at her stupidity. She climbed out of the tepid water and reached for a towel.

She rolled her eyes at the sound of Kashmir, Aidan’s self-imposed ringtone.

“Hello?” she croaked.

“What exactly are you doing, you crazy redhead?”

“Drowning in my bathtub. Why?”

“I’ll assume you mean that literally, since I just felt like I was drowning and now my mouth tastes like soapy flowers.”

“What?” Her brain was still fuzzy.

“Something weird just happened, and I’m pretty sure I’m not the responsible party. I’m getting on the ferryboat now. I’ll pick you up in a few.”

“No, Aidan. It’s just a stupid fluke.”

“Alexis Ann, that was weird even by my standards,” he said dryly. “We need our mentors.”

“Fine," she relented. "I'll get dressed and meet you outside in twenty. She was starting to feel bad about sneaking out all the time, but her parents were too busy looking the other way to notice.

* * *

“I’m sorry; this could have waited.” Allie flopped onto a chair in the common room.

“This is why we’re your mentors,” Emma said. “Now, tell us everything.”

It’s going to be a long night. Allie recounted all the evening’s events from her perspective, and then it was Aidan’s turn to do the same. When all the details had finally been discussed ad nauseum, her head throbbed with a dull ache.

“I think it’s safe to assume this is Allie’s show,” Jin said. “But Aidan seems to be responding quite strongly.”

Emma nodded in agreement. “I’ve seen this before, although never in ones so young, but I’m almost certain she’s opened a telepathic link.”

“No.” Aidan shook his head, his voice barely audible. “No, no—please … no.” He ran his fingers through his hair the way he did when he was really frustrated.

“Your subconscious minds seem to be reaching out to one another,” Emma speculated.

“Like an unconscious desire to connect with someone who understands,” Jin added. “A coping mechanism.”

“I was only trying to take a step back, Allie!” Aidan’s voice was a harsh rasp. “You couldn’t just let me have a little distance? You had to pull me right back?” He rose to pace, his face white and his eyes wide.

“Aidan, you know she didn’t do this on purpose,” Emma said.

“What does it mean?” Allie asked miserably. Judging by Aidan’s reaction, this was really bad.

“It means we’re right back at boundary issues!” he snarled.

“Get it under control, kid,” Jin said softly.

“This is a very powerful and complicated gift. You guys need to learn to cooperate,” Emma said. “Whatever issues you’ve been having need to be left at the door.”

“What should we expect?” Allie asked. She sat in a daze, feeling like this was all happening to someone else.

“It will take many years of practice to attain a true telepathic connection.”

“Yeah, if we were normal.” Aidan doubled over, taking a deep breath. “She can’t be in my head like that!”

She’d never seen him struggle for control like this.

“Deep breaths, Aidan,” Jin said, his voice full of compassion.

“You will likely only feel this connection when you sleep, but don’t fight it. Just let it evolve naturally,” Emma said.

“And be respectful of each other’s privacy. Thoughts and dreams are not easily controlled. You may hear things you wish you hadn’t,” Jin added. “I want you both to start keeping a dream journal.”

“And maybe we should set some time aside every week to discuss your developments since it involves you both,” Emma said eagerly.

Allie glanced at Aidan, suddenly feeling like a lab rat they were dying to toss into the maze just to see what it would do.