Chapter 46

FORTY-SIX

One moment, she was with him, and he was wonderful: warm and sweet, indulging her presence, his aura filled with tenderness.

The next, he'd shuttered part of himself.

Oh, he was still there, and she clung to him as if he were the last man in the Universe. She didn't really know why, but now more than ever, she felt a terrible sense of urgency, as if the Universe were about to be torn apart at its seams.

She couldn't see what he was doing or where he was going, but at times, she felt a flare in his ka'qui : an intense bout of violent anger combined with something darker that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

But controlled.

Always controlled.

And in between, moments of perfect silence and stillness.

Dragek's mind could be a scary place. It was so compartmentalized. There was the gentle part, which he reserved only for her. But there was also the highly disciplined and ruthless part.

For a while, she was afraid to say anything to him—afraid that he might be caught in some critical moment where he couldn't afford even the slightest distraction.

But then, something changed.

All of a sudden, a great energy coursed through their bond. It felt like the fabric of the Universe itself was being torn apart. If not for the strength and clarity granted to her by the krisalix , Jade would have been lost in the tumult.

Dragek, she cried out, unable to help herself. What's happening?

Don't worry, he reassured her. I merely stepped through a rift in the space-time continuum.

Merely? You Kordolians really have a talent for understatement, don't you? Explain to me exactly what that means… and more importantly, are you safe?

Jade… His mindvoice turned impossibly gentle. I'm still here. I'm not leaving you. I've just gone to a different point in a different dimension. I have some business to execute here, after which I'll return as quickly as possible. The fact that you've been able to follow me here is incredible. Don't worry about a thing. Your presence here is enough.

You give me too much credit. I haven't really done anything. She'd only done what felt natural. It hadn't caused her any particular hardship or required exceptional effort.

Believe me, you've done everything. Now, bear with me while I do the necessary. He was so sincere, so direct, so certain of himself.

Why do I get the feeling you're seriously understating the severity of the situation again?

There's no point in dwelling on what might happen before it's even happened. Dragek's tone turned wry.

Jade shook her head in exasperation.

How could he sound so casual about all of this? Kordolians were really something else. The entire Universe could be falling apart, and Dragek would be as cool as an icicle.

Just be here with me.

I'll oblige… although I'm sure you could manage just as well without me.

No. Believe me, I am on the verge of going insane. You are the only thing keeping me from doing so. But so you should. You're the one that caused this madness in the first place.

In the vast space created by their minds—between dimensions, where time itself became irrelevant—Jade felt it, too.

The madness.

The feeling that, if she lost him now, it would all be for nothing.

As the storm between them surged, he put up his barriers again. It infuriated her, but there was nothing she could do about it.

The krisalix had channeled her soul and her consciousness into this place, and she couldn't go back now.