Lightning In My Wake (The Lightning Series) by Lila Felix Page B

his job, most likely, because of his recent connection to Theo and what he was studying. And he’d just announced that he was going to travel with us to help and Theo was whining about gloves or some piddly thing.
    Theo stuttered in response, “ No—I just—he—no breathing.”
    I turned to our new friend. “Collin, what have you done? I’ve never seen Theo stutter like that. You must’ve committed some great crime. All I can think right now is that you did something inappropriate with glove and breathing.”
    He broke out into a boisterous chortle loud enough to jostle some of the antiquated books right from their shelves. He quickly quieted himself cleared his throat. Poor guy, he probably wasn’t used to laughing—unless it was at himself.
    “I hadn’t had a visitor in a great many years. I may have been overprotective of the records.”
    Theo was still grumbling, ‘Overprotective, my ass.’
    I quieted down after the glove uproar and dove back into the texts. They were fascinating to me. Everything about who we were and where we’d come from demanded my attention and held it steadfast. Through just a few hours of reading, I’d discovered that the detailed stories of grandeur my mother and grandmother told me as a child were a firm opposition to the cold, almost scientific observations gathered in these books. Eivan was painted as a shell of a man, commandeered by his gifts—a slave to his blessing.
    Aggravated, I continued on and finally came upon information on Sevella—which was more of the same. She was re garded as an unsocial creature—inhospitable and standoffish. How could the stories of my youth and these ‘official records’ be so different?
    I slammed the book, not wanting any more of my visi ons of the Eidolon and his mate to be muddled by the flippant attitude of the authors of these histories.
    “These are lies,” I bellowed at no one in particular. “I can’t stand it.”
    Collin looked down, as if silently deciding neither to agree nor disagree with my assessment. I’d probably just ruffled the feathers of at least two thirds of my race with one statement. And if the Synod ever got wind of my rebellion—punishment would be warranted.
    Punishment for the Synod, at least for me, was limiting my travel. Not travelling to me was as painful as caging me in a cell.
    Theo bristled at my words. I didn’t mean to cause him pain—but what was in front of us wasn’t truth. And there was no point in all this searching if we were just going to settle for the Synod’s truth. We needed Eivan’s truth.
    Theo shut the book in front of him and leaned back, arms crossed over his chest. He was upset with me. I needed to keep my thoughts to myself for once in my life—well, the snotty ones.
    “I need to go to Tibet and make sure they are ready for our arrival—and get some other things done,” Theo said, standing and stretching out his back with arms raised in the air. A slow rising blush covered my neck and bloomed in my cheeks. It had been too long and not long enough since I’d been in Theo’s presence. His shirt became taut around his shoulders as he bent left and right and his biceps stretched the limits of the material around them.
    I knew what was under that shirt.
    You just can’t unvisualize things like Theo’s torso.
    He was irresistible—even in mundane things, like stretching.
    “Okay, do you have a picture?” I slid my chair out in preparation to leave.
    “I don’t. Not on me. I will be back soon, Querida.”
    I grumped out a sound of mild irritation. I was itching already for flashing.
    “Collin, do you need help?”
    He looked at me, shocked, “No, thank you.”
    Theo sidled up next to me, “Go wherever you want. There’s nothing pressing happening until tomorrow. If you can just be back by tonight,” he bit down on his plumped bottom lip as he told me that last bit. It was him asking me to be back tonight.
    “Or we can go to Tibet tonight.”
    He thought it over