Chapter Seventeen
“THIS IS our chance. Ready?”
Elliot looked round at Farlden, who nodded, brown eyes intent.
They were outside the library, where Nolan was queueing to return a book and get a couple more out, the girl in front of him trying unsuccessfully to chat him up. The room wasn’t too busy at this time of day, most people still having lunch, so he and Farlden could hopefully get a clear look into his mind.
“We need a recent memory of Eva,” he reminded the Nean, heart thrumming in his chest.
“You said that already,” Farlden told him, fingers tapping against his thigh, the fingertips slightly wider and flatter than those of a Sapiens.
Elliot glanced at Barve and Callie who were in the corridor with them, pretending to have a conversation so no one would realise what was really going on, not that most people considered the possibility of anyone doing magic, given how rare the ability was. They both smiled at him, clearly looking forward to this. Side by side, he saw that they were the same height, Barve’s shoulder length blond hair and light complexion contrasting with the rich dark shades of Callie’s skin and her black hair that was today styled in a mass of wiry curls. Elliot looked back at Farlden and opened his mouth to ask if he was ready, then realised he’d be repeating himself again. He took a deep breath.
“Let’s do it,” he said to Farlden and closed his eyes, thinking about Nolan. He realised too late that they weren’t holding hands but, as Farlden’s magic found his and twined around it, it was clear they no longer needed a physical contact in order to combine their abilities. The connection between them was strengthening; their magics were gradually fitting better together.
Farlden led him to a specific time in Nolan’s past. It felt as if they were sharing a part of their souls with each other and should have been unnerving, but the part of him that was involved in the magic was somehow removed from his emotions and thoughts.
He saw a flash of Nolan’s memory, aware now, when he hadn’t been before, of Farlden’s mental presence beside him, seeing this with him. In the memory it was the first day back at Uni after the summer holidays and Nolan was excited and nervous to see Eva again. He saw her again at the campus and Elliot saw Eva as Nolan did, drinking in everything about her: the long blonde strands of her hair that he ached to feel against his hand; the back of her slim neck where he wanted to kiss her. When he saw her the rest of the world literally faded, other details melting away.
Eva was annoyed with him at first because he hadn’t phoned her once over the summer but she softened when he said he’d thought about her all the time. He gave her a pair of earrings – hoops with gold doves on them that had made him think of her pale beauty – and she kissed him, her lips soft and tasting of strawberry lip balm.
A couple of Eva’s friends came over to greet her but, even though he looked at them, Nolan never saw their faces, which remained indistinct in the memory. He fixed a smile on his face and was polite to them, the high-pitched voices and giggles washing over him, but nothing was real in the vision except for Eva. He was unsure of himself as he reached out and touched her soft, delicate hand, but then her fingers curled around his and the world was perfect.
Despite the fuzzy quality of some of the people, the memory was as clear as something he had experienced himself and Elliot was disorientated by the sight of Barve and Callie, his hand still tingling with the sensation of being entwined with Eva’s. He could almost feel the warmth of her skin.
His eyes found Farlden’s and the world made sense again, real life sharpening around him while the memory faded.
“He loves her,” he said, the words not beginning to describe the depth of the devotion he had felt from Nolan. “She means everything to him.”