Page 66 of The World Undone

They were mine, all of them. And I was theirs.

The connections linking us were bright and vivid, stunning in the way bioluminescence was stunning—the kind of captivating colors and lights that took your breath away. The links also didn’t feel imaginary or ephemeral. I could feel Eli’s arrogance, the way it wrapped around his fears like a security blanket, Atlas’s insecurities that he wasn’t enough lapped against my skin, but so did his unwavering stubbornness, his strength. Wade’s quiet intelligence, laced with his newfound sense of self, purpose. Darius’s unwavering loyalty and reluctant compassion, braided in with a dark power that hurt to focus on too much.

And then there was Max, the crux of us all. Her determined sense of justice, her legitimate kindness, her yearning for community.

They were strong, steady, coated in warmth.

I took a deep breath, drew in that warmth, lined my veins with it, my body.

“Fucking hell,” Eli whispered.

“Uh, Dec. Open your eyes.” Wade’s voice held a tinge of fear, of laughter. I felt it pulse through me.

I did as he said and found both of my arms engulfed in vivid, intense flames.

“Fuck.” I waved my arms, panicking as the flames climbed higher, fanned by my anxiety. “I don’t know how to turn these buggers off.”

Max laughed, the sound enough to calm some of my unease. “Just take a deep breath, Dec. Honestly, you have far better control of them than I usually do. I could feel you harness the bonds, could feel as you pulled the flames from me.” She shook her head, eyes wide in awe as she ran her hands up and down her arms, like she could still feel me there. “The bonds have never seemed so visceral to me—so clear. And you had complete control—as if you could play them like guitar strings.” When I didn’t relax, she laughed again—the sound a delicious melody. “Seriously, that was amazing. The fire won’t hurt you. It can’t. It is you. Just breathe.”

Her dark eyes found mine, they were filled with mirth, with pride. And for a moment, I was transfixed by their depths, by the way the flames cocooning me reflected in the cool, almost-black shade of her eyes. She took a deep breath, a gentle reminder for me to do the same.

I nodded, and followed through.

But the flames didn’t go down, I’d lost whatever grip on the connection I’d had, though now that I knew how to access it, how to draw from it, it would be easier next time.

A soft smirk hooked the corner of Max’s mouth as I felt her—she drew the fire away from me back to herself, controlled it, and then absorbed it back into her own hands.

Darius walked over as my heartrate settled down, then swiped his arm between us like he expected to find resistance, like he could grab hold of whatever was linking Max and I.

“Fascinating.” His brows furrowed in concentration. “It seems we can only borrow them. Meaning only one of us can access your power at a given time.”

“How did you do that?” Wade walked up to me, grabbed my hand in his. He had that look in his eyes—the one he always wore whenever he dove into a new theory or dense textbook. He looked like he wanted to dissect me, peel me back layer by layer while he took notes. With a quill. “Can you walk me through what you were thinking about?”

“I see the incubus hasn’t stolen your nerdiness.” I shoved him off, laughing.

The sound bubbled up out of me, a fountain that couldn’t be contained—full and demanding. Joy.

It was infectious, growing bigger and louder as the others joined in.

Even Atlas’s face was split into a smile. He glanced timidly around at us all, like he felt guilty for enjoying himself, like he was still getting used to being back in his skin and figuring out how to interact with us.

Honestly, it was the same for me.

We’d all changed so much and so quickly these last few months. I was looking forward to everything being over—the war, the ritual, whatever else was inevitably thrown at us in the meantime—when we could just sit down and hang, slowly figure out how we all fit together again through all of the transformations we’d undergone.

“Makes sense you’re good at this, Dec,” Atlas said, his eyes meeting mine. The pride I saw there made my chest ache. He was coming back to himself. Not quite like the Atlas I’d always known, but that Atlas wasn’t entirely gone either. He was growing, reshaping into something new. “This power is built on connection. You’ve always been our backbone, kept us in line, the strongest of the lot of us. Well,” he nodded to Max, “except for Bentley of course.”

Max squeezed me to her, and I could feel the rare happiness of the moment settle around us all, warm and soothing.

You’re amazing, she whispered through the link, her voice and sentiment a caress that licked straight from my head down to my toes. More powerful than you realize. You will hold this group together. Don’t lose sight of that. You’re connected to them all through this bond, not just me.

There was something gentle in her tone, affection, maybe, but also something I couldn’t quite name.

A spark of unease unfurled deep in my gut.

Before I could press, she turned back to the group, adding for everyone’s ears, “Now, try to explain exactly how you did that. Maybe we’ll get the fire chain flowing through us all before the night is up.”

We worked well into the night, but we were making serious progress. Even Max—who already had amazing control over her powers—was getting stronger, more adept at conjuring.

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