Page 63 of I Married Kayog
“You can feel it?” Ellen asked, her voice and gaze intense.
“Yes,” I said with a nod.
“Is it painful or uncomfortable?” Arafin asked, a hint of concern audible in his voice.
“No,” I said without hesitation. “It’s just noisy, especially now after experiencing what true silence feels like.”
I opened my mouth to say something else, but words failed me. How did you apologize to someone for laying the worst suspicions at their feet not because of any of their actions, but simply because of their species and profession? Even in the chaotic noise of all their emotions mingling together, the total absence of any malice or evil intent from Arafin shamed me.
“Despite the noise, can you tell which emotion belongs to whom?” Arafin asked.
“Yes. I clearly perceive your emotions,” I said sheepishly. “Thank you.”
Although he was maybe only ten or fifteen years older than I was, the Temern gave me an almost paternal smile.
“Good. I’m glad that’s settled. Now, I would like you to focus on your mate’s emotions and to block Ellen and me.”
I blinked, my eyes flicking in turn towards Linsea, Ellen, and Arafin.
“I… I don’t know how,” I said hesitantly.
“As part of the cure we devised for you, we helped your brain develop new neuronal connections that every other Temern naturally possesses and strengthens over time. They should allow you to isolate the emotions you want to perceive while blocking others. I’m going to send a weak signal to those specific neurons to stimulate them and help you see which part of your brain you need to activate.”
“Okay,” I said, my excitement cranking up another notch.
Since he lowered the dampening effect, the enthralling song of Linsea’s soul had been washing over me in the most delightful caress. Sadly, its beauty was drowning in the—admittedly rather pleasant—emotions of the two doctors. But the thought of finally basking in the perfection of my female’s melody without any other interference had me dying with anticipation.
I shivered violently as what felt like a tiny electrical spark went off deep inside my brain.
“Are you alright, Kayog?” Arafin asked in a worried voice. “Was it too strong?”
I shook my head reassuringly. “No, not too strong. It just took me by surprise. But yes, I see which part you stimulated.”
“Perfect,” Ellen said with enthusiasm. “Try to reproduce this on your own and exclude everyone but Linsea.”
I nodded and attempted to replicate the spark I had felt. To my shock, it only took a couple of seconds. However, instead of isolating my mate, complete silence resonated loudly as I ended up blocking everyone.
It took about a dozen tries before I finally succeeded. Tears welled in my eyes when her mesmerizing song soared in its divine purity all by itself, untainted, unchallenged, undisturbed by other unwanted noise.
“You’re so beautiful, my dove,” I whispered, my throat constricted.
“It worked?” Arafin asked with a thrill in his voice.
I wanted to tell him to piss off and not distract me from reveling in my mate’s mesmerizing song. But I quelled the ungrateful thought and forced myself to focus on the task at hand. The sooner I learned how to master this wondrous gift, the sooner I could finally be alone with my soulmate and grant her my full attention.
“Yes. I only hear her right now,” I confirmed.
“Excellent. Now repeat the same thing but focus solely on me while blocking the other two, and then do the same with Arafin once you’ve succeeded with me,” Ellen said.
I complied. To my dismay, it took a few attempts to be able to isolate them. Although I had a better understanding now of how to achieve it, it would take some practice for it to come more naturally and to succeed on the first try.
We repeated the process a second time with me focusing on each of them in turn, and then Arafin further lowered the dampening effect until it reached a level where I could no longer isolate anyone. He brought the level back up until it was comfortable again and where I could block others with minimal difficulty.
“We’re going to leave the circlet at this setting for now,” Ellen said.
“For now?” I echoed.
She nodded. “It’s like a muscle to be trained. The more you practice, and the more control you will gain over those neuronal pathways, on top of likely creating new and better ones. If allgoes to plan—and so far, it seems to be—soon, you will no longer need the circlet at all.”
