Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 138217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
“Yes, that intrigued me, too. I assumed at first it was because of her medical training—apparently, she’s a fully qualified nurse with a specialization in the manufacturing side of medicine, and previously worked in a part of the family’s operations that makes medical-grade equipment. She used her telekinesis to move tiny components.”
“I hear a ‘but’ in there.”
“I reached out through my various connections and got an interesting response from Ivan.”
“You know,” Yakov said, diverted, “if you’d asked me the name of a person least likely to mate with a changeling, I’d have picked him.” Ivan Mercant was cool and sophisticated and clearly thought bears were lunatics who’d escaped the asylum—but then again, the latter was the default conclusion of many people.
“I think being in a pack of cats suits him just fine,” Silver said with another one of those slight smiles.
“Hmm.” Yakov rubbed his jaw. “I see it. Mercants are as slinky as cats. Is he up for visitors of the bearish variety?”
Silver’s smile deepened the slightest fraction at his grin. “Leave Ivan in peace, Yasha. At least for the moment. Arwen is hovering over him as it is.”
“Oh well, then, job done.” No one hovered better than an empath. “So, what does Ivan have to say about this Theodora?”
“He mentioned Theodora to a DarkRiver sentinel after I told him she was coming here. You know Ivan—given his skills and power, the cats are treating him as a shadow sentinel even as he focuses on handling the situation with the Island.”
“I figured.” Ivan was too strong to be left outside a changeling pack’s hierarchy; it’d have messed with everyone’s heads. “So he’s trusted, has access to senior-level data?”
Silver nodded. “His sentinel friend shared that the cats have some dealings with Pax—as part of that, they unearthed the fact that Theodora was actually born on the same day and year as him.”
Yakov’s eyes widened. “Twins?” He whistled as the house cat pounced off to go about the rest of her important business. “That puts a whole new slant on things. No wonder Pax is sending her.” Yakov would die for Pavel and vice versa.
Their bond was a thing of granite over titanium.
But Silver made a negative sound. “From all I know of the Marshalls, Pax and Theodora weren’t raised together. I didn’t even know about her until recently. Neither did my grandmother. They might be twins, Yasha, but don’t make the mistake of thinking they’re like you and Pasha.”
Yakov nodded, but though he tended to bow to Silver’s advice and knowledge when it came to the Psy, he wasn’t sure she was right this time around. Because Pax Marshall could’ve sent anyone to investigate this sensitive and hidden part of their operations.
He’d chosen to send his twin.
“I’ll do it,” he said.
“I’ve got her ID photo for you back at the office.”
Only after they got back and he looked at the image did he realize that he’d been braced to come face-to-face with his dream woman. Despite everything he’d said to his brother, some small part of him had begun to believe that the reason he was dreaming about her all over again was because he was about to meet her.
But while his dream woman had blond hair and blue eyes, that was where the similarity with Theodora Marshall began and ended. Yakov’s dream woman was vibrant, sparkled with life. This woman’s expression was flat. Her hair was pulled severely off her face, and her eyes, while technically blue, were so dull as to be dishwater.
To be fair, his own ID shot was only passable because Pavel had made him laugh right beforehand, so his eyes were still bright with it, and there was color in his face. Otherwise, ID images washed everyone out. But Theodora Marshall was beyond washed-out—it was as if she had no life to her at all, no kind of personality.
Another android.
Fun. So much fun.
His bear groaned inwardly and slumped down to have a good grump.
Chapter 7
Break the bond
Break the heart
Break the soul
Hollow, hollow, hollow
—“Steps to Cruelty” by Adina Mercant, poet (b. 1832, d. 1901)
Twenty Years Ago
THEO FELT SMALL and weak as she stood in front of her grandfather’s desk while he sat behind it and stared at her with his ice-colored eyes. He was powerful. A Councilor. She wasn’t sure exactly what a Councilor did, but she knew they were the most powerful people in the whole world.
“Colette tells me you’ve been behaving,” he said at last.
Theo’s heart filled with light and warmth. “Yes, Grandfather.”
“You’ve completed your required educational modules to date, I see.” He glanced at a tablet on his desk.
“Yes, Grandfather.”
Putting down the tablet, he steepled his hands on his desk. “Unfortunately, you continue to fail your Silence tests.”
The lump in her throat returned, her eyes all hot. “I’m working very hard, I promise. I’ll pass next semester.”