Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 121389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
That was as close as Ena would ever come to admitting fear, but Ivan needed no grand actions or declarations from his grandmother. He knew exactly what he meant to her. “I’m not sure quite what happened,” he said, holding out a hand instinctively as Soleil came to him.
Her fingers touched his, her cat in his mind.
“I made contact with Lucas the moment you vanished from the PsyNet,” his grandmother told him. “He’d already felt a violent impact through his blood bond with you, Soleil, and had diverted one of his sentinels to your aerie. She was the closest person to you at the time.”
Arwen pushed a trembling hand through his hair. “The sentinel confirmed you were both alive and breathing but otherwise unresponsive, got you inside with help from another packmate who was close by, and then Lucas said we should come.” A wobbly grin. “I would’ve come anyway, even if I had to fight off leopards.”
“Empaths.” Lucas Hunter scowled. “You’re a menace to yourselves. My leopards would’ve eaten you alive.”
The cardinal-eyed woman next to him—quite famously the first Silent empath to wake to her powers—laughed. “Don’t listen to a word he says, Arwen. He’d snap the neck of anyone who dared hurt an E.”
Another voice broke into the conversation, a voice as black as the heart of midnight, a thing of power and cold. “A number of the people uplinked to the island have woken from their comas.”
Ivan looked toward Kaleb Krychek, who’d joined the rough circle that had formed. Arwen still stood right next to him, his shoulder touching Ivan’s, a touch with which Ivan was more than comfortable. He’d never wanted to hurt Arwen, and the sudden loss of Ivan from their network would’ve devastated him.
Ena stood beside Arwen, Krychek next to her, while Lucas Hunter stood beside Krychek, his mate between him and Soleil. Ivan had no idea how or why Krychek had access to DarkRiver territory, but he was comfortable here, that much was obvious in the way he stood at ease under the canopy even though he was in a formal black suit.
“Are any of them talking?” Ivan asked.
“Yes. According to them, they’re in a stable psychic network with a unique biofeedback loop that seems to be flowing from a center they can’t see.” He raised an eyebrow. “I’m assuming that’s you.”
Ivan nodded. “The anchors? Ager Lii?” The foundation without which nothing could exist.
“Alive and aware—though it appears at least two of the other four As on the island have Scarab Syndrome.”
It was the worst kind of news, Designation A already critical in terms of numbers.
“Ager Lii isn’t suffering from the syndrome,” Kaleb clarified. “They’ve confirmed that the new network is stable, and that its link to the main part of the Substrate appears to be opening up. So while the island remains separated from the rest of the PsyNet on the upper level, it stands atop the same foundations. It won’t starve of anchor energy.”
Ivan exhaled slowly at the realization that the island’s psychic network was more than functioning. It was functioning well. “I can’t explain the mechanics of it to you.”
“It’s simple,” Soleil said from beside him. “You have the capacity to create and maintain pack bonds, just like Lucas. You can feel every packmate in the back of your mind, can’t you, Luc?”
Lucas inclined his head. “Talking of which—there are a lot more heartbeats in my consciousness as of thirty-two hours ago. Nothing near as strong an awareness as I have of the members of the pack, but I know they’re there. An entire network of people at the far periphery of my view.”
Soleil’s mouth made a rounded O, while Ivan just stared at the alpha.
“Looks like our blood bond has linked the two groups.” Lucas folded his arms, legs spread.
“Psy, human, changeling,” Sascha murmured. “That’s what’s always been needed in the PsyNet, a trinity of energy. Soleil, Yariela mentioned your mother was human?”
Soleil nodded.
“Pack energy, too, has to be feeding into the Psy network through Soleil. We have members from all three races.” Sascha frowned. “But Lucas darling, you don’t feel any drain?”
“No.”
“Might be that all that’s needed for the stabilization of a psychic network is the mere presence of changeling and human energies.” Sascha’s smile was a thing of warmth. “It’s going to be a fascinating puzzle to work out. Later. Right now, you two must be starving—Tammy finally agreed to go rest an hour ago, when she felt you start to surface, but she left us with strict instructions to feed you.”
“So.” Ena’s soft voice as Lucas shifted to reveal a large basket of food. “You’ve succeeded in creating an island that is perfectly balanced within the trinity.” A tone in her voice that Ivan knew was pride.
Her next words were telepathic, only for him: You were never the spider, Ivan. You were born to be the heart of a network. I regret that I didn’t understand this at the very beginning.