Eternal Echoes, Emblem of Eternity Trilogy Book 2 (15 page)

“Is it possible to choose the wrong soul mate? Because if it is, you’re not only affecting yourself, you’re also robbing your real soul mate of their chance for true love. And it affects the person you’ve chosen to be with and their true soul mate too. It could spiral into a mess pretty darn fast.” I’d thought about it in relation to the souls the Daevos had taken as well. The Daevos’ mission was to find soul mates and take half of the soul. This left the other soul still alive and very unbalanced. Without their mate to help balance them, the remaining soul was more likely to join the Daevos. Regardless, it didn’t seem fair for people to go through life, and eternity, without their other half.

Emil stopped walking and gave me a steady stare. Clearly I wasn’t asking a general question. I’m the only person in the history of the world who has two soul mates: Alex and Emil. No one knows why, and I’m not sure what will happen when I do choose, since it will leave one of them without a soul mate. Forever.

Emil watched me trying to puzzle it out. Wrinkles formed at the corners of his eyes as he tilted his head. He seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “It’s not possible to make the wrong choice, Evie. Soul mates will always search each other out. Life after life, they’re pulled to each other by a cosmic force, making decisions and growing—sometimes together, sometimes apart—until they’re ready to make the ultimate commitment to each other. It’s not something that happens in fifty years, or even a hundred. You might meet your soul mate in your first life, but it will take time and maturity to make that commitment. When it’s right, a person knows who to choose. Deep in their soul. When it comes to love, there aren’t wrong decisions. What you have to decide is what, and who, is right for you.”

“So, basically, if you choose “wrong,” it means you’re not ready for the right soul mate yet?” I blew out a frustrated breath. “It seems so unfair. That explanation works for everyone else, but not for me. I have two soul mates. When I choose, one of you will be alone, and I’ll never be able to get rid of that guilt. Most of the time I don’t think I’ll ever be able to choose between you and Alex. I think it would be easier to just stay friends with you both, but,” I inhaled deeply, turning to him, “I don’t know what I want anymore.”

The muscles in Emil’s cheeks tensed in reaction. He stared toward the mountains behind the college, then exhaled. “It’s hard for me to walk the line between supporting your decision to choose the right person for you, and still keep my own wants in check.” He paused. “So, I’ll just say this: I
know
what it’s like to be your friend, and I know what it’s like to be
a lot
more than friends. I want to be more again.” He turned and looked me square in the eyes. “You don’t remember how good things were, but I do. And I could make sure you never forget—if you give me the chance.”

I held his eyes, seriously tempted to let him have that opportunity. I shook my head to get the thought out of my mind.

“Evie, you chose me before. Don’t you think you had a good reason for making the decision?”

It was times like this I really wished I could control my flashbacks. That way, instead of seeing random events from my past lives, I could choose and know exactly what had happened between me, Emil, and Alex, and why I’d chosen Emil. “I don’t know? I can’t remember,” I said, exasperated. “I was a different person then. My soul has changed. Maybe we wouldn’t be good together anymore.”

Emil’s eyes darkened. “Being good together was never a problem for us. In fact, we were good together over and over again.”

My eyes got wide at his insinuation. I almost felt like I should walk a few paces ahead of him just to get some distance between us. If he kept saying things like that, I was going to be a lot more tempted than I already was.

I shook off the comment. “If the situation was reversed and you were in Alex’s position, what would you want me to do?” I asked. Alex had been loyal to me for centuries. He’d loved me, protected me, and devoted his whole life to me, without any guarantees that one day I’d love him as much as he loved me, or decide he was my soul mate. He’d never had a chance for a relationship with me in the past—at least, as far as I knew. Instead he was waiting, hoping I’d eventually feel the same way for him that he felt for me. He believed I’d made a mistake in choosing Emil before. Emil didn’t agree.

Emil thought about my question. “I would want you to be happy, no matter what. No matter how much it hurt. And I would do anything to make sure you were safe—I think I proved that when I told you about the Daevos two hundred and fifty years ago and made you leave me. All I care about, all I have ever cared about, is that you’re happy. If Alex is the one who does that for you, I’ll support your decision.” Emil took in my stunned expression. “This constant battle you’re having over me and Alex isn’t good for you. If I thought it would help, I’d leave you alone, but I don’t think that would make you happy either.”

He was completely right, I knew it. I just didn’t want to admit how I felt to myself. Now that Emil was calling me on it, I knew I’d have to deal with my emotions soon. I kept getting stuck on Emil’s certainty that I would know who to choose. I didn’t. Maybe that meant I wasn’t ready to choose yet, or maybe it meant neither one of them was right for me. If being without a soul mate would leave Alex or Emil unbalanced, what would happen to them? Would they become evil like other Daevos members? I sighed, thinking about the possibilities. I couldn’t help but wonder if it would be better to just not choose at all.

I met Jas at the movie theater on campus. Unless you wanted to drive thirty miles to Crested Butte, it’s the only movie theater in the Gunnison area—which made it super busy anytime a big movie was released. I was pretty sure people had already started standing in line for their tickets to the next movie involving Middle Earth. Luckily, we were going to the latest chick flick and it wouldn’t be an issue. It was probably also another reason Alex had agreed to watch me remotely, instead of stalking me in person. Lately, he preferred UFC to romance. Perhaps he was making a not-so-subtle comparison to our relationship status with his entertainment choices.

I opened the door to the College Center, nodding to a few people in the cafeteria area as I passed. During weekdays, the College Center was the most popular building on campus and constantly crowded, but on weekends, most people left campus for other activities like skiing or driving to Crested Butte.

I walked down the hall and saw Jasmine sitting cross-legged on the floor across from the theater. She was bent over a book, blue highlighter in hand, her head bobbing up and down slightly. Wires trailed from her ears to the bright blue iPod next to her on the floor. I could see her lips moving silently to the music. She turned a page and looked up. I waved at her. She waved back with a wide smile. She folded her book shut with a loud thud, like she was making some sort of announcement that she was done with words for the day. She stood slowly, stretched, and pulled the wires out of her ears, wrapping them around the iPod in her hand.

“Hey!” I said with marked enthusiasm. I was happy to be spending some time with my friend again, and even happier I didn’t have a bodyguard for a few hours.

“Hi!” She blew a bubble, popping it loudly. “I already got tickets.”

My lips turned down slightly. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I didn’t want it to sell out. Wouldn’t want to miss our chance to see Ryan Reynolds shirtless.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, looking around at the deserted hall and one freshman behind the concession / ticket purchasing stand. “It looks like there will be a long wait for everyone who didn’t plan ahead.”

Jasmine smiled and we both started to laugh. We’d fallen back into our old patterns, the jokes coming easily. It was like the past few months had never happened. I hoped it would stay that way when I talked to her about everything else going on in my life.

“I’ll get the treats since you bought the tickets.”

Jasmine nodded okay. We got a bag of popcorn with obscene amounts of butter, two boxes of candy, a lemonade for me, and a Coke for Jasmine. I gasped when she ordered. “If Zach knew you ordered a Coke, he’d consider you a traitor of epic proportions.”

Jasmine wrinkled her nose. “They don’t have Pepsi, and I like Coke more, anyway. Don’t tell him. It’s one of those things I can’t admit until we’re legally bound to each other.”

I laughed as we found some seats in the middle of a row toward the back of the theater. As we settled our things, I took in the space. Constantly taking stock of my surroundings and cataloging the details was something I did out of habit now. It wasn’t easy to learn, but almost being killed by a soul stealing supernatural being was a great motivator.

There were plenty of places for someone to hide…rows and rows of them in fact. There were a few other people in the theater with us, though. I imagined if someone was lurking about on the floor, the other patrons might have noticed. Still, I couldn’t count on other people to keep me safe, so I’d be vigilant about floor squatters. The thought made me instinctively raise my legs and rest them on the back of the chair in front of me.

Other than that, there was the door we’d come in, and the emergency exit at the front of the theater by the screen. The emergency exit was easy to watch, and I’d see light from the door behind me if someone opened it, so I felt okay about that too. Deciding we were safe for now, I slouched down in my seat as I grabbed a handful of popcorn, the butter making shiny little stains on my hands. I ate the pieces one by one and turned my head to Jas. “Legally bound, huh? So I guess things are still going well with you and Zach?”

Jas took a long sip of Coke, made an ahh sound, and leaned back in her chair. “Yeah. We’ve been busy with school, but we try to make time for each other.”

“You two are perfect together,” I said, nodding my head in admiration. I wondered if I’d ever have a relationship like that with Alex or Emil—or if I already had. One of them was my soul mate, and that’s pretty much the definition of perfect, but my short relationships with both of them in this life never had the ease I’d seen between Jasmine and Zach. Granted, Alex, Emil, and I had been dealing with some high-stress situations, but still.

Jasmine smiled at my assessment. “I like to think so.” She picked up a kernel of popcorn but instead of eating it, she pulled it apart bit-by-bit, almost as if she were pre-occupied. “What about you,” she asked finally. “How’s your love-life?”

I sighed. I knew Jasmine wasn’t Alex’s and Emil’s biggest fan, but she’d been supportive in the coffee shop. She might change her opinion about them if she knew the whole story—and didn’t think I’d gone nuts—but I wasn’t ready to tell that to her right this second. It could at least wait until after Ryan Reynolds showed us his abs. This movie might be the last “normal” time we’d have together. I wanted to enjoy it. “It’s been interesting…complicated.”

She took another drink. “You use that word a lot when you talk about them.” She paused. I waited. “I still can’t believe the two crazy alpha males who wanted to kill each other a few months ago when you were dating them are now saying everything’s fine and you should take your time to decide between them.”

I shrugged. “I don’t think they’re particularly happy about it, but yeah.”

“Who came up with that idiotic plan? You know it’s only a matter of time before they kill each other. Then you won’t have either of them!”

Fortunately for me, they weren’t easy to kill.

“They did,” I answered. “They didn’t want me to regret my choice, and wanted to make sure I completely understood what they both have to offer. They indicated the sooner I decide, the better, but so far, no blood has been shed…at least not that I know of.”

Jas blew out a long breath. “It’s only a matter of time. I have to tell Zach this. He’ll think it’s insane.”

“Yeah. I feel that way about my life a lot, too.”

Jas looked at me like I’d said something weird, which I had. I was about to ask if we could talk after the movie because there were some things she needed to know regarding the last few months, when I suddenly felt a sturdy hand hit my shoulder from behind. I looked down at the dry, cracked fingers with chipped fingernails, and knew instantly they didn’t belong to Alex or Emil. I must have been caught up in the conversation and missed the light when the door opened behind me. Alex might have been right to worry about me being here alone. Hopefully, he really was watching me through his ring.

I glanced at Jasmine, who was already staring behind me. I turned slowly, looking up into the face of a guy I’d never met before. He had wavy black hair that curled slightly over his ears. His round face indicated a boy still on his way to becoming a man—or one stuck in time at that age. He was wearing black jeans with a red and black striped sweater that went to his wrists. It was a measure of my paranoia that I immediately looked to his arm for the Daevos vowmark. Too bad it was covered with his clothes. I spared a glance at his hand, rough with patches of darker spots, like he spent a lot of time outdoors. When I looked back at him, he was smiling. “Heyyy,” he said.