Eternal Echoes, Emblem of Eternity Trilogy Book 2 (5 page)

I leaned back in my chair, my arms falling to my lap as I tried to figure out how to address their suggestion. “Look, I know you two have been waiting a long time for me to make this choice, and I admire your patience, I really do. But it hasn’t been a long time for me. You haven’t even been back in my life for a year. And I’m only eighteen! I know you want an answer, and someday I think I’ll be able to give it to you, but I don’t want to be pushed into a relationship because you want to know now.”

“We’re not trying to push you,” Alex said. “And we’re not even asking for a relationship. Eventually, you will be ready to choose, and when you are, we want to make sure you’re prepared with as much information as possible to make the decision you feel is right. There are no hidden agendas.”

I watched them carefully and decided to throw out a thought I’d had recently, “Has anyone stopped to think that we’re all soul mates?” It was a working theory. I hadn’t ironed out all the details. “Maybe our soul was split three ways somehow? There has to be a fix for that. Then we wouldn’t have to worry about all this stupid choosing.”

“No,” Alex answered immediately. “That is
not
what happened.”

“I would have to agree with Alex,” Emil said. “I have no romantic feelings for him at all.”

“Likewise,” Alex said, his tone even.

I rolled my eyes. “That’s not how I meant it. Seriously, could that be the answer?”

Alex shook his head. “No. I’ve talked to the Amaranthine about that possibility.”

“I’ve investigated it, too,” Emil said.

I often wondered what Alex and Emil did when they weren’t with me. It seemed like their hobbies involved a lot of research.

Alex nodded. “I had a Tracker look into it as well. Emil and I have absolutely no connection to each other. If our souls had split three ways, there would be some sort of bond. So that’s not it.”

“But bonds can be hidden.” My orchid bracelet hid my bond with Alex, and Emil said my bond with him couldn’t be tracked.

“Not unless steps are taken to hide it,” Alex said. “There’s no bond between me and Emil.”

I looked to Emil for confirmation. He lifted a shoulder. I still wasn’t convinced. Maybe Alex and Emil’s bond had just been severed, like Caleb severed my bonds to them both when he abducted me. But until I had more evidence, I wouldn’t push it. “If one of you isn’t my soul mate, then what are the other options?” My eyes trailed from Alex to Emil. “Why do I have such a strong bond with both of you?”

Alex’s expression tightened slightly. “That’s what we’re trying to find out.”

I eyed them both, accepting their rationalizations, at least for the moment. Really, no one knew what was going on with me. I felt like it was a bad idea to dismiss any possibilities at this point.

“This is the best solution we could come up with, Evie,” said Emil.

I watched them for at least a minute. I was still dubious, but they both seemed genuine. Furthermore, they’d come to an accord about this which meant they’d discussed it away from me, civilly, without murdering each other. “How did you two manage to agree on this?”

“We discussed it during training,” Alex said, taking a drink.

I stared. “What training?”

“Boxing,” Emil answered.

Ah, so they hadn’t killed each other, but they’d tried.

“And this was the plan you came up with?” I asked, still a little shocked they’d been spending time together voluntarily.

“We can do this, Evie,” Emil said. “Give it a chance.”

I picked up my pizza and took a bite, considering. I chewed slowly, and took another bite, my eyes shifting between the two of them. Finally I said, “I’ll think about it.”

Alex smiled and Emil grinned. They gave each other a congratulatory look. “I told you the pizza would soften her up,” Alex said.

“I was ready to get the chocolate pie out of the car if it didn’t,” Emil answered, the two of them joking almost like friends. It amazed me how different their relationship was now than it had been a few months ago. It was nice not to have the constant threat of violence and fist fights hanging over our heads. Though I wondered how long the pleasantries would last if I was dating them both again.

“How will this work?” I asked, sure they already had a plan in place.

“We take turns,” Alex said. “For every date one of us gets, the other one gets a date too.”

I frowned, not liking that I didn’t have a say in any of it. “What if I don’t want to go out with either of you? Or if I want two dates in a row with one of you?”

“You get veto power,” Emil said. “If you want two dates in a row with Alex, it’s your choice. If you want five dates in a row with me, that would make more sense, and would be your choice, too.” His lips lifted while Alex glared from across the table.

I really had my doubts about this being a successful arrangement. “So is there some sort of date timeline?”

Alex shook his head. “No. It’s totally up to you. But unless you say otherwise, the rule will be that if you have a date with me, I can’t go out with you again until you have a date with Emil, and vice versa.”

I nodded, thinking that sounded fair. Well, as fair as the situation could be. I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes, agreeing to share the person I thought was my soul mate with someone else.

“When do we start?”

“Whenever you’re done thinking about it,” Alex answered.

I looked at my now empty plate. The pie just might convince me.

Emil was lounging in a chair at the end of the hall, reading, as I came out of English, a class I also had with Hutch. I waved at Emil. His lips lifted in a sexy smile as he nodded in my direction. Hutch looked from me, to Emil, and back to me again. “Can I ask you a question?” he asked.

“Sure.”

“Is that your boyfriend?” He tilted his head in Emil’s direction.

I gave a high-pitched, surprised laugh. I wished I could explain my relationships with Alex and Emil that easily. The real answer would be: not-right-now-but-maybe-someday-and-maybe-not-this-life. That seemed complicated to explain, however. “Nope,” I answered. “Just a friend.”

Hutch glanced at Emil. “I’ve seen him with you a lot. He seems pretty into you. I don’t want to step over a line here, but I’d say he wants to be more than a friend.”

I smiled, trying to downplay Hutch’s accurate assumptions. “It’s complicated.”

He nodded. “I bet.”

Vicki came around the corner, smiling wide at Hutch. He returned her smile and I decided if Las Vegas ever ran out of electricity, Hutch and Vicki could power it with happiness. They mentioned getting lunch again, but I didn’t want to be a third-wheel. I told them I had to study, but we’d get together another time. They nodded and took off, hands entwined.

I met Emil at the end of the hall. He was sitting in front of a wall of windows that framed the mountains perfectly, his legs stretched out in front of him, arms behind his head. He smiled up at me. “How was class?”

I shrugged. “Same as usual. I have a research paper I need to work on.”

Emil nodded. “I hope you’re not busy this weekend.”

I wrinkled my brow. “Why?”

“You have plans.”

The crease in my forehead deepened. “I do?”

He nodded his head once. “Uh huh.”

“With you?”

“Yep.”

I grinned and shook my head. “I don’t think I ever actually agreed to the new dating policy.”

He didn’t move as he answered. “I thought the pie had swayed you.”

I considered for a moment. “It was good pie.”

“So you’re open to dating again?”

I snorted a laugh. “I’m still deciding whether I can handle dating you both.”

Emil sat up slowly. “You say you don’t want to date because you’re not ready to choose. I think you don’t want to date because you’re afraid of your feelings, and what you might find out.”

“I am not!” I said defensively. “I just don’t think it will work.”

“You haven’t even tried it yet.”

Well, there was that.

“Plus,” Emil went on, “it might help you have more flashbacks. That way, you’ll be able to see what happened for yourself instead of having to trust us and our memories.”

He made an excellent point. Emil would be a good lawyer. I had no doubt many Daevos members probably were. They’re all masters of manipulation. “Do you and Alex really think you can refrain from killing each other if we do this?”

Emil stood up, putting his hands in his pockets as we walked across campus. “At this point, anything is better than the tension we all constantly feel. Plus, you’re going to have to choose eventually. You should make an informed decision. Alex and I both agree on that.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “That’s very diplomatic of you two.”

He grinned. “Just trying to make your life a little easier.”

“Maybe I don’t have to choose. I can just ride things out until I die, then I won’t remember this stuff in my next life and won’t have to worry about choosing between you.”

Emil pressed his lips together. “You’ll have to choose eventually, Evie. At some point, in one of your lives, you’ll have to choose. Given what’s happened in this life with your powers, I wouldn’t count on dying as a way to get out of this situation. I think there’s a good chance from here on out, you’ll know exactly who Alex and I are.”

I frowned. Other than the flashbacks and my powers, I hadn’t considered any additional potential complications. Even if there was a slight chance I’d remember this all in my next life, I might as well use the time wisely and try to learn more about Alex and Emil. Hopefully it really would help me when I had to make my decision. They were right. I needed to do this. “So, how did you two decide who I’d be dating first?”

“We flipped for it. Alex gets you for Valentine’s Day,” he frowned, then continued his explanation, “so I get you first. This weekend.”

My mouth dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding?”

“Nope.”

I narrowed my eyes. He grinned.

“We’re just trying to make this work, Evie. The situation isn’t intended to make you mad.”

“That doesn’t make it better.”

He opened the College Center door for me. “I’ll pick you up at three o’clock on Saturday.”

I spent the afternoon in the garage with my Mustang. It was the first time I’d had a chance to work on it since the snow bank sliding incident. I checked the bumper. It was hitched up slightly from the impact, but I was able to use a rubber mallet to pound it back into place.

I detailed the leather with Pledge Lemon spray. It sounds strange, but it’s the best thing for cleaning and conditioning car leather. I used a Q-tip to clean between the air vents, and a toothpick to get the mud out of the slats in the gas and brake pedal. I vacuumed, sanitized, and took it to the car wash. I snapped a photo and texted it to my dad. He texted back with a smiley face and a reminder to check the brake fluid. I smiled, missing my parents. I hadn’t seen them since Christmas, and probably wouldn’t see them again for a while. Montana was a long way from Gunnison. I brought my car home and finished the detail work as the sun set. I took a deep breath, watching the sun fall behind the mountains, highlighting the sky with bright pinks and purples, and my soulmark warmed as I started to fall.

The sky was a stunning rainbow of pastels as the sun went down. Light hit the cotton patterned clouds like it was coloring a dream. I took a deep breath, truly happy. Muscled arms wrapped around my waist and I exhaled a sigh.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” I said.

I felt his head in the nook between my ear and shoulder. Light kisses trailed slowly down my neck. My breath quickened, my chest rising rapidly. His voice was muffled as he answered, “Nothing is as gorgeous as you.”

“I never thought it could be like this,” I said, rubbing my hands over his on my waist.

“I never doubted it.”

His large hand slid into mine, his voice husky, “Let me show you how good it will always be.”

My breath hitched and my heart raced at his suggestion. He made me feel alive in every way. I took one last look at the beauty before me, and let myself be pulled back through the door.

“Evie?” Someone was holding my hand and rubbing my cheek. I opened my eyes and looked up.