Page 86 of Seer
Greg took one hand off the wheel to make a so-so motion. “Sort of. It’s different for every couple or polycule. But you can absolutely have sex without creating a bond. That requires intent. Everyone involved has to be actively trying to make it happen.”
I snorted. “And yet we have a permanent connection.”
He came to a stop at a light and turned to me. “Which means we’re exceptionally compatible, magically speaking. This—” He waved a hand between us. “—is very rare. A connection this strong usually forms over the course of months or years between people who are committed to each other but haven’t decided to bond yet.”
“Okay. I get that bonding will boost our abilities, but how does it work exactly? And is the power boost the only reason to do it? Because honestly it doesn’t seem that different than what we have now.”
Greg tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. He glanced over at me and said, “Hang on.” He changed lanes to get over to the right, then he pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store. He parked well away from the building before undoing his seatbelt and shifting in his seat to face me.
“This is something I should have explained to you before now, and I’m sorry.” He quirked up the side of his mouth. “There’s been a lot going on this week.”
“I agree. And even though I get frustrated, I do understand you haven’t had time to tell me everything yet. That’s why I’m asking the questions. But the pulling over and stopping is making me a little nervous.”
“Sorry. Um, I don’t know if you can tell, but our connection has continued to get stronger even though we’ve barely seen each other the past day or so. I want to try something.” He reached over and picked up my hand, holding it between both of his.
My eyebrows must have been hitting my hairline. Greg was touching me voluntarily!
“You should be able to feel more from me now that we’re connected both physically and magically.”
It was true. I’d gotten used to having a sort of low hum ofGregin the background of my brain this week. But now it was more like he wasinmy brain, and I was in his. I could feel thenervous-shy-hopeful-scared-affectionate-desperatefeelings he had, along with a huge pinwheel of magic that swirled in tandem with mine.
But if I could feel Greg that intensely, he’d be able to feel my emotions as well. I cringed.
Don’t be embarrassed.
“Fuck!” I shrieked, throwing my hands in the air and pushing my body back against the passenger door.
I’d been lookingright atGreg, and his mouth hadn’t moved at all.
He chuckled. “Sorry. I wasn’t actually sure it would work.”
I put my hand over my racing heart. “What the fuck, Greg?”
“That’s what being bonded is like. Or so I’m told. You know how you were able to pull magic from me to help your visions?”
I nodded.
“If we were bonded, or right now if we were touching physically, you’d have access to my magic all the time, effortlessly. But a side effect is that our minds will kind of dip into each other as well. Mom told me she and my dad had to learn how to build privacy barriers.” He put his elbow on the back of the seat. “When a connection gets as strong as ours, it feels like being bonded when we’re touching each other.” He gave me a wry grin. “But, like I said, most people build up to it over the course of several months or longer, so it’s not as much of a shock.”
I stared at him for a long moment. “You’re telling me that people think sharing some sort of mind link is a good thing?”
He laughed. “Like I said, other people who get to this stage have been in love and in a committed relationship for a long time. Bonded couples—mates, if you want to use that term—or strongly connected couples who are touching each other like we did, share magic and can communicate without speaking. But if you’re bonded, you can share physical energy as well. Healing.”
“Healing. Like if I broke my leg you could heal it?”
He shook his head. “First, for any healing to happen we’d have to be bonded. Just intermittently touching each other doesn’t generate the same, um...” He scrunched up his face. “Energy acceleration, I guess? And once you’re bonded, the healing happens automatically. If a bonded person broke their leg they’d have to get it set ASAP because it’d start healing right away.”
“Huh.”
He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. “Shit, we’ve got to get going. But I did want to add that the biggest benefit of the healing you get through being bonded is that it slows aging way down.”
I felt my eyes bug out. “What? No shit?”
He nodded as he started the car. “Even the longer-lived Wonders get extra years out of it.” He grinned. “Edgar is my mother’s uncle, by the way. Not her brother. He’s ninety-two. Bettina’s in her eighties.”
“No way. Fuck.” I stared blindly out the windshield. What. The. Fuck.
A few minutes later Greg turned into a residential neighborhood. Right. We were having dinner with people. Wonders and a human. How the hell was I supposed to make small talk with strangers after that conversation?
