Page 32 of Breakaway
"I'd really like to meet your family sometime," I tell Reese, though the words come out as quite the opposite in tone. I can't help it. I might want to meet with them, but it won't be because I need to win them over. No, I need to get into their minds and see just how ill their intentions are toward Reese.
"I'm sure," Reese mutters, as enthusiastic about my wanting to meet her family as I am about wanting to be anywhere near them.
"Well, hello, beautiful human," Kolos says, appearing so quickly in front of us that I don't register he's reaching out to touch my soulbond until he has her hand in his and is bringing it to his lips.
Kill him!My shadows all screech in unison, surging across where they've been mingling on Reese's body to form a barrier between her hand and Kolos's lips. It's actually pretty impressive how quick they are. Kolos is ready for it, licking them, much to their horror, when they block his way to Reese's hand.
I swat his hand away, frowning at the man before turning to Reese, who thankfully just looks confused. "Reese, this is one of my employees, Kolos."
"Oh KolosOthros?" Reese says the last half of his name as a question, and I'm both impressed that she remembers it after I mentioned it once and also annoyed that she remembers another Sombran's name. It's stupid to be upset about, I know it is. But that doesn't stop me from feeling that way.
"The one and only," Kolos says with a low bow, and I roll my eyes at his theatrics.
His dark curls are pulled back by a headband he usually wears, and he's put on a shirt, which is a plus. It's not uncommon to find him around the ship in nothing but athletic shorts. Reese meeting him must be the perfect occasion for him to dress up, which consists of the same shorts but with a tank top added to the mix.
"We're all so excited to meet you," he says as he scurries over to Reese's unoccupied side and wraps his arm over her shoulder.
Once again, my shadows scramble to block him, and once again, he doesn't care and just rests against them. At least he's keeping his shadows all tucked up underneath his clothing. He's annoying me, but he respects some boundaries. Unless they're family, no one is supposed to put their shadows on someone else's soulbond.
Reese looks up at me as if to make sure I'm okay with whatever it is that Kolos is attempting to do, and I give her a little shrug. But just to make sure she's comfortable with how friendly he's being, I add, "If she tells you to leave her alone–"
"I'll be gone so fast," Kolos says, holding his free hand to his chest. "Besides, I can actually tell what she's thinking, unlike someone I know."
Kolos's jab hits its mark, and all of my shadows vibrate with rage. Their sole purpose in life is to keep our soulbond safe, and here they are facing the reality of how stupid they are because the only person they're keeping out is me. Not that it'll make them change. They've been this way for as long as Sombranhistory has been written down, and will continue being idiots long after I pass from this life.
"Wait, you can read my thoughts?" Reese asks, her eyes wide, her body moving closer to me, though there's not much I can do other than maybe throw one of the suitcases at Kolos. That would be satisfying, but we're so close to the ship. I'm not trying to cause a scene in the middle of the port.
"Of course I can," Kolos says with a bright smile. "I specialize in sifting through memories, so you won't even know I'm in there."
"Kolos," I snap. It's one thing to tease the woman. It's a whole other thing to make her think you're going to go through her entire life.
"Kidding, kidding," he says, holding his hands up, and then immediately dropping his arm back over Reese's shoulder. "I can actually do all of that, but I won't. It's not nice to go through friends' memories without their permission. I can't promise not to hear your thoughts when they get too loud, though."
Reese is still wide-eyed as she looks at me. "Sometimes human thoughts are extra loud. It's usually when they're passionate about something. Joy, anger, anything that makes you feel a lot, and you're harder to tune out. If you're the only one around and the shadows get a little lazy on filtering, it's especially noticeable."
"Okay, so I just need to not get excited about anything," Reese says to herself. Then, because it's exactly what Kolos wants, she thinks about something that would make her excited, something that would embarrass her if anyone else heard it. I can see the thoughts taking hold as the flush in her cheeks grows, and then the horror hits her.
"Don't worry," Kolos says, leaning in an almost conspiratorial whisper. "I won't tell him a single thing."
He moves his fingers over his lips like he's zipping and then locking them before flicking his imaginary key at me. I give him more than just a little tap against his mental fortitudes and smirk when he stumbles, eyes closing as I hammer at the wall around his mind.
"I give," he says, hands going to his knees as he bends forward. "Zill, stop, I'm going to puke."
I hit him one more time, and then turn my focus back to Reese. "He's fine. Just a little dramatic." I glare back at Kolos, who is, in fact, hurling. At least we're near the ship. "He'll stop before he makes you uncomfortable, but he really likes seeing how close he can get to where the line is drawn. If he's bothering you, tell him. He'll stop."
"Are you sure?" Reese asks.
I huff as I step aboard the ship, ushering her to follow me and ignore Kolos, who is really playing up how badly I hit him. "I'm positive. If he doesn't, he's going to end up like that again."
Reese looks over her shoulder, winces when she sees the mess, and then follows me up the loading ramp into the belly of the ship.
"And how much will he actually be able to hear?" she asks, looking around the ship.
She's obviously curious, and I will give her a tour, but right now I need to get her into my room so I know she's safe and that she knows where to go if Kolos or Isha are bothering her. I don't worry about the latter nearly as much as the former.
"Oh, the crew will hear everything until you give me the honor of bonding with you, but the only one who will say anything about it will be Kolos. He'll only do that when I'm around because he knows it'll annoy me."
"Everything?" Reese says, audibly gulping.
