Her look of wonder morphed into an expression of confusion.
“I don’t understand.”
“You’re linked to him. On a deep and spiritual level. He’s connected to you and you are connected to him. He crossed the galaxy to find you because he sensed you on planet Earth. And he will do it again now. But if you look deep inside yourself, if you open yourself up to him—just a little, we don’t want him coming all the way through—then we can ascertain where he is and which direction he’s coming from.”
Emma shook her head.
“I’m not sure I can do that.”
She was afraid.
It wasn’t that she didn’t think she could do it.
It was that she didn’t want to feel him out there.
“Knowing his location is a good thing,” I said. “It can help you avoid him and give you some peace of mind.”
I took her hands in mine.
“You can do this. I know you can. You just need to open yourself up to him and you’ll sense where he is.”
“I don’t want to do that,” Emma said. “What if something bad happens?”
“It won’t.”
“What if it does?”
“It won’t. Trust me.”
I clutched her hands between mine and kissed them gently on the tips.
“You do trust me, don’t you?”
That caught her attention.
Her eyes snapped to mine and she didn’t take them off me as she nodded her head.
“Yes. I trust you.”
“Good.”
I turned her toward the broad window and raised her hand.
“I want you to look out there and, feeling inside yourself, see if you can sense something pulling at you. You don’t need to go near it. You just need to feel it. Can you do that?”
“I’ll try.”
She pressed her hand against the glass and shut her eyes.
She made no sound and didn’t so much as move a muscle as she focused her mind.
She turned her head to one side and then shook it.
“No,” she said. “I don’t feel anything.”
“Try again,” I said.
In truth, I didn’t know if Emma could sense Iav out there.
Not every fated mate could.
It varied by species.
But it was worth a shot.
It could prove very useful in the hours to come.
Emma shut her eyes again and this time, she put both palms of her hands on the window.
She bent her head forward so low she felt the cool kiss of the glass on her forehead.
I stood back but wanted to press my hands to her waist, to hold her steady, but knew it would only distract her.
She groaned under her breath.
“Hm,” she said, a cross between fear and surprise.
“Do you feel him out there?”
“I think so. But it could just be indigestion.”
She must have known that couldn’t be right.
There was no mistaking the sensation of being linked to someone, of feeling them out there.
I should know.
I felt Emma since the day I successfully scaled Wailing Mountain’s peak.
I tempered my signal, the one in my heart pulsing right now, so she didn’t accidentally confuse me with my Shadow out there.
I stepped further behind her.
And when she leaned her head to one side, she began to raise one of her hands and pointed at something out the observation window.
She opened her eyes.
“There. There he is. Right there. Out there. I feel him now. The signal isn’t strong but I can sense him.”
I placed my hand on hers and lowered her pointing finger.
I peered out the window, but of course saw nothing there but twinkling stars.
But I knew which direction Earth was.
She was pointing directly at it.
“Am I right?” she said.
“Yes,” I said. “You’re right.”
She clapped her hands jubilantly and raised them high.
It was a bizarre celebration and must have been how they celebrated victory on Earth.
“Can you tell how far away he is?” I said.
Emma frowned and shook her head.
“It’s okay,” I said. “It’s impressive you managed to find him so quickly. Distance is hard to quantify in space when you have nothing to compare it with. Computer,” I said, raising my head, “scan the area of space to the north-east of our position, in the direction Emma pointed.”
“I’m… not sure I know which direction that is,” Computer said.
“Come off it,” Emma said, rolling her eyes. “We all know you can’t help yourself but eavesdrop on our conversations.”
She grinned at me and turned quiet and shy.
“Even if that were true,” Computer said sniffily, “I don’t see how it affects… Very well.” He gave up all pretense of his not spying on us. “I shall carry out the requested scans.”
“He’s very touchy, isn’t he?” Emma said.
“Always. It’s a fault with his programming. Computers aren’t supposed to have personalities.”
“Neither are humans,” Computer said petulantly.
“Are you still here?” I said.
Computer didn’t respond, though I knew he must be burning his CPU chips preventing himself from responding.
When Emma and I turned toward each other, we knocked heads.
Emma rubbed a hand over where we collided.
“Are you okay?” I said.
“I’m fine,” she said with a chuckle. “That’s what happens when we stand so close.”
“Sorry,” I said, taking a step back.
“No,” Emma said. “I didn’t mean for you to pull away from me.”
She stood right where she had just a moment ago.
I edged forward and met that challenging look in her eye.
The one that never fails to send me wild.
We stood toe-to-toe, our noses almost touching, our lips less than a few centimeters apart.
I could feel her breath on my face and her breasts, so plump and welcoming, grazed my arm.
“Are you pleased I pointed him out to you?” Emma said.
Her pupils dilated.
She was so close her feminine scent was overpowering.
I could barely bring myself to look her in the eye for fear I would lose control.
“Yes,” I said, my voice coming out a croak. “Very pleased.”
“Good.”
She adopted a confident air that I hadn’t seen on her before.
Cool, calm, in control.
It suited her down to the ground.
“You know, on Earth, it’s customary
