I shook my head, wondering why that news didn’t fill me with joy. “What the hell does a person do for an eternity?”
Josian laughed. “You’re thinking like an Earthling, with their finite lives. Always trying to fit everything in, never knowing when it will all be over.” He winked at Lalli. “All you have to do is find your other half and live happily for eternity, arguing, traveling – and something mmmmm.”
His raised his eyebrows suggestively. Lallielle elbowed him.
I laughed in derision. “Surely you’re kidding? You and Lallielle possibly have a special relationship, but for how long? Even before this negative energy destroyed our limited mental capacity, people on Earth were still lucky to be together five years.”
Brace shook his head, his perfect lips rising in another of his little half-smiles. I wondered when I’d become less mesmerized by his particular brand of masculine beauty, when this crazy chemistry wouldn’t keep knocking me around with its intensity.
“We’ve evolved past that. Our emotions are strong; our capacity for love is much greater than Earthlings. Of which you are not, Red. Whilst we’re a logical species, when it comes to our mates, it’s for life.” He shrugged. “Although true pairs are much rarer than they used to be.”
I tried to imagine that world. I knew there would still be fights and pain, but apparently no one would be sneaking around with the neighbor to relieve this week’s boredom. Yeah, right. It wasn’t in my nature to believe in perfection.
Brace was still speaking. “If we die, either by choice or accident, that energy’s transferred to a new life, and is the only way to have a child on First World. When you find your true mate, if you wish for a child, you must add your name to the free-energy list. You can also gift or steal energy.”
Lallielle cleared her throat before speaking. “That’s how I fell pregnant with Samuel. The man killed his sister. She bled to death in front of me.”
My expression was a little horrified. I definitely understood her ‘born of drama’ comment. And, considering my current mini-obsession with Brace, I wondered...
“Say I fell madly in love with someone and they didn’t return the feelings. I’ll never let that go? I’ll never love another?”
Lallielle cast a soft glance at Josian. “Don’t worry, Aribella. We exist in pairs, in balance. For every individual’s energy there is another that’s the perfect match. Anything else is infatuation, not love. You will learn the difference with time. But please don’t misunderstand; most of the couples on First World are not true matches. They will continue to seek, but it’s a lonely life, so many settle for companionship.”
Josian added. “There’re a few who let infatuation turn them crazy, and then we have the situation Lallielle was in.”
Josian swung her close, her waist-length hair flying behind. “Walkers carry darkness inside. Millennia alone is more than most can accept. That is why they choose to sleep or release. We rarely find our mate. Until recently we didn’t know we could mate outside our people. But Lallielle and I prove there’s more connecting our two races – and you, my girl, are the most convincing evidence.”
“Who had to die so I could be born?” I understood the concept of the great circle of life but ... gross.
For the first time, Josian grasped my hand. It was warm and comforting. “No one had to die. I can create my own energy. I can bring life.” He said it so arrogantly.
But simple little Earthlings can create their own life as well. Maybe that was the exchange for having no magic and short ‘finite’ lives.
“So where’s my Walker mark you mentioned earlier?” I was positive there wasn’t another mark, spot, or mole on my body, and that at any time they would realize they were mistaken and there was nothing exceptional about me.
Josian smiled. “Wait here.” He zoomed out of the room, Lallielle right behind him.
By the time I’d sunk into the white sofa, Lallielle was back. She carried a floor-length mirror. Brace moved to help, but she waved him away.
She placed the large white mirror, with a kick-stand support, in front of me. I stared at my reflection. I saw tired green eyes surrounded by dark circles, long red hair tousled again, many strands escaping my braid.
Brace sat next to me. “You doing okay with all of this, Red?”
I sighed, resisting the urge to grasp his shirt front and pull him closer. I intertwined my hands instead.
“Honestly, it’d all be awesome. Except ... Lucy’s missing.” Tears pricked at my eyes again. I blinked them away.
He leaned back closer to me, our shoulders almost touching. “Don’t panic yet. We’ll find her. The men are still looking – the town was put into shut-down almost immediately, even though Josian is pretty sure she’s not here. If that’s the case, I’m with you all the way to Earth.”