Surfacing the Rim (Piercing The Fold) Read Online Free PDF Page B

know she’s watching me. I don’t want her to feel pity—pity for me feeling disappointed in the fact that our connection, our link, is not something greater, like fate.
    I allow her to hear one thought. I think about Xander being my cousin and a guardian for our fellowship. That completely took me off-guard. I didn’t see that coming.
    I feel Jes’s worry crawl into my chest and pull at my heart. I push away from the counter and walk over to stand in front of her. When I look into those magnetic green eyes of hers, I can’t go long without touching her. I reach for her hand gently and hold it loosely, running my thumb over the top. I feel her pulse quicken under my touch. She wants more, and it drives me crazy. My pulse races, matching hers.
    Jes pulls me to her, and I bow my head, leaning my forehead against hers. Her hand touches my chest, and the energy from her heats me to the core. Needing her closer to me, I wrap my hands around her small waist, drawing her in so her chest is against mine. It nearly sends me over the edge of resistance when her voice quivers as she whispers to me.
    “Even if this started because of what they chose for us, it’s not why I am choosing to be here with you now.”
    I sigh and make sure she can’t get in my thoughts. God, if you only knew what you mean to me. It’s so much more than this link.
    With her body molded to mine, I feel our hearts beat separately, and then they quicken in time with one another until they are synchronized.
     

Chapter 7
    Jesca
     
    I need to collect myself before seeing my father. I head to my room to breathe for a few minutes. Lying down on my bed, I hug my pillow to my chest.
    My father.
    It’s still very strange to call him that. I mean, I only discovered that he was my dad two months ago. If you look at the circumstances we’ve been under, father-daughter bonding has not been at the top of the list. Still, we’ve had some moments.
    * * *
    One day last week, Nate and I were training. We were running sprints up and down the beach to start. We worked on interlinking our abilities. Nate’s individual abilities included Latrosis, healing others with his inner energy; Telepathy, reading other people’s thoughts; and physical speed and strength. After our talk with Ezra earlier, we knew that our abilities were an advantageous perk of our Copula implantations.
    Nate’s abilities were distinct whereas mine have begun combining, creating hybrid abilities.
    My abilities were similar to Nate’s, including Telepathy and physical speed and strength, but I also possessed Ushering, the ability to compel someone to act in a specific manner, and Qi, vital inner energy that circulates within a person and outside of the person in flowing currents. When I had felt those creepy vibrations within me and heard the humming noises, it turns out my inner life force was alerting me to impending danger.
    Astral Projection, or what Ezra had coined as ‘jumping,’ was also revealed. Ezra had described it as the ability of a person’s soul to travel out of the body to another place or plane of existence. That had taken me a while to understand, but then I’d figured out that my Qi was connected to jumping. This was one of the mutated abilities Ezra had been fascinated with while we were still in the facility.
    Yet another ability I discovered was Lucid Dreaming, being aware in a dream state. The dreams had been more like visions, a form of communication. Sebastian had visited me in a lucid dream recently. Since that visit, Sebastian had been able to connect with my mind long enough to see that a new ability was emerging for me. With Clairvoyance, I had the ability to see the future through visions while unconscious.
    After Sebastian had spoken to Ezra about this, they quickly had come to the conclusion that my Lucid Dreaming, Astral Projection, and Clairvoyance were evolving and mutating, making me more adaptable and resilient for what was to come.
    And, I knew that all