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I raise my eyebrows in amazement, and Ayden seems lost for words too.
“Your twin brother disappeared when your parents were attacked. We couldn’t find his body in the rubble of the house, and then we stumbled across this old ritual – the soul link. People who are very closely connected – for example by blood – can make use of this link. They can gain access to the other person without them knowing about it. It’s an ancient ritual that the goddesses used to employ. The goddesses fabricated these connections. Their initial aim was probably to control the other person’s mind. But despite their best efforts, that never succeeded. Nevertheless, it enabled them to see into the minds of their acolytes and spy on them. Which was very useful to them. In the end, it wasn’t enough to prevent the coup, but I’m sure the technique brought them many advantages over the years. It took us a long time to reproduce the ritual. But eventually, we were successful and able to locate Noah. He was still alive, and he wasn’t just raised as a Noctu; he was the son of Assembly members.” Mr. Collins takes a tentative step toward his son and extends his hand. “Surely you can understand what that meant for us? Noah doesn’t know when you’re in his head. He’s completely unaware of it. We can basically tap into him and see and hear what he’s experiencing in real time. That’s how we were able to acquire so much essential information. It helped us prevent numerous assassinations and crimes against us and to determine favorable timeframes and targets.”
The raid in which Noah was injured suddenly makes sense now. The Tempes raided the hospital and attacked several Noctu whose true identity Noah was sure the hunters didn’t know. He assumed that Frances had sold that information to Alessandro. But clearly that wasn’t the case. Ayden must have acquired it when he was inside Noah’s head. That just shows how valuable this soul link is for the Tempes. It gives them so many opportunities to stay one step ahead of the Noctu.
Ayden just stands there staring at his father, who moves to close the gap between them and tries to reason with him in an imploring tone. “I want you to understand the enormous advantage this soul link gave us. It did come up for debate now and then, but in the end, we couldn’t afford to forego the benefits. And I know you would have arrived at the same conclusion.”
“You’ve been lying to me my whole life,” he yells at his father. “You could have told me the truth.”
“How would that have helped? What difference would it have made? It would have just added to your pain. When we started using the soul link, you were a small child. What? You figure we should have told you when you were older that you had a brother who was kidnapped by the Noctu and raised by them?! You would have done everything in your power to rescue him, and you would have run straight to your doom. If we told you about the soul link, it would have turned your life upside down. No. You may not believe it, but I care about you. You’re still my son despite everything, and I want you to be okay.”
He puts a tentative hand on Ayden’s shoulder, and I can’t bear to watch.
“You’re actually trying to spin this to make it about your concern for Ayden?! You know what this soul link does to him, how much pain he endures. You don’t even know for sure that it won’t cause long-term damage, maybe even kill him! But you don’t hesitate to use it.”
“Ayden didn’t know what was happening to him here, but he was fully aware of the pain involved. We gave him the choice a long time ago: are you prepared to endure this pain and risk your life for your people?” He looks at his son fondly. “And he was.”
I stare at them both for a moment. And then Ayden shrugs off his father’s hand and leaves the room without a word. I shoot one last glance at Mr. Collins, who looks bitter as he watches his son go, then I follow Ayden. I call his name, but he doesn’t stop.
“Wait,” I call as I hurry after him. He’s surprisingly fast considering his condition, but I guess he’s drawing strength from his anger.
When I finally catch up to him, I grab his arm. He stops and turns to face me. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such an angry storm in his eyes. It’s like a hurricane threatening to knock the world off its axis.
“What they did to you is unforgivable. I get how angry and hurt you must be.”
He just looks at me without saying a word.
“How do feel? Are you in a lot of pain?” I gently touch his arm.
“It’s not that bad,” he says, running a hand through his hair and looking tired.
“Ayden, you know I’m with you. No matter what you decide to do now.”
I could understand if he wanted to turn his back on this world. What would that mean for us? I glance at Yoru. My heart contracts painfully. I can’t describe how it feels to even think of losing him. We have a bond; we belong together. I would always feel like a part of me was missing. But I’d still go with Ayden.
“If you want to cut ties with the Council and this world, I would understand, and I’d go with you.”
I look at him with a feeling of tightness in my chest, and I’m genuinely afraid of what he’ll say. What will he do? What happens from here?
He raises his eyebrows and shakes his head. “I won’t let them drive me away. Not my father and not the Council. I grew up in this world, and I have a job to do here. And I have Snow. Could you really imagine separating from your spirit? You have as strong a bond as anyone with your key spirit.” He shakes his head again. “No, I refuse to give up, I won’t leave. And if you’re considering the Noctu, forget it. They’re worse than our people. I’d never switch sides and betray the Tempes.”
I was under no illusions that Ayden would ever defect to the Noctu.
“I still can’t believe it. Your dad was lying to our faces all this time, and he was so convincing. When you first asked him about Noah, he seemed surprised. I actually believed him when he said he didn’t know that Noah was still alive.”
Ayden nods but says nothing.
“It could be difficult to hold the Council to account for what they’ve done to you. And what about your father? How are you going deal with him?”
Ayden says nothing for a few seconds, then, “What he did to me was wrong. He should have told me the truth. Lying to me all this time …” He sighs and paces back and forth, incensed. “But I get it. This soul link gives us an enormous advantage. I get why they didn’t want to give up that weapon. I probably saved a lot of lives with it.”
Now it’s my turn to stare incredulously. “You can’t be serious? You think what they did was justifiable? All the lies, the pain … You could have been permanently injured or even died. You told me yourself there were risks. They were prepared to sacrifice you, and you say you can understand it?!”
“That’s not what I said. I’m not saying it was justifiable. Just that I can kind of understand why they figured they had no choice.”
“There’s always a choice,” I object. “And no matter how much they twist and bend the truth, what they did to you was wrong.”
“You should talk to Noah,” he says suddenly.
