Insight (Web of Hearts and Souls #1)(27)

My mother seemed to have figured out what was going on. Meanwhile I was getting angry with the three of them.

“Landen, Willow, you’re not using words,” my father said in a tender tone almost as if he was expecting this revelation.

My breath left me and my heart pounded in my ears as I tried to comprehend what they were saying. I felt Landen’s emotions swarming out of control, blending with the awe, fear, and respect coming from our parents. There was no way that that was possible. I couldn’t read minds, and I didn’t want anyone to be able to read mine. I turned crimson as I tried to remember if I had thought anything embarrassing around Landen tonight or even before.

I listened closely to see if I could hear Landen’s thoughts, but I heard nothing. I closed my eyes. “Landen, can you hear me?”

“I can.”

I looked up at him.

“Do you hear everything, or can you only hear me when I’m talking to you?”

“I guess when you’re talking to me,” he thought. As his eyes raced over my face, the connection, the love that we felt, seemed to overcome the initial shock.

“Do you think this is bad? I mean, is this common in Chara?”

His profound stare screamed no loud and clear.

“What is this, Dad? How are we doing it?” I asked, stumbling over my words.

I could tell that he was searching for words to answer my questions. “All right, we all need to just have a seat and talk this through.”

We all followed my father to the kitchen table. Landen and I sat side by side, and he held my hand under the table, his piercing blue eyes judging his father’s every move.

My father glanced at my mother, trying to size up her take on what she was seeing, then he nodded in Ashten’s direction for him to begin. Ashten sighed as he gathered his words, first looking at Landen, then settling his eyes on me.

“The first people to our world, the woman Aliyanna and the man Guardian could speak without words, and they shared each other’s dreams,” Ashten said.

Landen moved his head slowly from side to side, and his eyes drifted down to me. He knew this story. His disbelief told me so. Ashten went on. “They were both born in Esterious. Aliyanna held a power that could move the universe, and the priests in Esterious tried to gain control of it. When they failed, they pushed a force of energy at Aliyanna and Guardian, who was trying to protect Aliyanna. The force of energy used against them pushed them into the string, and once there they found their way to a different dimension: Chara. When their children grew up, Aliyanna and Guardian taught them the paths in the string so they could find the ones that they were meant to be with. Couple by couple, our world was born. Now everyone has to leave to find the one that they’re meant to be with.”

“What does that have to do with us?”

The tension in the room was so thick that I could barely breathe.

“There has never been another couple with the same insights, and you both are children of our dimension,” Ashten answered quietly trying to get me to see the obvious that was still blind to me.

“So…is this bad or good?” My voice cracked.

Ashten and my father exchanged weary glances. It was obvious they were keeping something from me. The room grew silent, and the strain between Landen and his father intensified within seconds.

Suddenly, Landen stood up. “Your silence gives me reason to leave now,” he said, gently pulling me to his side.

Ashten stood and said, “Landen, it took you two days to get here, do you want to put that little girl upstairs through that? We need to wait for the storms to grow calm, or at least for Livingston and Marc to arrive.”

“You know Livingston? Who is Marc?” I asked, using our new gift.

“Livingston is my uncle, and Marc is his son,” Landen answered in the same manner.

Landen looked into my eyes, then to the stairs that led to where Libby was playing. Through his emotions, I felt him weigh each consequence. He then sighed and calmly sat back down, and the room filled with relief.

Slowly I sat down next to Landen, trying to place all the names and faces with the story my father had told me.

The tightness in the room was broken when Libby appeared at the top of the stairs. “Is it time for dinner? I’m hungry,” she asked as she walked down the stairs, smiling innocently at Landen. It was like she knew him and loved him already.

“Yes, dear. We were just deciding what we’re going to have,” my mother answered. “Let’s all have some dinner and get some rest. I’m sure everything will be clearer in the morning.” She seemed to have brought our conversation to a peaceful end.

My father and Ashten excused themselves to the back porch—I’m sure to discuss Landen and me in private. Libby walked over to Landen’s side and slid her small body under his arm. They stared at each other, and the emotion between them seemed familiar to me, like I’d felt love between them, the love only a family could have. Libby reached her tiny hand to Landen’s face, and when he smiled at her, she giggled. It was a joy like I’d never seen from her before.

“I like the name Landen. Do you like the name ‘Libby’?”

“I feel like I know her. How does she know my name?”

“It’s her insight. She started using it today. She doesn’t know that she has it yet.”