Insight (Web of Hearts and Souls #1)(33)

“I’m going to show you the strings today. You’ll see that Livingston is just in awe of you…they’re only laughing because you have no idea the kind of the power you hold.”

I smiled, but I was blushing.

“Willow, I don’t mean to upset you, but your mother told me something that I find just as fascinating. She said you couldn’t feel anything coming from Drake. You told her he was a void,” Livingston said, leaning forward in his seat.

Landen gave me a curious look, beaming with relief.

“No, there was nothing there. I think that’s why I felt so uncomfortable around him. I knew it wasn’t me because I could still feel everyone else.”

Landen reached his arm around me. With that statement, I knew that I’d made everyone a little nervous. “Willow,” my father said in his trademark peaceful tone. “Have you ever felt anything close to…evil?”

Livingston closed his eyes, sighing softly. I sensed a profound remorse coming from him.

My eyes grew wide, and my mouth opened. I had to admit, I hadn’t. I’d felt anger, but evil was not a word I could ever find to describe anyone I’d ever met. I shook my head slowly no.

“That’s good. I don’t want you to ever have to,” my dad said.

I couldn’t help but stare at Livingston. His emotions didn’t match the room or the circumstance. He was broken, lost.

“Are you ready? I think we both need air,” Landen thought, glancing at me.

“Is it safe?” I asked, feeling nervous.

“We’re going to stay close. I’m going to show you my way, and then you’re going to show me yours.”

“I bet my way is cooler,” I said slyly.

I was sure it wasn’t, but I wanted to make him laugh, and it worked: he laughed out loud, and once again they all stared at us in wonder.

“I want to go, too, Willow,” Libby said as she walked into the kitchen. Everyone looked at her with bemusement.

“Well, Jason, Ashten,” Livingston said, sighing and staring at Libby. “I would have to say that you two have a very talented bunch on your hands.”

Like my father and Ashten, Livingston was holding something back from Landen and me.

Landen saw it, too. He gave his father a daring look as we left the cabin. As we walked along the river’s path, he tried to prepare me for what I would see in the string.

“Have you ever swum in open water?” Landen asked.

I’d lived in a landlocked state my whole life. The few times that we had vacationed at the beach, I never went in any further than my knees. “Not exactly…do I need to be a good swimmer or something?” I asked, unable to hide how anxious I really was.

He laughed at himself and searched for a different analogy. When he couldn’t find one, he began again. “When you’re in the string, it’s like swimming in natural water. You’re going to feel something like a gentle current. It’s easy to walk through, but I don’t want it to scare you.” He glanced down at me. I could tell he was judging my response. “Everything but the passages are going to be white,” he finished.

When we finally reached the place where I’d found him, I breathed in deeply, feeling my unease and his excitement. “Can you see the string?” he asked.

I could, but I still couldn’t figure out why they called it a string. It looked like a ripple in the air, and you could see everything behind it. It reminded me of a glare coming off a scalding hot road in the summer’s sun. I nodded, he took my hand, and we stepped into the ripple, the string.

It was so beautiful. Everything was a glowing light, and there was no depth or height. I could feel solid ground beneath me, though the ground shared the same white glow. I felt the gentle current. It didn’t scare me; it was very relaxing. The air wasn’t cold or warm—it was perfect. I could hear a mesmerizing humming sound. I let a childlike smile ease across my face.

Landen reached to trace my bottom lip, grinning at the excitement he saw in me.

“You are so beautiful.”

“No, I’m just happy.”

He leaned down and gave me the most innocent kiss, but the string, the energy behind the current, enhanced everything. I felt his lips hum against mine and gasped ever so slightly. When his hands moved down my sides I forgot to breathe for a second.

As if he could read my mind he thought. “That’s not my touch, that’s your soul reaching for mine.”

I grinned slyly. “Trust me, it’s your touch.”

His eyes glinted with a shared desire. “I can’t wait to show you the universe.” He took my hand and we began to walk. As we moved, the scenery never changed.

“How do you know where you’re going? Do you visualize it, like my dad?”

Landen stopped, looked down at me, and grinned. The string had highlighted his eyes. It was like a light was shining through from behind. I’d never seen anything so absorbing.

“I follow intent. I can feel it through the string. When it changes, I know I’m either entering another part of the dimension that I’m near or approaching a different one. Can you feel emotions from here?” he asked as his eyes searched over my face.

I was so distracted by the beauty of the string that I hadn’t noticed. I could feel Landen’s love as the most powerful emotion around me, but in the background I could feel others. They were common emotions: worry, happiness, and sadness. I nodded.