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attack on him with such ease and strength? Che struggled under the weight of leaden
feelings of grief and loss and the sure knowledge of a barren, hopeless existence. It was
as if& by the Gods, it was as though he lived day in and day out with the knowledge
that Sophia s spirit would be forever lost to him, their subtle essences ripped apart for
eternity.
Enough! Jax bellowed furiously.
They were both standing now, muscles tensed, eyes wild, ready to do battle. They d
fought against each other innumerable times in the past. But this promised to be no
sparring match. At the millisecond before they came to both subtle and physical blows,
a trickle of reason got through Che s chaotic emotions. Jax had just severed the hosting
bond in his fury and that was what must have allowed Che a measure of rationality. He
flinched backward.
By the Fathers! Che muttered almost incoherently. Despite a vague knowledge of
his vulnerable state with such a formidable enemy only feet away from him, he
slumped down into the chair. He stared up at Jax in dread and disbelief.
How can you live like that?
Che s question seemed to take form between them, its shape sharp and ominous.
Deep blue fires leapt in Jax s eyes. I could have you imprisoned for that, he said
stiffly, referring to the Che s aggressive, unexpected attack on his consciousness.
Che breathed in slowly, trying to regain his composure. It took him longer than he
would have expected. Coming into direct contact with Jax s emotional state had been
overwhelming. Why had it happened? He d asked him how he could have plotted
against Duse, wanting to know the secrets that Jax still withheld& needing to
understand how someone that he loved so dearly could have betrayed him, as well.
Instead of gleaning any answers, though, he d been wholly submerged in an ocean of
emotional anguish.
103
Beth Kery
And then it slowly dawned on him that Jax s enormous pain had been the answer
to his question. He shook his head, stunned.
How can you live like that, Jax? he repeated. Jax was so powerfully corporeal at
the moment that a muscle in his cheek leapt with suppressed tension. For a long
moment, Che thought he was going to refuse to answer him.
I promised Skylar, he said eventually, in a voice rough with emotion. She sensed
that I was going to take the Path of Sorrow after I was sure that she was safe again with
Duse. She made me vow to accept the Watcher punishment for my crime instead.
Che s mouth hung open in dumbfounded amazement. Jax and Skylar had never
bonded. There was only the possibility that they could have bonded, had Duse not
bonded with her first. But what he d just experienced from Jax s consciousness argued
otherwise. What Jax was currently experiencing equated with nothing less than being
completely severed eternally from a bonded mate. Che felt anxious when he just
considered what Bale had to endure after Helen s rape and murder. But Helen would
eventually come back to him& she wasn t irrevocably lost& not like Skylar was to Jax.
Jax s pain had been cruel. No wonder he d wanted to take the Path of Sorrow, the
choice that a Watcher could always make to will himself out of existence.
Skylar couldn t have known that she d subjected you to so much torment when
she asked that of you.
Jax gave a small, sad smile and collapsed back into his chair. He suddenly looked
spent. Of course she didn t. She thought she was protecting her little brother, he said
with a desperate bark of laughter.
Che had never felt so helpless in his long existence. If only& if only Duse could
understand, maybe you two could& He stopped abruptly when Jax met his eyes and
Che fully sensed the impassable breach that had been cleaved between the two
brothers.
I still can t comprehend how you can exist that way, Che mumbled distractedly.
Because I have no other choice.
Neither of them spoke for several minutes.
Now you know my secret. Jax smiled tiredly when Che glanced up at him in
confusion. A Watcher s spirit and strength can crystallize and grow strong in the
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