Page 67 of Rhuyin

Elex and I looked at each other with the same skeptical concern.

“Del, are you sure this is what you want? You don’t have to Bond with anyone.” Elex said protectively.

“Yeah, no one’s going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do,” I responded. “If you think you have to do this because you owe someone something…”

“No!” she exclaimed, her eyes wide with shock. “No, it’s nothing like that!”

She sat back down and Hel sat beside her. She closed her eyes, obviously considering her words carefully.

“I understand how you guys feel. Hell, before I met Dagan I would have responded the same way. But Dag… he’s like a missing part of myself. It’s like I’ve been—been missing a leg all my life, and finally found it! Just not anything as mundane as a limb.”

She grinned at me.

“I can’t imagine being separated from him. There’s no doubt in my mind that he is my match.”

Elex and I exchanged glances, and I shrugged slightly. Deliah was a grown woman and could make her own decisions.

“Then, congratulations, I guess!” Elex said smiling. “This is the whole reason we came here, after all.”

“We’re so happy for you!” I followed.

Her smile grew.

“So where is the lucky guy?” I asked.

“He’s out looking for a friend of his who went missing. He’s worried about him because he hasn’t been in the best mental state lately.”

“Friend? Do you mean Rhuyin?” I mumbled in alarm, my mouth full of food, then realized that Dagan probably had lots of other friends, not just Rhu. To my consternation, though, she nodded.

“You met him? Do you know where he is? Dag’s worried about him. Rhu has matched with a bunch of Mageia in the past, but they haven’t chosen him, just because of his hearing challenges. Dag said he matched with someone when we arrived, even though he wasn’t supposed to be involved in the Touchpoint.”

I squirmed a little uncomfortably, since I must have been one of the people he’d matched with. Was that why Rhu had disappeared? Because he wasn’t supposed to match with a Mageia? Or because he’d found someone else?

“I can’t believe they’d disqualify him from Touchpoints just because of his hearing,” she continued. “From what Dag said, he is a pretty lethal warrior. Dag didn’t tell me who the girl was, but he said he is really hoping they will work out.”

I almost choked. Girl? Was Rhu bi? I’d gotten major omofylofilos vibes from him. I chewed and swallowed, trying to be happy for the Soma. There’d been something so sweet about him, a quiet strength and resilience that I envied.

“He didn’t come home last night, so Dag is pretty sure they’re together. I doubt we’ll be seeing much of him until after his Bonding ceremony.”

Deliah gave me a knowing wink and I felt an unreasonable stab of jealousy and anger that I had to squash. I had literallyjustmet the man. I certainly didn’t have any claim on him. I should be happy that he had found his match, especially after waiting so long to find them. I remembered the Mageia I had seen at the hospital.Maybe he’d found his match there? It was probably the reason he hadn’t stayed until I woke up. I wondered briefly if it might have been one of the medics we’d seen.

I couldn’t help feeling a little curious, though, as to what the reaction we had experienced when we’d touched had meant. Okay, alotcurious. And disappointed. I had at least wanted the chance to talk to him again after the explosion, but it looked like he had made his choice.

“So when is your Bonding ceremony?” Hel asked.

She straightened her shirt nervously again.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you guys about. We want to hold it tonight.”

I felt my eyebrows rise into my hairline.

“Isn’t that kind of fast?” I asked.

She and Hel both shook their heads.

“From what I’ve heard, when you find your Bonded, you usually just know. I don’t think we are the only ones who want to get Bonded right away, either.”

“Really? Others of our group?”