Page 77 of Deck of Scarlets
“I don’t know how you can joke at a time like this.”
“At a time like what? I’m your guardian. It’s not like we’re some part of an arranged marriage,” he scoffed.
I gritted my teeth. “I can barely grasp the concept of demons roaming around, now you have to be planted in my head?”
“And you’re not in mine?” He crossed his arms, annoyance on his face.
He had the audacity to act so irritated by my dislike for our situation that I wanted to stab his eyes out.
“We have only one common goal, and that is to fight and protect the citizens of this city,” Josh stated.
“Glad that’s all we have in common,” I muttered. Arrogant son of a bit—
“Heard that.”
“Good.”
We stood, glaring at one another. “If you’re going to insult me all night—” Josh turned to leave.
I surprised not only him but myself. Although I wanted to, that wouldn’t get me anywhere with navigating my new lifestyle, and as much as I wanted to kick him in the teeth, he was my guardian, and I couldn’t do this without him. I had to rein in my anger to ask the next question. “How does it even work?” I let my hand drop off his arm.
His eyebrows rose in confusion. “How does what work?”
I gestured my hands between us. “Reading each other’s thoughts. Communicating?”
Josh massaged his jawline, his fingers playing with the stubble as he sighed deeply and rolled his eyes, clearly experiencing whiplash from my ever-changing mood. “It only works if we’re close to one another. It’s quite useful in battle. Our psyche is connected because our bond finally received its own blessing from a holy figure.”
Father Benedict’s weird declaration suddenly made sense. “Is that what Father was spewing earlier?”
“Yes.”
I pondered over this new information. “So, you can talk to me telepathically… I’m assuming it works the same for you?”
He nodded. “Give it a try.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“Because it is.”
Hi. I thought. God, this was awkward.
Hey, and it’s perfectly normal. I watched the smirk appear on his lips.
My eyes bulged. “I didn’t even think about the last part.”
“Like I said, your thoughts are very loud,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“All because we’re connected…” I trailed off, because from here on out, Josh was going to know all my inner thoughts, unless…
He started to laugh. “Unless you learn how to shield.”
“Ugh! Teach me then, I’m already about to lose my goddamn mind!”
Josh pushed his hair away from his forehead. “We’ll do that tomorrow. "
“Where did Collin take my dagger?”
“It’s getting doused in holy water, and then Father Benedict prays over it in a separate room. That is where the power of our Lord grants them to be used in battle,” Josh explained.