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• Amir •

The whole time Amir was chatting with Darren and Colin about politics, he was singing a song to Luna in his head, trying desperately not to think about sex with her right now. It wasn't like he was some horny guy who wanted to jump her bones all the time, but it was just that intense urge to do all the things married couples do. He was ready to take her up to the room he prepared and show her how his wife will always be treated. She will always have rose petals on their bed, fruit juice on the side in a champagne glass, and anything else she liked to eat, waiting for her.

The guys then begin talking about the best teams in the world.

Please keep talking about The Lakers. Please keep talking about The Saints. Please keep talking about the L.A. Rams. I don't care.

Amir's urgency to be with his wife was overwhelming at times.

Sarah distracted him by running up to his body, wrapping her tiny hands around his waist. "You okay, Daddy?"

Daddy? She called me Daddy, and Luna missed it.

He looked over at her adorable face and grinned. "Yes, I am, sweetheart. How about you?"

"I'm good. I like your suit." Amir chuckled. He reached down and picked her up.

"Luna!" He heard Liberty yell as she and his wife strolled into the great room. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I have to tell my husband," Luna blurted out, glancing at the room, who all stopped what they were doing to see what was going on. "He and his family have a right to know."

"Know what, baby?" Amir asked, with Sarah in his arms.

She came forward, and he handed Sarah over to her. "Sarah, honey, can you go with Mera to the playroom for a bit? Mommy has something important to discuss with the group."

"Okay." Sarah looked down and frowned. "If it's about grandmama and grandpapa, you should tell them."

"What's going on?" Adnan uttered from the doorway where Cami and Faisal were standing.

"They're connected. They don't have their powers yet," Sarah said, glancing back at him.

The whole room's jaws dropped open, including Amir's.

Irfan Bhatti was in a room praying. Amir wasn't sure if he knew about their anomalies. The pastor did because he was a Tethered Soul.

But what did this mean about his parents?

"Sarah, sweetheart," Amir murmured toward her as she caught his gaze. "What do you mean by my parents?"

"They are paired souls. You and Uncle Addy were born from Pure Souls because their powers haven't become active yet."

"I'm sorry," Maryam said, standing up. "Can someone explain to us what's going on? What powers? What do you mean by being 'paired'?"

Holy crap!

This cannot be true. How did Luna and Sarah know this?

Now, Amir had to explain to his parents about their genetic abilities. He'd explained this scenario so many times to other people, that he was blue in the face.

"I'm confused," Adnan said, taking a step closer. "What the hell is going on?"

"Adnan!" Nasir exclaimed. "Watch your tongue, young man!"

"Sorry, Father. It will not happen again."

Glancing at his mother, Maryam pleaded with her eyes for Amir to give her an answer. So he and the group sat his family down, explaining what was going on. Liberty took Sarah to the bathroom and then to the drawing room so everyone could talk.

"Luna, how did you know about my parents being linked?" Adnan asked her.

She took a breath and looked around the room, her eyes peering toward Amir, and landing back on his mother and father. "While I was in the kitchen, I noticed Nasir's and Maryam's aura connected. It was like a tiny white light linking two souls together. Their aura hit mine and I knew that they were Tethered Souls, and were paired as companions."

"That's because," Colin began as he stood near the window, "you have just discovered a new power you possess, Luna. Each Tethered Soul has additional powers other than telepathy. Telekinesis. Power absorption. Invisibility and Cloaking. Mind control."

Amir never knew people could have more than telepathy, aside from the children back at the hospital. They were telekinetic. "What about my wife?" he asked the room, wondering what power she has.

"Unfortunately, Luna is a soul hunter," Colin said, narrowing his eyes. "She had always been a hunter, but her power didn't become active until now."

"What does that mean, Colin?" she asked, standing to her feet.

"What that means is, you will sense souls who are linked together and turn them in. You have a darkness in you and it has now been unleashed. You can't control it. Almost like Anakin Skywalker willing Darth Vader to never be born."

"I will control myself. I have to. I can't lose my family," she declared, staring at Amir.

He squeezed her hand and kissed her forehead, knowing he had nothing to worry about.

"You must keep your ring on at all times, Luna. It can help conceal the darkness inside of you," Colin added while Luna shook her head.

"I can't have darkness inside of me. There's no way I'll harm anybody. I'm not a huntress," she murmured, her lips trembling.

"Hopefully, you will keep it under control," Colin continued. "For the sake of every Tethered Soul."

"I have a question," Amir said, clearing his throat. "How did my daughter know about her grandparents?"

"Unfortunately, I have bad news," Colin said, narrowing his eyes. "Her power to detect her grandparents is the first sign when a young defective becomes destructive. The facility kept doing tests repeatedly on the patients to find out what a defective's strengths and weaknesses were. The staff did horrible things to the children there."

"Sarah has a bad soul?" Luna asked.

"Honestly, I don't know. We don't know who her companion is."

"I don't get it," Elizabeth said, speaking from a chair across the room. "How do Luna and Sarah know about the Khans being linked?"

"Mom," Luna said, inching closer to her. "This ability just came to me, and I don't know what I'm going to do about it. There was an energy that hit me when I took my lead ring off for a second, and I could see their aura connecting."

"It was the blood oath," Colin murmured, crossing his arms over his chest. "Had I known about you awakening that power beforehand, I would've never suggested it to Amir in the first place. It was always there, but now Amir's blood runs through you. You are his evil side, while he is your good side. Good versus evil."

"Wait, wait, wait. What are you talking about?" Luna asked as Amir stayed next to his family while his father rubbed his mother's back.

"The facilities around the globe go to great lengths to find something new about Tethered Souls. One of the things that were discovered is that every defective is the dark one, evil and corrupted, and their partners were the good ones, kind and gentle. You have good versus evil between souls. You aren't exactly evil, Luna, but you have the darkness of being a Tethered Soul running through you. And you are paired with a Pure Soul."

"What does 'pure soul' mean, exactly?" Amir asked him, feeling a rage coming from deep inside him if he didn't get that question answered.

Meeting Amir's gaze, Colin answered, "Amir, if your parents are Tethered Ones and have never awakened their powers, then you, along with Adnan, were born from Pure Souls. That means you and Luna were never supposed to become sick after meeting each other, and you both are greater than immune souls. Both of you were always destined to meet since birth, and you are a powerful couple. Your powers will magnify greatly."

"Is there any way that our DNA can be tested?" Nasir asked the room.

Faisal stepped forward. "I have a kit in my room, Uncle. I could test you and Aunt Maryam if you'd like."

"What do you have to do?" Maryam asked him.

"Just a small prick of the finger. Sort of like testing your blood sugar," Faisal explained, glancing between the both of them.

"How long will it take for the results?" Maryam inquired.

"A few minutes or so. Sarah's test only took a second."

"Okay, son. You can grab it for us. Will it show up that Maryam and I are paired?" Nasir asked, glancing at his wife.

"No, Uncle. It only shows if it comes back positive," Faisal explained.

"Go get it, Faisal," Amir told him.

"If it shows that we are Tethered Souls, then Luna can see our link?" Maryam asked, gazing at both of her sons.

Amir nodded, shifting his eyes toward his wife, who was sitting with Cami and Elizabeth, holding hands. Faisal came back with his kit, and both of Amir's parents asked him what the process was.

"After this," Luna said as all eyes fell on her, "I think everyone should get tested who hasn't shown any superhuman abilities. I may have this new gift, but maybe for me, it only became active because of our blood oath."

"Luna is right," Colin said, taking a seat on the armchair. "After the Khan's turn, maybe Adnan should go next, then the Carlyle's, followed by either Sue or me."

"Could I have the gene? Could I be a Tethered Soul?" Sue asked.

"You could be, honey," Darren said, kissing her forehead.

Faisal pricked Nasir's finger and let the blood pour into the small tube. Then the machine that tests the blood for potential tethered souls spun around in the center. A few seconds later, it beeped. And the room peered around to see the result.

Positive.

When people see the word "positive" it can make their hearts sink. It was normally bad when they saw that word, but in this case, it didn't feel so alarming. Ironically, Amir felt at peace about knowing this. His father was like many of them in their small group, and he sat next to him as his gaze never left the testing machine. He still had yet to ask his cousin how he came about obtaining the device, but he was sure it came from his old boss in India, Rajan.

Faisal kept his eyes narrowed while switching gloves for Maryam. She was holding Adnan's hand tightly, trembling about her results.

After collecting a sample of her blood, he popped it into the machine, and let it whirl around. Amir looked over at Luna and blew her a kiss. She grinned at him, then stood up and sat on his side.

The machine beeped, and Amir's muscles locked up. They gazed at the device as he tried to control his breathing.

Faisal glanced around the room and opened his mouth. "It's positive."

"So this means Nasir and I are Tethered Souls?" Maryam asked.

Amir nodded. "Yes, you are. And Sarah could sense that your abilities have not become active yet."

"Mr. Khan. Mrs. Khan," Luna murmured, looking at them. "I can sense the link between you two. You are paired. You're like Amir and me. Or Faisal and Cassie. Or Darren and Cami. Or Raul and the man he is linked to in Indonesia."

"What will happen to us?" Nasir asked, looking at Amir. "Aren't we supposed to be getting sick or something?"

"Since you and Maryam have been together before your powers became active, you both will not get ill," Colin explained to him. "One day, you could be in your office at work, and then you'll find yourself in your living room, teleporting, because that is where your wife is. Your powers can grow any moment now, and so far, only Amir has proven to have inherited the gene."

"I don't want to do it. I'm out," Adnan said.

Amir jumped from his seat and stared into his brother's eyes. "Adnan . . . trust me. You should know."

"Could the gene have skipped me?"

"We won't know until you take a test. This will be the biggest test you'll ever have to take. You'll want to know the answer."

"But I don't. Not after knowing what you and Luna have gone through." Adnan crossed the room toward the hallway, then clicked his heels and faced everyone. "I'm sorry, but I'm too scared that if it turns out that I am one of you, I will lose my mind, waiting for my powers to activate. I will lose my mind even more waiting to see who I'm paired for. Should I even want this? I wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything. Can you, like, put yourself in my shoes for a moment? I know about what happens when two paired souls meet, and what's going on in those false facilities. All those facilities are designed to experiment on humans who are more advanced than them. It's unethical and scary. Thanks, but no thanks."

Nasir pulled himself up and stood straight, his back cracking. "Adnan Khan! You come here this instant!"

Amir stepped out of the way as everyone watched his father bicker with his brother.

Great.

"Son, you will take this test whether you like it or not. Do you understand me?"

Adnan nodded in reply. "Yes, Father. What do I do?"

Faisal waved him over to the couch, and Adnan sat right beside him. "I will only do a tiny prick."

"I know that dear cousin," Adnan said sarcastically. Faisal took his sample and placed it into the test tube. The device beeped a few seconds later, and the group peered over to see the result.

Invalid.

"Invalid? What does that mean?" Adnan asked placing his hands on his sides.

"This has been truly a night of exposures," Colin mumbled, noticing everyone staring at him. "Invalid means that Adnan could or could not be a Tethered Soul. The blood in his veins can't detect the gene."

"Does this mean it's a good thing or a bad thing?" Amir asked, glancing between his brother and Colin.

"Neither. Adnan is safe at the moment. It means that if he were to come into contact with someone who could be paired with him, they'll connect first. There's only been a few results like this at St. Matthew's."

"So, if I did this test around November last year when I met Amir, my test results would say the same as Adnan's?" Luna asked Colin.

Everyone turned his way.

"No, actually. You already saw Amir on your videotape when he was outside the building the day of Sam's death. Your test would say positive if you took it last year. An invalid result only means two things: the person being tested may have the gene in their blood and never activate their powers, or if they are tethered to someone, that person will connect first. Although, Adnan could very much be a Tethered One. He is in his mid-twenties, and his paired partner probably hasn't been born yet."

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