Grey shoulders shook for a second in laughter, but he didn’t make a sound. “Yes.”
“Talking to you is exhausting. You never give a straight answer.”
“Because life doesn’t have quick, easy answers.” Grey opened his eyes and smirked at Clay. “And if you think it does, then you’re missing all the shades of gray in life.”
Clay glared at Grey, his hands on his hips. “I’m being serious.”
“So am I,” Grey said with a widening grin. “But to your question, the introvert that is Grey Ackles the human being finds being around people exhausting. Even people I consider close friends or family. The act of having a conversation is exhausting.” Grey paused and frowned. His eyes were locked on the grass in front of him. “But Grey the Soul Weaver…he can draw energy from people, especially large crowds of people. As a Soul Weaver, I think I could even influence large groups of people. But the constant clatter of thoughts and emotions…”
“There will never be a time when it’s not draining,” Clay finished.
Grey nodded and looked up at Clay, flashing a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “It is what it is.”
“Still…thanks for coming out with me. For helping me.”
“Yes…well, maybe constant exposure to my new family will help me build up some tolerance. Be a little less of an introvert.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being an introvert.”
Grey snorted and straightened. “Only if it endangers the Circle,” he said in a low voice, but he quickly moved on before Clay could comment. “I want you to sit here and take your shoes off. I’m going to face you.”
While Clay kicked off his shoes and socks, Grey jumped to his feet, moving out of Clay’s way. Clay took his seat and relished the brush of power that caressed his bare skin. It felt welcoming, as if it was happy to see him again. His eyes fell closed for a moment, and muscles he hadn’t realized were even tense began to relax. For a moment, everything felt right, centered.
But there was a wave coming. Bigger than anything he could imagine, and it was threatening to swamp him.
Clay sucked in a harsh breath, and his eyes snapped open. He mentally slammed down barriers, reducing that wonderful flow of energy to more of a trickle. If he couldn’t take it all in, he’d lose control again and risk hurting Grey.
“I want to help you,” Grey said. He’d folded his long legs in front of him and was looking very calm, except for the serious expression drawing lines on his face. “Which means you can’t lie to me. It wastes time, and…” Grey smirked. “I can read you. Right now, huge amounts of panic and fear are rolling off you. What happened?”
It was on the tip of Clay’s tongue to deny it, to tell him to fuck off, but Grey was right. Denying it wouldn’t help him make a damn bit of progress.
“It starts off fine. The power from the earth kind of washes in like a trickle, but I can feel this massive wave building. Bigger than all the water in all the oceans.” Clay balled the hands resting on his knees into fists, and he hated the fear thickening his voice, but he forced the words out. “It’s going to slam down on me, pull me under. I’m going to drown.”
“Makes sense,” Grey said evenly. “You’re afraid of drowning, so you fight it. You’re trying to be stronger than all the power of the earth.”
Clay opened his mouth to argue. When Grey said it like that, it sounded ridiculous. Clay couldn’t possibly be stronger than all the power.
But the words died in his throat because that was exactly what he was doing.
Instead he asked, “How do I stop being afraid of drowning?”
Grey’s smile softened into something without a hard, cutting edge. “This is the part where you have to trust me.”
“I thought I was by coming out here.”
Grey snorted. “Not even close. You were so cautious and paranoid about meeting me. I could easily guess at the pep talk you had to give yourself.”
Clay kept his mouth shut. There was no point in denying it. Grey had said no lies, and it was very clear the Weaver was reading him just fine.
The man sitting opposite him shrugged, but Clay had the feeling he was still hurt by his reticence, and that was wrong. He needed to trust Grey. Yeah, his powers fucking unnerved Clay, but Grey had done nothing to earn his distrust.
“What do you want me to do?” Clay offered.
Some of the tension eased from Grey’s shoulders, and they slumped a little. “I want you to let me be your life raft when the power floods in.”
“How?”
Grey lifted a hand and tapped his temple with his index finger. “You have to let me in here. Trust me to pull you back out if it becomes too much.”