Page 33 of City of Love

“It’s like an overlapping of the senses. A synesthete might see a color when they taste a certain flavor, or experience a scent in the form of a sound as well. It’s rare in your world, from what I understand, but not uncommon in mine.”

“Maybe because your senses are heightened here to begin with,” she said.

“Indeed. And when present in someone who is also telekinetic, their emotional and sensory perceptions might be displayed externally, in the form of light, or even sound for some.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “You mean experiencing joy, for example, might result in the air around them singing?”

“More like humming, yes.”

She shook her head. “Wow. Very cool.”

He studied her face and broke into a smile.

“What?” she asked, returning the smile.

“I’m enjoying seeing my world through your eyes.” He gazed back out the window. “It’s a world I’ve known for such a long time, that I suppose I take it for granted.”

“I hope you don’t mind my asking, but people have made references to your age and…”

“I’m a few years shy of one hundred, Lexi.” His demeanor relaxed as he turned to her again. He winked. “It’s gonna be one hell of a birthday party when the time comes.”

She studied his face. Definitely chiseled, but from heredity not age. The smooth high planes of his cheekbones and strong jaw hinted at Scandinavian ancestry but gave no clue to his years. The shoulder length dark blond hair showed not a speck of grey. She’d swear him to be no more than thirty.

Without thinking she reached up and ran a fingertip at the corner of his eye, where crow’s feet were conspicuously missing. “How old do your people live?”

“A good three hundred years or more if we’re healthy and have strong genes. But we’re human and mortal, just like you. We still age over time and can die early of illness or injury.” He lifted a brow. “Honestly, in terms of our ages, you and I are at the same point in our lives, relatively speaking.”

Lexi quickly did the math on her life expectancy relative to his, and he was right. She and Gideon were at about the same distance into their lifespans—equally “young” as it were. But they aged at vastly different rates. So, even though he had a seventy-five-year head start on her, eventually she’d be an old lady and he’d just be starting to gray. She’d become a burden while he was still active and vital.

She sat up straighter and returned her gaze to the window.

Obviously sensing her thoughts, Gideon gently guided her face back toward him. “There’s a time and a place for math equations, and it isn’t here or now.” He lifted her chin with a finger, and took another slow kiss.

The carriage came to a halt and he glanced out the window. “Ah, we’re here.”

“And where, exactly, is here?”

He took her hand and helped her down from the carriage. “The Library of the College of Psychic Arts.”

Lexi dropped his hand, her mouth hanging open as she stared up at the façade. “Oh. My. God.”

Behind an iron gate stood a magnificent, vine-covered, four-story building of old Pennsylvania bluestone. Huge torches lit the entrance, and candles warmed all the windows. She walked up the steps as if in a dream. “Gideon, it’s magnificent.”

She led the way up the steps, fighting to maintain dignity and not go running like a schoolgirl into the building in her sundress and sandals. The foyer soared above her, the ceiling fading into black as, even with numerous mirrors, the candle and torch light failed to reach its heights. Until she’d actually experienced this universe with its different history, she’d never realized just how dark places were without electricity. Television shows and movies set in older times failed to capture the deep shadows of night, which made her feel both vulnerable and excited.

“Where do we begin?” she asked after he nodded at the front desk clerk, who waved them on.

He expertly guided them through the stacks as together they collected books and folios on the range of topics she was interested in. Her heart rate kicked up a notch as she eyed the wealth of information available to her in this world.

A world where, clearly, she was meant to be.

Their arms finally laden with as much as they could carry, Gideon found them a table in a study room where they could read and talk quietly. A warm fire blazed in a hearth, and a few other people sat individually or in pairs in other corners. She flipped carefully through her books, but there was no way she could concentrate the way she needed to. No way she had time to absorb it all. She flopped back in her chair with frustration.

He smiled across the table, his own pile of books spread out in front of him. “Don’t worry. I’ll check all these out for you. You can take them home.” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “Highly illegal though I’m sure that is.”

With the relief of knowing she’d have much more time with the tomes, Lexi perked up. She leaned forward, arms crossed on the desk between them. “So, here’s something I don’t understand.”

“Yes….” Gideon also leaned forward, pulling off his wire-frame reading glasses and setting them on a book—reading glasses, which, by the way, made him so freaking sexy she’d barely been able to look down at her own books for the past hour.

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