Page 59 of Tempt

So that shall be her second job. And where to start?

Harmony leans into Wonder and whispers, “Go on. Have a look.”

Wonder’s smile splits her face in half. She has more than a look as she dashes through the aisles, losing and finding herself.

***

But not all pages are equally accessible. Some conceal messages that require ingenuity and a malleable mind to decipher their true content.

Even better. If Wonder’s anything, she’s a wanderer. She’s a curator who appreciates the elusive. That’s why snipping particular sentences from a page yields a surprise to Wonder’s gaze, as she leans over a desk in the Hollow Chamber. Casting a wary glance around, she deems it safe and then watches the leftover script rearrange itself. The narrative dictates that mixing a seed and blossom creates something called Asterra Flora, which unlocks barriers.

Wonder grins. That night, she’s in a rebellious mood. Perhaps it has to do with her new curves—lots of curves to match her height and weight and age.

Beneath the effervescent night, she sneaks into the Archives, breaching the latches by using this illicit blend called Asterra Flora, which she has mixed together herself. All she wants is to stroll in this repository alone, to have it to herself for once.

But that’s when she ambles into forbidden territory.

Returning to the Hollow Chamber, she descends upon the restricted section without anyone there to prevent her. The lone telescope points to a wall mural, concealing the entrance. It’s a known area, though not a frequented one—not by those permitted to do so.

The Asterra Flora works. The sheer veil appears.

And Wonder steps through.

***

The first time she sees him, she’s hiding in a bush. Sneaking in and out of places has become a hobby, which extends to the mortal realm.

Her Guide would box her ears for this, not that Wonder plans on getting caught. But mortal libraries exist just like the Chamber’s forbidden section, like another ripe temptation. She wants to see such a library and refuses to wait the final three years until she’s assigned here.

At present, it’s the mortal year, 1860. The cusp of war brews in this southern land, yet on a remote prairie hill, it seems far away.

Or perhaps this moment drowns out everything else.

On the outskirts of a ranch, she had been picking lupines when she’d spotted his golden hair. Dropping the stems, she’d plummeted and then crawled through the underbrush, dirt streaking her elbows and pants.

Now she stashes herself in the shrubbery. But really, she’s too old for this.

And really, she doesn’t have to hide. Humans cannot see or hear her.

However, this unknown figure might be an immortal spy who’s caught up to Wonder. She’d thought herself alone, sequestered in this vacant setting. So she nudges the bushes aside, careful since that’s something a mortal can detect.

What she sees causes her mouth to part.

It’s a young man.

Resting atop a checkered blanket, he gazes at the night sky, at the stars, at her home. He wears black pants speckled in dust. Unkempt blond waves drape around his profile, which is cut like a square and hints at a pair of wiry lips.

It’s a kindly face, a human countenance mesmerized by the heavens—skeptical of them, too. He tilts his head, asking a silent question, his brows furrowing with interrogation.

Wonder likes his speculative expression. She likes the book resting on his chest even better. If she were capable, she’d plop beside him, take delight in his shock, and promptly ask what he’s reading. She would be impolite and snatch the book to see the title.

She doesn’t need to. The gilded spine reveals that it’s a mythology text.

Oh, and there’s more. This young man is less of the escapist sort, more of the investigative sort. Resting beside a saddlebag, a stack of nonfiction hardcovers awaits his attention. It’s an ambitious collection. Is he planning to read all of them in a single evening?

Kinship unfurls in Wonder’s belly.

The incense of pomegranates wafts from him. As he resumes reading, he thumbs through the pages, his fingernails filed longer than any mortal male she’s observed during her field trips.

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