Page 19 of Wonder
She spread her arms wide with a theatrical flair. “Show me some francs, and my visions will come.”
“Will British pounds do instead?” I offered her a ten-pound note, and her eyes lit up. Since the war, francs were worth less and less on an almost daily basis.
She plucked the money out of my fingers and tucked it into her bosom, then she laid a gloved hand, palm up, on the table. I put my hand in hers, and she closed her eyes. After a few seconds, her eyes darted back and forth behind her lids. Her fingers tightened on mine, and her expression turned grim.
About two minutes later, she let go and sat back in her chair as if exhausted. Her voice was even lower now, more dramatic. “My vision came to me in two parts. First, your companion must follow a different path than yours.” She tilted her head down toward my pack. “Put them into the keeping of the flying fox.” She placed her hands palm-down on the table and didn’t say anything more.
I narrowed my eyes. “That’s not how visions work.”
She lifted her head so she could look down her nose. “I’m the only Seer in France. This is howmyvisions work.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Before the portal closed, I was part of the Elven King’s Royal Guard. I’ve worked with Elven Seers for longer than you’ve been alive. When the magic was granted to you, it would not have been altered so.”
She sat up, relaxing and losing her dramatic affectations. “Well, don’t tell any of my other customers. I need the repeat business.” She reached under the table and brought out a bottle of cognac. Then she produced two glasses. She poured for each of us, and when she lifted her glass in a toast, I copied her.
She downed half of drink in one swallow. “I don’t know what that is in your bag, but it’s got magic like a person. In my vision I saw you giving it to a young-ish American man. He was a fox shifter, and you were in a bar, I think. He mentioned he was taking a plane to New York City in the morning, and you told him your friend there would keep him and his family safe.”
Well, that was interesting, but it didn’t help my mission. “Thank you for telling me. What was the second thing you saw?” I took a sip of cognac and waited.
She shook her head. “I didn’t get a lot of detail, but there were flashes of blood and traveling. Lots of time passed. When it stopped, you were sitting in a bed. You were smiling, and you said, ‘It’s finally over.’” She sounded the words out carefully. “Those are English words?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I hope I repeated them correctly. After you said those words, your mate hugged you.”
I hadn’t expectedthat. I set my glass down gently. “I’m sorry. Did you say mymate? The only ones of my kind left on Earth are those I have to kill.”
She waved a hand dismissively. “Such thinking is so limiting. The Wonders have already discovered that on Earth, mates can be anyone with magic. Your mate will be someone like me, a human who received magic from the Elves. The bond between the two of you was unmistakable. I couldn’t see his face, of course.” She gave me a wink. “But I promise you his backside was quite shapely.”
I tried to wrap my head around this. I wasn’t opposed to having a mate who was different from me, but in the Elven dimensionmates were always—always—from your own species. Luckily, I found all sorts of people attractive. But the idea that I could evenhavea mate was stupendous. I’d given up so many dreams for my mission, I hardly dared believe it was true.
She drained her glass. “You’ll need your mate by your side before you complete whatever quest you’re on, but it’ll be a long, long time before you find him.”
CHAPTER 6
SIMON
I was not preparedto have this conversation, especially not in public. But if Esperanza could see how strong the connection between me and Reno had grown, he was sure to notice it sooner rather than later.
Bracing myself, I pointed at the thick, glowing mate connection and traced it with my finger. I felt Reno’s denial before he said anything.
His mouth dropped open. “It... it wasn’t so strong earlier!”
I tried to keep my voice even. “No, but our spending time together today, especially when we were taking care of Nicky, fortified it.” I clenched my hands together in my lap. “I’m pretty sure it’s permanent now.”
He pushed his chair back from the table. “Connections don’t grow that fast. I didn’t agree to this. I’m not in the market for a mate.” He made a jerky cutting gesture and stood up. “I need some air.” He strode to the back door and went outside. The porch light was on, and I saw him walk to the far end of the yard.
It was irrational for me to feel hurt by his reaction. He was tired and mentally drained like I was, and he’d had the newsof our mating dumped on him without warning. But I’d been anticipating this moment since I’d met that Seer in 1949. I’d never even considered my mate wouldn’t be as happy to be with me as I was to be with him.
“Um, congratulations?” Shane gave me a wry smile. “He just needs some time. It’s been a hell of a day.”
Esperanza snorted. “He’s stubborn. You’ll have to fight to convince him. He’s been nesting for the past couple of months, but he refused to admit it.”
Jackson was frowning. “Why didn’t he know it was a mate connection when it was created? They appear completely different from the other kinds.”
Shane shook his head. “Only District Monitors can detect the different types of connections. Other magic carriers see all connections as kind of golden and sparkly, even their own. The strength and the romantic feelings are what tell them a particular connection is a mate connection.”
Jackson looked to me for confirmation, and I shrugged. “Vampires can see details about any connection, so I wouldn’t know.”
