Page 145 of Dash

He turned me to face him and queried me with his eyes. “How?”

I turned my head and pointed toward Orion.

His eyebrows shot up. “Really?”

“Really.”

I studied Orion again, brilliant against the canvas of a cloudless winter night. I was shocked when three other stars popped up within the constellation. Faint beams of light reached from each new star to each of my sisters’ stars. Unlike the first link, the weak rays flickered.

Potential, my internal whisper announced,unrealized choices. Three more names echoed in my head, all familiar.

“Oh, my,” I breathed.

Dash studied my profile. “What is it?”

“Connections,” I murmured. “Possibilities. Maybe evenprobabilities. These were the signs that my mother sought from the stars. I know who goes with who.”

His forehead furrowed. “I’m not tracking.”

“I know which member of your team should search for which one of my sisters.”

He drew back. “You’re not kidding, are you?”

“I’ve never been so sure of anything.” I couldn’t rip my stare from the sky. “It seems I have my mother’s knack to read the stars after all.”

“But… how?” Dash asked, his voice slightly hoarse. “And why now?”

“Who knows?” The stars only offered hints. “Maybe the talent was just waiting for me to need it, to really open my heart to it for it to work? Or maybe this, us, being together, this is the fuel to my talent?”

“Wow.” He cradled me in his arms. “My woman can read the stars.”

“So you believe me?” I asked.

“I knew your mother,” Dash said. “I know you. There’s always been magic to you.”

I kissed the man who’d gifted me a new life, fresh hope, and confidence in myself. Together, we looked up at the sky. I fingered my ring and sensed the little dagger engraved inside the loop kissing my skin. Entrenched in his arms, still clinging to the picture, I remembered one other thing my mother had taught me.

The new moon, which was invisible in the sky tonight, had always been a good omen to her. It offered the best views of the stars and it was a sign of hope, renewal, and redemption in the everchanging universes where our souls learned and loved.

And so tonight, we started anew.

“Cece, Affie, Missy,” I whispered. “Hang on. We’re coming.”

The End

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