Page 38 of Premonition of Peace

“Hey there, little witch,” I said softly, trying to keep my voice steady. “Welcome back.”

Her eyes remained covered, but a faint smile curved her lips. “Lucifer,” she said softly, though it came out slurred and drowsy.

“The one and only,” I replied, relief flooding through me.

“World couldn’t handle more than one,” she murmured under her breath.

I chuckled lightly. “How do you feel?”

“Like a truck ran over my face.” She tried to move to a sitting position and stopped with a groan. “Twice.”

“Sounds about right when you undergo a surgery at the last minute.” I gave a huff, shaking my head despite the fact that she couldn’t see me. “You always did have a flair for the self-sacrificing dramatics.”

She shifted slightly, her hand reaching out blindly. “Come closer. I won’t hit. Hard.”

That makes me throw my head back with a laugh. “You know I like it rough. Don’t tempt me with a good time.”

“Where am I?” She tilted her head this way and that, trying to hear, still leaving the compress on.

“In your room.” I frowned and continued, unable to help myself. “I brought you up here after the eye surgery you didn’t bother to tell anyone about.”

She gave a shrug. “Had to be done. Didn’t want to worry anyone.”

I shook my head, even though she couldn’t see it. “You’re impossible, you know that?”

“Yep,” she said, the faint smile still on her lips.

“Here,” I began, reaching for her hand and putting a pill in it. “Señora said to take this when you woke up.”

“What is it?” She sniffed it, finding there was no scent. I had already done the same.

“A pain pill of her own creation, or so she says.”

She twisted her lips, indicating she wasn’t interested. “No, I don’t want to be out of it. I’ll manage.”

“Señora said there are no loopy side effects. Just takes away the pain.” I tipped the teacup to her lips, allowing her to drink and swallow the medicine.

After some time passed, the effects of the herbs began to wear off, and the pain did its job as she became more coherent. She pulled the compress off her face and her eyes slowly opened. She blinked a few times, trying to focus.

“There you are,” I said softly, schooling my features against seeing the sharp gold reflected back at me, the one orb contrasting the light brown of her regular eye. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”

She didn’t answer me, her face going slack as she looked at her surroundings. Her gaze darted from me to every corner and crevice of the room. There was a strange intensity in her eyes, a focus I hadn’t seen before.

“What do you see?” I asked, both curious and anxious at what she might say.

“Everything.”

fourteen

NATHALIE

Hundredsof golden threads overwhelmed my vision. Each one pulsed with a faint glow. My eyes fluttered rapidly as I tried to blink away the chaos surrounding me, but the gold threads weren’t going anywhere. They connected everything, passing through walls, layered over one another, between us. They were the bonds that tie. Some thick. Some thin.

Theoretically, I knew I would see them. That’s what the Eye did. Its purpose. There was just no way to accurately imagine how many there truly were. It was staggering. A small whimper slipped through my lips as I squeezed my eyes shut.

I tried to sit up, wincing slightly at the effort. The pill dulled the pain, but it didn’t take away all of it. Lucifer put an arm behind me and helped push me into a sitting position.

“Easy there,” Lucifer murmured, his tone unusually gentle. “You’re okay. Just focus on me.”

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