Page 41 of Premonition of Peace

Señora approached slowly; her gaze trained on the Eye. I felt it shift to follow her, just like a real eyeball would. It was weird. “We do not learn a new skill from sheer force of will. It takes practice and discovery.”

“How do I practice when I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing?”

“Discovering this new power will be much like wielding your own power.” She rubbed a thumb under the edge of my eye, pulling the lower lid down slightly and inspecting my eyeball. “You didn’t learn to control the magic of others overnight. It took trial and error. This is much the same.”

“I don’t have time to figure things out the long way around.” I sighed deeply, raking my hands over my face. “I need to know how to wield the objects of fate.”

“Your emotions are the most powerful tool you have right now,” Señora added. “They will help you tap into the Eye’s power and find the way to the objects.”

I frowned, feeling a surge of irritation. “So, what? I just wait until I am really angry or scared and hope it works?”

“Perhaps. That is one way.”

A growl threatened to pass my lips, and I clamped my mouth shut. “Is there another way?” I tried to be neutral when asking, but some of the impertinence leaked into my voice.

The Señora lifted an eyebrow. “There’s always another way, child.”

Lucifer squeezed my hand gently, drawing my attention back to him. “You’ve always been good at learning quickly, Nat. This will be no different.”

I changed tactics and rephrased my question to the Señora. “Doyouknow of another way?”

One corner of her mouth turned up. “Know with certainty? No, but I might suggest that you consider not just your own power, but that of others.”

With that, she turned on her heel and exited the room. I sighed, thinking about her turn of phrase.Consider not just your own power, but that of others.

Who else had power that affected their eyes?

A new sensation tugged at my insides, and I looked at the bond threads that connected to me. A thick, golden rope thrummed and pulsed in response, its power glowing like a beacon, leading me to the answer.

fifteen

AUGUST

I hadn’t hearda word from her.

Not a text, not a call, nothing. That left me alone with my thoughts, and that was a dangerous place to be.

I had tried to think about the surprising, and rather unwelcoming news of Lucifer’s return. On any other day, that would be enough to distract me from most things. The implications of his return could be devastating. I needed more information, and not a detailed explanation of his proposed schedule with Nathalie. There was much I didn’t know about their dynamics—and questions I planned on asking—but I was certainly pleased by her response, not only his suggestion but also his interruption.

She was not an animal that could be caged. Why did no one see that about her? Fucking fools, all of them.

It’s why I left. It’s why I fought my magic and my instinct and listened to what she wanted. Nathalie had made up her mind. If I pushed her to do what I wanted, all it would do was push heraway. I tried to convince myself that I’d made the right choice. Now I questioned that decision. Maybe I was the fucking fool.

The silence of the room was deafening. Time was different when you’d lived as long as I had. It moved at a faster pace, and that passage had become barely noticeable. Now? The exact opposite. I felt each excruciating second pass, understanding time more than I had in my entire existence.

My fingers drummed on my thigh as I stared at the black screen of my phone, willing it to light up with her name. Estrid rested next to me, one paw on my other leg, purring softly in an attempt to soothe my anxieties. She was especially observant when someone was upset. She spent most of her time next to Baggage. I sensed it was because his condition had worsened, and while he meant nothing to me, he meant something to Nathalie, and she was my everything. I didn’t want her hurting, which meant Estrid didn’t either.

Unease clawed at me, and it was only the presence of the aurae bond that kept me seated in my apartment instead of heading back to the Le Fay mansion. Feeling the connection meant she was alive.

I wanted so desperately to honor Nathalie’s wishes, but my magic was a different story. It didn’t care that she was an independent woman who could make her own choices, and I’d be damned if I let the magic override my respect for her boundaries. She trusted me, and I wouldn’t betray that, even if the desire to be near her would drive me to madness.

That madness would be here sooner than I wanted to admit.

The bond was getting stronger between us, and there was nothing I could do to slow it down. It had taken every ounce of me to walk away.

A familiar uneven gate sounded in the hallway just as her scent reached me, snapping me out of me thoughts. Thatdelicious chord in my chest, the one that connected me to my sunling, pulled taut.

My heart sped up, and raced for the door, yanking it open before she had a chance to knock. She wore a sweater dress and thigh-high boots. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a delicate bun, but curls fell loose from it, framing her face. Fashionable sunglasses with blackout lenses covered her light brown eyes, making me think she’d been crying and wanted to cover up the evidence.

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