Page 51 of Premonition of Peace

“Are you going to tell me what it was?”

Nathalie let out a deep sigh. “You’re going to be pissed, and I don’t want to fight with you about it, Marcel. Can we leave it at that?”

“I don’t have it in me to fight with you either, Nat.” It was the truth. I really didn’t. My end was near, and I didn’t want to spend it mad at each other. Not when we’d come this far. Not when she’d finally understood what happened. Last time she’dvisited, she’d told me she didn’t our last words being said out of anger. I agreed. “I’ll drop my glamour if you drop yours.”

She turned her head slightly, giving me a questioning look before she finally nodded.

I dropped mine, and I know how hard it must have been to keep herself together. I looked worse every day. Her lips parted slightly, and then she swallowed thickly. Letting out a shuddering breath, she closed her eyes. When she opened them up, it was my turn to stare in awe.

“Surprise,” she mumbled.

“Indeed,” I said, clearing my throat.

“You’re awfully quiet.”

“I . . . have a lot of questions.”

“Ask away.”

“Is that what I think it is?”

“If you’re guessing the Eye of Parcae, you’d be correct.”

I blew out a breath. “So it’s not a myth, after all. How did you find it?”

“I didn’t actually,” she said, hoisting a leg onto the bed and turning her body to face me as we spoke. “Kat did. She gave it to me.”

I huffed. “Of course she did. That’s why you’d asked me what I knew about it.”

“Guilty.” Nathalie hesitated, her fingers toying with each other.

“Clearly you found someone who knows how to use it.”I hope. Surely she wouldn’t have done this without knowing for sure.

She nodded. “Señora Rosara.”

A chuckle formed, and Nat looked at me curiously. “Honestly, I’m not surprised. If anyone would know about it, it’d be her.”

“She’s also the one who put it in me.”

A small wave of anger rushed through me. That old witch put Nat in danger, but a whisper in the back of my mind was quick to remind me that I knew damn well Nat had made this decision all on her own. Instead of voicing any of it, I let it go. It was all I could do. What would be the purpose of saying it anyway?

“So? What’s it do?”

She raised an eyebrow. “You’re taking this awfully well.”

“Nat, you have a golden eyeball right now. It’s a little shocking, I’ll admit. But you did it for a reason. No one makes you do anything you don’t want to. Believe me, I’ve learned that.”

She twisted her lips in a small smile. “Took you long enough.”

“It’s the one thing that just wouldn’t sink in,” I said, tapping my temple, and she let out a laugh.

“It’s permanent, you know,” she said softly, and I cringed. It’s what I’d expected, but the confirmation stung. “I can see the threads of life with it.”

“Jesus . . .” I whispered, genuinely shocked. “I just thought it was supposed to help you find the objects of fate.”

“Sort of. It won’t help me find a cure. It’s supposed to allow me to wield the objects of fate, but I can’t find them without a thread to follow. I don’t know how to sort those out. The threads are like breathing entities. They pulse with life and power, and some . . .” She paused, her features softening for a moment before she lightly cleared her throat. “Some of them are brighter than others. Stronger.” Nathalie winced, looking away from me. “I can see the bonds between people too. Even us. It’s remarkable.”

“And ours?” It was a fool’s hope to ask.

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