Page 10 of Fool's Bargain

His wide, suggestive grin was infectious. “You truly do have nymphaea blood if you’re asking that question. Yes. Though we don’t all practice this skill, and we can’t maintain a nonnative shape for long. We can do it long enough to have a little fun.”

His gaze slid to Ozzie, who narrowed his eyes and grumbled a low expletive before taking a drink.

I took a shaky breath, turning back to Deva, and caught Bodhi’s flabbergasted look out of the corner of my eye. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

He blinked at me and slowly shook his head. “It’s like I don’t even know you,” he said, but not in an accusatory way. He sounded awestruck more than anything and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Ditto,” I said, casting a look around the group. “You’re part of an actual harem, Bodhi. Envy doesn’t even begin to touch how I feel right now.”

“So you’ll let Deva help?” he asked, expectant and hopeful. The look in his eyes conveyed a hundred other things he didn’t say and for a moment I felt the old hurt rise up. But I couldn’t hold on to that forever, so in the spirit of the season, I decided to return the favor of the gift he seemed dead set on giving me.

Nodding, I said, “You left me on Christmas day two years ago. To say I feel like you owe me is an understatement, but if this can pay off for me the way it did for you, I’m all in. I just have one question. Am I allowed to meet these three nymphaea men at all or are they too precious for someone like me to set eyes on?”

Llyr snorted. “You’re the precious one, Zarya. My brothers are not nearly as impressive as their rarity would lead you to believe.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Yourbrothers? Oh, now I have to meet them.”

He shook his head. “We are Thiasoi soldiers. Brothers in arms, not blood. Centuries ago, most of the satyrs fell victim to our old enemy, and only the strongest of us remained. My brothers are being courted by about a thousand nymphs at the moment, so I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”

Bodhi snorted. “Dude, don’t tell her that. You’ll just encourage her. ‘Competitive’ is Zar’s middle name.”

I glared at him. “All the more reason for me to meet them if competition is so strong. I’d like a chance to win one of them over.”

“I have no doubt you’re more than worthy, but whether or not you’rerightfor them isn’t up to you,” Llyr said.

“What, I don’t get a blind date with even one of them?” I asked, feeling petulant. It wasn’t fair of them to dangle that temptation in front of me and not give me at least a chance to have it.

“That isn’t how it works. The rest of the process is rather... roundabout,” Deva said. “Trust me, if I could make it more straightforward, I would, but the tools at my disposal are capricious and somewhat beyond my control. Once we set things in motion, the only promise I can make is that youwillbe happy by the end of it, regardless of who you wind up with.”

“You don’t just set us up on a blind date so we can see if we hit it off?”

“Not quite. With the bloodline, the only way to protect you is by finding your actual soul mate. The individual, or individuals, who complete your soul. You can be in as many committed relationships as you like, date as many people as you can find, but if none of them are therightone, you will remain in danger. You could happen upon the right person on your own, but the safest, quickest way is for me to help you.”

“I’m beyond second-guessing you after what I’ve seen so far today,” I said. “So what do I need to actually do? Do I have any input here at all?”

“Not where Fate magic is concerned,” Deva said. “But I’ll give you a glimpse of how it works.”

She began tapping her hand on her thigh in a light rhythm and a second later, her voice joined in. As if on cue, all the guys hummed in harmony, though the song was in a language I didn’t understand, if the sounds they made were even words to begin with.

The air grew charged and my pulse sped up. The atmosphere around me thickened, and when I lifted my hand, it left behind afterimages. I held it up and marveled at the halo of light hovering over my skin, then gasped at the quartet of creatures that now sat near the front window of my shop.

The large dogs had pointed noses and foxlike ruffs, their slanted purple eyes fixed on Deva. All four coruscated with purple light, though each looked a little different—one with a blaze down its nose, another with a diamond-shaped splotch in the center of its chest. At first they just sat, waiting, until Deva’s voice rose higher. Then they all lifted their noses into the air and started vocalizing with her.

The sounds that emerged from their mouths were too melodic to be called howls. The air left my lungs as I listened and I pressed my fist to the center of my belly, a pressure building deep in my center.

Deva’s song trailed off and the men stopped accompanying her. Slowly, the four creatures faded and disappeared.

I sat there breathless as the pressure in my midsection eased, but the sound of the creatures’ voices lingered in my mind. “What just happened?”

“Those were fate hounds,” Deva said. “I don’t usually show them to people but you’re a worthy exception. If you agree to let us help, you and I will sing a song later that will set them on the right path to seek out your mate, but beyond that, we have no more involvement. They do the footwork. Their instincts are never wrong. I can’t predict who they’ll find, nor how long it will take them. But I can give you a place to start that may speed things up. Come to our show tonight. There will be a crowd full of bloodline there and the hounds will be on high alert. If there’s a match for you among the fans, that’s the best place to be.”

“So I’ll be one of the masses of random Fate’s Fools fans. It sounds like we’re livestock and you’ve got a bunch of trained farm dogs herding us toward our destinies.” I grimaced at the thought. I’d rather remain alone than be railroaded into a relationship with someone I hadn’t chosen to be with.

Bodhi sighed and I bristled at the reminder of our old conflict, glaring at him. I’d always been a little bittooantisocial for him. But he knew it wasn’t because I thought I was better than everyone. I just preferred to do my own thing.

“You should give it a chance, Zar. We’re trying to help.”

“I’m not a fucking sheep. I don’t want to sign up for something that completely removes my agency. Let me meet these guys. Let me decide whether I’m even interested.”

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