Page 55 of Faerie Marked

“You know, I’m sure it’s nothing,” I tried to tell him with a soothing stroke of my hand on his knee. “You told me you were worried last night. I think those worries are front and center in your mind and this is what’s coming up. I’m sure it’s something easily explained.” I felt his muscles bunch.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” His smile was shaky. “You’re right, of course.”

“Okay, dabblers, move aside. Whatever weak image you conjured from your own nightmares, bro, prepare to be astounded.” Roman rubbed his hands together and moved toward his own crystal ball. “Watch the master at work.”

The crystal swam with murky images even before his fingertips touched the sphere. A vast evergreen wood sprang into life within the depths, trees gently swaying in a breeze beneath a pulsing full moon. Utterly different from the brief glimpse of Faerie I’d gotten from Mike’s divination ball.

My eyes widened at the clarity of the image. Roman’s vision was strong. Much stronger than any of our classmates around us. Before anything else could form, he broke the connection, shaking his hands out at his sides like he’d been burned.

I blinked and something inside of me shifted. “What’s the matter?”

Roman shook his head. “I’m not sure.” He sounded confused. “Something felt wrong.”

“What do you think you saw?” Mike pressed.

“It’s where I grew up in Faerie. I saw my home, too.”

Wait. That…didn’t seem right to me. But then again, I’d never been there myself.

“I’m afraid to see what comes next,” Roman admitted as he rubbed his chin.

Mike chuckled but the sound was anything but amused. “Any reason why, bud?”

“Because it’s dangerous for people to know their futures.” He grabbed the velvet cloth and tossed it over the crystal ball. “I might be the master but even I know that. I’m going to have to use my talents elsewhere.”

Yeah, I couldn’t disagree with him there. A strange sense of foreboding settled on my skin along with the weight of both their gazes when the boys turned to me.

“Your turn, Tavi.”

“Maybe you’ll do better than the both of us,” Mike supplied with a forced grin. “This could be your thing. You never know.”

“Somehow I doubt it,” I grumbled, turning to face my own ball.

Focusing on the clear depths, I held my hands on either side of the sphere, close but not touching, and tried to concentrate. Tried to blank my mind of anything blocking my vision of the future.

Show me.

But I was afraid. What if it showed me visions of Kendrick? Then everyone would know what I needed to hide.

My fated mate.

As Roman had said, it was dangerous for people to know their futures. I continued to stare at the ball for the next few minutes with nothing changing, nothing showing. Okay, maybe it wasn’t my thing.

I shouldn’t have been so happy about it.

“How is it going over here?”

Professor Marsh made it to our table as I continued to squint at the ball. I blinked, glancing up at her and struggling to bring her into focus. “Nothing is happening,” I stated. I wasn’t surprised.

She cracked a smile. “Don’t worry, Miss Alderidge. There are several students in the class who are slow to start with crystal ball gazing. It takes some people years of practice. Continue to keep your mind clear and stop trying so hard. Open the connection by cupping the ball with your hands as you look inside.”

She grabbed my hands, moving to place them gently on the ball. I jerked and ripped my hands from her grasp.

“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “I’m allergic to quartz crystal.” It was why I hadn’t tried to cup the sphere in the first place.

She stared me down. “Sweetheart, there’s no such thing as an allergy to quartz crystal. What’s the real reason for your hesitation?”

I was out of excuses.

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