Page 256 of Seer Prophet

For real, I mean.

No way was I letting this turn into some kind of group sex thing with Jon and Tarsi here.

Behind me, Revik let out a low snort of humor.

He hadn’t been the only one to hear it.

Jax snorted a laugh right after Revik. I saw Balidor smile and roll his eyes, and Pagoj and Yumi do the same, grinning. When I glanced around the table, I saw that humor reflected on a lot of other faces, including Tarsi’s… and Wreg’s.

Thank god,I couldn’t help thinking.

At that, Wreg laughed out loud in his deep voice, which prompted Vik and Neela to join in, until the whole table more or less busted up.

I knew at least some of that was nerves and embarrassment. I didn’t care. Anything to end the super awkward silence that preceded it. Watching them all smile, I smiled back until I remembered that foreign presence I’d felt.

Immediately, my jaw tightened.

“Well?” I fought to keep my voice clear. “Did you get anything off that?”

Hearing a few more snickers, that time from my understatement and possibly my choice of words, I fought a smile, rolling my eyes.

“Enough,” I said. “Can we talk about what everyone saw? Unless you feel like repeating the experiment and risking me or Revik blowing up the ship…?”

Instead of making them smile, I felt their remaining humor evaporate at my words.

Varlan and Balidor looked at Tarsi, nearly at the same time.

Her clear eyes swiveled to mine and Revik’s.

She made a vague, somehow dated gesture with one pale hand, poking out of the sleeve of an embroidered blue and gold robe.

“Yes,” she said in her accented voice, giving me a level look. “We saw a few things, while you and your husband act like great big adolescents who didn’t just have loud, uncivilized sex an hour ago, wheresomeof us can hear it.”

Despite the edge of humor in her words, her eyes grew serious.

“You sure you want to hear this, Bridge? Right now? Here?”

My jaw hardened. I didn’t look at Revik, but I felt his hand tighten on my shoulder.

When I didn’t speak, Tarsi let out a purring sigh.

“I suppose you’re right,” she said. “No point in hiding any of this, now.”

She glanced at Balidor. While I read nothing in his face, I felt him agree with whatever Tarsi said to him, right before she turned back to us.

“You are fighting him,” Tarsi said, tapping a rhythmic pattern on the table with her fingers. “He is trying to pull you apart. Both of you are fighting him. You are fighting him very hard.”

I stared at her. My light snaked around me in sharper currents, hotly enough that I knew some part of me already understood her words. Revik’s fingers tightened painfully, and I glanced up at his face. His eyes were unreadable, but I felt the understanding in his light.

“Pull us apart?” I looked back at Tarsi.

“Na,”Tarsi said, giving us a seer’s nod. “He’s trying to unravel your bond. To interrupt it, at least. Maybe just testing the interdependence there… maybe just trying to get your attention. Maybe it’s meant to be a threat. It’s hard to say, with that creature. Whatever his reasons, he’s messing with the structure that keeps your life streams merged.”

Behind me, Revik’s muscles hardened.

Tarsi looked only at me, her colorless eyes reflecting light. When I didn’t speak, she rapped her fist smartly on top of the table.

“You hearing me, Bridge?” she asked, sharp. “He’s trying to unlock the bond. Maybe not all the way. Maybe not entirely. But enough. Enough to kill you, maybe. Enough to kill all three of you.” She gestured with a gnarled finger, then slid that same finger towards Revik, her eyes still locked on mine. “Maybe Shadow’s promised to bond your mate to War. Or to the Broken One himself. They might not want you dead, nephew. They still want the girl, too, I suspect.”

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