Page 5 of Jacinth

"It's just a latte," Julian said, but even he didn't seem convinced.

I was becoming awfully curious about their discussion—and thoroughly appreciated my sister’s inadvertently hilarious turn of phrase—however, as Julian placed the beautifully decorated mug before me, I almost shuddered in delight. Embedded in the mug's side, a beautiful fiery red stone caught the light.

“Is that a jacinth?”

The barista nodded as I took a huge gulp of my wonderfully warm, festive beverage.

“Delicious.”

My chest began to warm as the drink burned its way to my stomach in the best way. Oddly, the burn felt kind of like a tug. I wanted to ask Birdie to take a walk with me, but when I glanced up, I noticed both of them were focused on me as though I were a sideshow act whose curtain had just been drawn. I wiped self-consciously at my lip to see if I had left cream behind. Nope.

A beautiful blonde strode into the room from a side door. She took one quick glance around the room before turning on the barista.

“What’s going on?” she asked, looking between the three of us.

"Hey, Amber," Julian said sheepishly. "Jacinthjust ordered apumpkin spice latte.”

CHAPTER 4

Skyler

Deep blue eyesshone up at me through dark lashes. She was naked but for the waterfall of hair that almost brushed the floor where she kneeled.

“My mate,” I whispered, trying to convey the adoration I felt.

Her long, elegant fingers reached for the zipper on my jeans, and I dropped my head with a groan as those digits encircled my cock the second it sprung free.

“Suck me, baby. Please.”

Jace’s lips formed inaudible words as a shadow rose behind her, dark and foreboding. I tried to focus past the warm breath coasting over my tip, but the harder I tried, the more her form blurred.

“Jacinth!” I tried desperately to reach for her, only to have her slip away like ash on the wind. The shadow grew and took the form of the Crone.

“You are running out of time, boy. If you can’t get it together, all is lost. Tell your brothers to pull their heads out of their asses and you may have a chance at surviving this.”

Then she was gone, and I came back to reality... well, I hoped it was reality.

I was standing across the street from a store called Jewels Cafe. Shit. Orion was going to be pissed.

The time slips had been happening more frequently in the last few months. One minute I would be mid-discussion with my brothers, and the next I’d be watching arma-freaking-geddon live and in color—yeah, the world will eventually burn—or freezing my balls off during the sinking of theTitanic; or aroused as hell during an intimate moment with my dead mate, who had yet to learn of my existence.

I stopped for a moment. No, that wasn’t right. I had met her. Hadn’t I?

Shaking off my confusion, I decided coffee sounded like a fantastic idea to help ground me in reality. A quick tap of my pocket confirmed I could pay for the privilege.

My spirits lifted with the light tinkling of the bell as I stepped into the store. The female behind the counter waved a hello and beckoned me to choose a table.

I ordered the largest coffee they had to offer. When my stomach let out a loud gurgle of protest, I added six pastries to my order.

The difficult thing with playing witness to what was yet to come was knowing when I was in a state of consciousness where the food consumed would actually sustain my mortal body.

Sliding from my seat after I finished my make-do meal in record time, I could feel the coffee flood my veins with a jittery alertness that I could only hope would last as I approached the counter to pay. It was as I was bidding the woman farewell that I felt it.

Clairvoyance was my primary schtick, but not the only trick in my bag. Claircognizance knocked me sideways as I stepped on a point where magic had happened. Recently. That was fine, none of my business usually, except that I was certain the magic had happened to an extremely important someone.

“Excuse me,” I asked, trying mightily to keep my voice steady. And low. I thought I really may vomit if I weren’t careful here. “Excuse me, but did you cast a spell on my mate?”

CHAPTER 5

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