Page 7 of The Seer

“Yes, you asked if I can hear—” With wide eyes and hands over her mouth, she paled and stared at him in horror.

She’d guessed what it meant.

Fintan straightened from the wall.

“Can you hear me?”Her thought was edged with a healthy heaping of desperation. Even though she hadn’t spoken out loud, her dismay came through, giving the voice inside his head a squeaky pitch.

Fintan closed his eyes and hung his head.

“You know what this means, don’t you,aoibhneas mo croí?” he asked her.

“I know what I don’t want it to mean,” she retorted.

He snorted a laugh, amazed he could in such dire circumstances.

Jaysus! Fated mates with the one woman destined to destroy him. Oh, how the gods must be enjoying the results of their sick humor.

“I would never do anything to destroy you, Fintan,” she said with undeniable sincerity. “And I don’t want to be fated mates with you or anyone.”

Liar.

Color flooded her cheeks as her conscience called her out.

Sighing his resignation, he approached her.

“I never thought it would be intentional.” He brushed the soft underside of her jaw with his thumb. “Never in a million years would I believe it.”

“Why would you? And why avoid me?” she asked, unable to disguise the hurt in her voice. “I’m a big girl. I was then, too. At any time, you could’ve said I wasn’t who you wanted as a girlfriend, and I’d have walked away. Like I intend to now.”

His heart contracted painfully. “Sure, but I’d have been lyin’. And that’s the one thing I won’t do.”

“I don’t understand.” She searched his face as if expecting to find answers to all her questions.

“I’m not sure I do, either,” Fintan admitted. “I’ve wanted ya from the first, and that’s the honest truth of it. But on the last night we were to meet, the night I didn’t show up, my uncle died.”

“Oh, Fintan! I’m so sorry. But why didn’t you message me?”

“I couldn’t. They wouldn’t let me.”

“Who?” Her scowl was fierce, as if she was prepared to battle an army on his behalf. “Who wouldn’t let you?”

“The ancestors.”

CHAPTER3

TWENTY-FOUR YEARS EARLIER…

Fintan glanced out over the sea of faces, staring up at him and his four bandmates in wide-eyed wonder. Excitement thrummed through the crowd, feeding the energy in the room. Most were non-magical, but scattered among them were the witches and other supernatural beings of the world. His voice was unique and packed venues, earning them top dollar and contracts out the arse.

He didn’t care.

Not about the business end of things, nor the money. That was their drummer’s gig. He was the brain and promotional genius behind their success. Well, his hard work and Fintan’s talent.

He maintained his music was intended for the masses, for anyone who appreciated his unique brand of poetry in the form of lyrics and harmony combined.

One stood out.

A shining star in the black night sky that drew his notice and spiked his interest. Her aura was as multi-dimensional as her hair color, with its dyed red and orange streaks. With no past relationships to go by, Fintan didn’t know much about love, but he was damned sure struck dumb in her presence.

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