Lucy dropped her gaze to glare at me, but before she could reply we were interrupted.
“You must finish gathering the halflings. That’s the most important job.”
Francesca stood in the doorway. Her white eyes looked ... somewhere. It was hard to tell.
“Dammit, woman! How long were you standing there?” Lucy was sitting up now, looking more awake. “Don’t pop up in the middle of a scary story.”
“I sensed a divergence from the plan, and needed to make sure things stayed in place.”
“You’re weirding me out, Frannie. Maybe you should back off with all this prophesy stuff,” I said, standing.
Just being in the same room as her set off my inner alarm. Lucy was right: something was off with her, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I could never tell if it was her gift that gave me chills or if there was more.
“We’re taking your word for lots of things without an ounce of evidence.” I stepped closer to her. “How about you give me a quick glimpse inside your mind.”
She smiled, but it wasn’t nice, and it did nothing to reassure me. “You know I can’t let you do that. People shouldn’t know too much of their future. You may alter something that is fundamental to survival.”
I wondered if she meant her survival or mine. She swung around to leave the room. I still couldn’t understand why my Walker abilities couldn’t break her mind-block. But Josian said he couldn’t either.
“We need to keep an eye on her.” Lucy stood next to me. “Suspect is an understatement.”
“Word,” I said darkly.
Late that night I lay curled up under my fluffy covers. I was enjoying the sound of heavy rain, but if it continued like this we were going to need a boat. Talina would be fine at least. A shock of electrical spark suddenly flooded me. My heart jumped in joy, and the melancholy that had been plaguing me lifted. Brace was back.
“I’m more than back, Red.” His words came out of the darkness from the rear of my room. “I’m waiting patiently to kiss my beautiful mate.”
Jumping out of bed, I tripped over before throwing myself into his arms.
“Where the hell have you been?” I demanded, my fear and anger clipping the words short.
“I missed you too,” he said, sounding happier than usual, “and thank you for wearing such outstanding attire.”
I blushed, wishing Walkers didn’t have such good night vision. I was in a little singlet and matching shortie shorts. No bra, of course, just the inbuilt one already in the top. Pulling back, I crossed my arms over my chest.
“What happened with your father?” I asked.
“I don’t want to talk about that.” He took a step closer, devouring me with his eyes.
I shivered.
He smiled in a slow curve. I suddenly noticed where we were standing and a thought burst free.
“You remember that day you ran into me, when I’d just ... uh, gotten out of the shower?”
A low rumble emanated from his chest. “It’s indelibly imprinted on my mind.”
I snorted. “Indelibly imprinted ... seriously?”
He usually had a handle on sounding young, but occasionally his age shone through. He ignored my mocking and raised his eyebrow.
“What were you doing in my room?” I blurted out.
He didn’t answer immediately. I could almost feel him weighing and judging what to say. Finally he met my gaze.
“I don’t know how to answer; I’m not actually sure what happened. I was heading in the opposite direction, to grab some plans from Josian’s study, when I found my legs moving.” He shook his head. “Before I knew it, I was standing in your room.”
I blushed and chuckled. “I’ll bet you didn’t expect that exact situation.”
He refrained from laughing, although his eyes sparkled. “Oh, it far outweighed any expectations I could ever have had.” He leaned in very close to me; I could feel the hairs on my entire body prickle as bumps crossed my skin. “Next time I get you naked, though, I won’t leave ... You have no idea how hard it was the first time.”
“Uh, you had me naked in the bath just the other day.”
He shook his head. “That doesn’t count, sweetheart. You needed care and love. As your mate, I will always be what you need.”
“Sometimes it sucks, you know,” I blurted again.
He stilled, waiting for my next unfiltered gem of wisdom.
“You want me because of some pre-destined mating bond. It wouldn’t matter what I looked like or if I was shallow and mean. You would still want me.”