“In exchange for a few secrets,” Damon responds slyly.
“That’s perfect timing.” Excited, Quinn yanks on my arm as she bounces. “Can you take us to her?”
Oh, my relentless mate. For someone who despises the idea of me with another woman, she sure is determined to follow through with this pointless mission.
I put an arm around her shoulders. “Why don’t we forget about witches tonight. Let’s just have fun.”
“But if she can tell the future, maybe she could help us.”
“Are you staying tonight?” Changing the subject, I direct the question to Damon.
“I’d planned on it. The wine’s calling my name. Although, before I get shnockered, I’d like to speak with you in private.”
There’s an edge to his voice that has me concerned. Damon’s a happy-go-lucky kind of guy. It takes a lot to upset him, and even more to scare him.
“Quinn, why don’t you join my mother at the buffet table? There’s butterscotch pudding. You won’t want to miss it.”
She sighs, getting the hint that she’s not invited to this discussion. “You know I can’t turn down a good pudding. See you soon?”
Every other time she’s asked me that question, I’ve had to wait a year to be with her again. Not now.
I grin. “Very soon.”
As Damon and I walk to a door underneath the staircase, we’re careful not to say anything beyond basic pleasantries. Other faeries can’t hear as well as we can, but I don’t want to risk anyone eavesdropping. Which is why we’re headed to a secret office.
If I were to take a right, it would lead to one of the kitchens. We go left, slipping through a door camouflaged in the stone patter on the walls.
“Your chosen mate is beautiful, by the way,” Damon says as we walk side by side. “Don’t listen to the uppity nobles. Their standards are skewed.”
“Chosen mate? How do you know Quinn’s not my fated?”
“A human, Kirian?” he deadpans. “Really?”
He has a point. “And how do you know what she looks like?”
“I may or may not have followed you to the portal one year.”
“What?” I bark.
“Don’t throw a hissy fit. I didn’t cross over to her world.”
“You spied on me.”
“Not on you, per say. I was just curious about where you always went.” He pauses guiltily. “But I did go into Quinn’s dreams once.”
“How were you able to do that,” I demand, “when you didn’t have an object that belongs to her?”
“She was putting flowers in your hair that day. You two are really cute together, by the way.” When I growl, he rushes to explain, “When you got back and flew away, a couple of the flowers fell off your head. What was I supposed to do? Not use them?”
“Yes,” I grit out. “Does privacy mean nothing to you?”
He just shrugs.
Damon’s ability is one I’d trade mine for a thousand times over. He’s a dream walker. As long as he possesses something a person used to own, he can enter their dream and see what they see. He’s a silent observer, undetected by the dreamer themselves. Although he can’t interfere or manipulate the outcome, he can find out personal information. Secrets and the inner workings of their minds.
Most importantly, he can see anytime he wants.
It’s good for him, though.
He wasn’t born yet when the curse happened. My uncle Silas thought they were in the clear because his mate got pregnant after shit went down, but Damon was born blind. At least I had almost eleven years of getting to know the world before my sight was taken away. Darkness is all Damon knows, except through someone else’s perspective.
“What was she dreaming about?” I ask, hating how Damon might know something about Quinn that I don’t.
He shakes his head. “It was one of those frustrating looping dreams. She was trying to finish a school assignment, but every time she was almost done, the paper would go blank. Her parents were there, though. Did you ever meet her family?”
“No,” I respond grumpily.
On days when Quinn didn’t show up for our meetings, I usually lingered in the woods, listening to whatever was going on inside her house. Sometimes I heard her parents’ voices, but I always kept my distance.
Even though he can’t see it, I flip Damon the middle finger Quinn’s so fond of. “Stay out of Quinn’s head from now on. She’s mine.”
“Whoa, there. Calm down. You know I’m saving myself for my soul mate.”
I’m well aware of his feelings on the subject. Damon isn’t like me—he isn’t okay with being blind forever. His clues aren’t any better than mine, though, and he’s never come close to finding his mate.
When we get to the office, I shut the heavy wooden door behind us. Circling the room, I trail my fingertips over the built-in bookcases, the window, and the fireplace. I sniff as I go, wanting to make sure we’re alone. I smell nothing but the wood polish the maid uses and the scent of old books.
“What’s going on?” I lean my ass against the windowsill.
“Although I’m happy to meet your mate, there’s another reason I’m here.” Damon paces around the desk before coming to a stop in front of me. “I came to warn you.”
“About?”
“Something the witch said about Quinn.”
My heart starts to pound. “I’m listening.”
“She’s in danger here. Someone you trust will betray you.”
Quinn
Since coming back from chatting with Damon, Kirian’s been quiet, serious, and broody.
It’s making me nervous.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask for the tenth time.
He nods as we waltz, but it’s almost like he’s not completely here with me. He’s distracted.
Turning his head, he listens to the crowd around us as we finish the last dance of the evening. The tip of his ear twitches. Normally, that’d be adorable, but I’m concerned about how weird he’s being.
When he rejoined me by the food earlier, he told me he wouldn’t be leaving my side again. I didn’t realize he meant that literally. He even followed me to the
