Can she see what’s ahead for me?
I search her unseeing but all-seeing eyes.
“Please, come in. We are all friends here.”
Boards creak under foot as I cross the threshold of her small cottage. The moment I enter, darkness surrounds me. The little windows can’t seem to allow much light to shine into the cluttered room. Stacks of papers and a hoard of mysterious artifacts tower along the tabletops, demolishing every surface.
She’s a collector of sorts. I’m ninety percent certain I saw a shrunken skull here beneath some of these documents at one time, but Goddess knows where it is now. If we were alone, I’d ask her where she found my little darling dragon dicks but now is not the time.
“Which of you is Rime?” At the sound of her question the three men halt just inside the home.
Rime glances toward Kain for an instant. Silence clings to his tightly held jaw. I used to think he was sweet and timid as a dragon. He isn’t. He’s brooding and calculating with a mask of silence that seems to fester his aggression.
The blind woman turns toward us, giving her full attention as she waits.
And the fucking asshole never once opens his mouth.
I roll my eyes and grip his hand as I jerk him forward. His palm is warm against mine, large and oddly comforting to hold on to.
“This is Rime.”
Tension makes his muscles taut. His head turns slowly to glare at me full on. But he doesn’t release my hand. He lets me hold on to him despite his hard stare.
Agatha’s long gray hair sways as she tilts her head at him.
“You will be the hardest to break, but the easiest to love. The worst to lose.” Her words make a shiver race across my flesh, and for some reason, I hold on to Rime’s hand a little tighter. “You three think you know so much. So strong, so daunting.” She pauses for only a moment. “So stupid.”
The smooth muscle of his forearm becomes more rigid as he stiffens from her final statement.
“Enough of the babble. Someone sent us to retrieve you.” Kain pushes forward, his shoulder skimming against mine as he holds Agatha’s vacant gaze.
Agatha’s head tilts just slightly and she seems to study me for a moment. She knows. She knows I brought them here to her to save myself.
“There are other mages in this village, my friends.” She looks away from me, busying herself by straightening the mess of papers in front of her. She pushes them this way and that but never really does anything with the stack.
“Where?” Kain’s bulky arms fold across his chest, but I don’t know why.
“You do realize she can’t see your intimidating stance, right? There’s literally no one here for you to impress.” At the quiet sound of my words, he pins me with his pretty, emerald eyes. A mixture of annoyance and aggression is there in his gaze.
Okay, I’m lying. One person might be slightly impressed ... I’m very impressed with his intimidating stance. Everything from the cut line of his jaw all the way down to the way his biceps seem to bulge against the thin cotton of his shirt.
Yes, color me impressed.
Agatha pulls a small skull from beneath a mound of her treasures. My lips curl at the sight of the tiny animal carcass. Her long fingers glitter from the jewels of her rings as she coddles the little thing, stroking its ivory bone as if it’s her favorite pet.
She is an interesting soul, I’ll give her that.
“She visits from time to time. But we women of the Goddess stick together.” Her head tilts to me. “Isn’t that right, Low?”
My brows arch at her accusing tone. Excuse me? I think you’ve mistaken me for another traitorous mage, Aggie.
“From what little I know ofyou women, yes. That does seem to be a correct statement, Agatha.”
Her gaze narrows on me with the look of a disappointed mother staring down at her ridiculously compulsive liar of a daughter.
She’s going to hex me right to hell.
“We should go. I’ll come back tomorrow and check on you when your poor, dwindling mind is in a better state.”
