"That’s mine. You cannot touch it!" Panic raced along her veins and she reached for the slender wood that helped control her ability to reach the gods’ ears and hopefully receive their messages in return. He held it out of her reach.
"Why not?"
"It is attuned to me and my… powers."
"If I touch it, will you be unable to use it?"
Katrin halted her attempts to take the wand and stared at him, unsure of how to answer. Honestly, she decided.
"I actually don't know, but I do not wish to risk losing my ability to speak with the gods."Not even for you, Dream Man. No one besides Gunilla when they first crafted the wood had ever held her wand before, so she truly didn't know what danger his touch might bring. Forcing her doubts aside, she lifted her chin and met his gaze steadily. She had no intention of letting him see her uneasiness and raised her hand, palm up. "Give it to me."
He held her stare for what seemed an eternity. "I'm sorry. I was curious."
He held the wand out. She took it and gripped it tightly, stroking the bulb-like end. The familiar tingling of unison with the wood and her surroundings slid easily over her, mixed with relief, along with a resurgence of strength. Alone though she might be, her gift reinforced her ability to control her situation. The lust between her and Hradi them also worked in her favor, at least for now.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Come, we have some time before our meal is ready. Sit with me." Hradi pulled a chair from the table and indicated she take it. Nervousness returned when she obeyed, worried about the questions to come.
She wasn’t quite sure she was ready to answer them.
Hradi sat in the chair beside her, leaning on the table and folding his arms before him. "I want to know more about your gifts."
His intense stare pierced. She read the unspoken question in his eyes. He really wanted to know more of Gunilla's powers.
"As you have been told, I have visions of the future."
He said nothing, merely continued studying her for several drawn-out moments. Katrin held her breath waiting for his response.
"And how do you see these visions?"
Her fingers tightened around the wand. Time again for honesty. "Most often, I can look into someone's eyes and see what will happen to them."
"Just by looking in their eyes?"
A hint of disbelief laced his words. She expected that though. It often took proving herself over the course of a few days before people realized how very real her power was. Once her visions occurred as she had described, she, Gunilla and the rest of the girls would be showered with gifts of wealth and treated as honored guests, much like royalty. Until a few years ago, they had been beneficial to making the villages they visited prosperous. That had changed several years back, with the first secretive flight entailing carting a significant amount of gold and jewels.
From that point on, their welcome had been shorter in every town they visited. After a time, the villagers realized the truth behind Gunilla's intentions, which was simply to obtain as much wealth as possible. No matter if Katrin's visions were accurate. Once the whispers of doubt started, the retinue fled under cover of darkness, to wander anew until arriving at another village.
"Sometimes that is simply enough. Other times, I must touch the person in some way, like holding their hand, or placing my hand on their shoulder. There have been a few times where simply sitting beside someone is enough to bring a vision.
"But always, I must also have this."
She lifted her wand, still stroking the wood reverently. Through the years, this special wooden tool helped her focus on her visions. She explained this while she continued caressing thelong stick. Daring a glance his way, she struggled to conceal her surprise.
His gaze locked on her hand, moving slowly over the wood that was like an extension of her arm. A strange heat sparked in his eyes. Despite her lack of dealings with men, some instinct warned that her actions spurred lust within him. She looked away, finding it difficult to draw another deep breath, yet curious to understand why he seemed so affected.
"You have had visions of me."
His roughly voiced words stirred another odd shiver of something that, while it grew more familiar, she still couldn't quite name, though the promise of great pleasure rang clear. While she remained unsure of so much, the knowledge she wanted more than the hint taunting her now.
His statement drew her gaze back to his and the resulting heat blazing in his eyes roused a responding fire that swept through her in a blast, leaving her breathless, a sudden lump briefly clogging her throat. She nodded.
"Dreams, really. Not visions as I usually receive them."
"You had them before you arrived."
Katrin lowered her head, warmth spiking in her cheeks. Her stomach knotted, but with a feathery delight that tempted. Her grip on the wood tightened again. Hradi caught her chin in his fingers and forced her to look at him. The feel of his fingers against her skin burned, in a peculiar yet intriguing way. The various sensations came at her from every angle, combining to create a tumult that left her weak and trembling in a way far more intense than any time after she'd received a vision. At the same time, the allure of knowing there was much more behind these tantalizing hints invigorated her, enticing her to throw caution aside and give herself to the beckoning desire.
