“Does your magic cause memory loss?”
Thalia flopped onto her couch and put her feet up on the arm rest. “Lots,” she said with a wry grin. “Every time I have a vision, I only remember bits and pieces, and eventually I lose most of those, too. Sometimes I lose pieces of the day, even if I don’t have any visions.” She sighed and stared up at the ceiling.
“I always wonder if I’m going to wake up one day and not remember who or what I am.”
“Sounds lonely,” Moira said.
Thalia grunted. “Most seers are lonely. I don’t know anyone who’s happily married or one who’s had kids. How could they without constant supervision? What if they were walking through the house holding a newborn and dropped them?”
Horror rolled down my spine. I had intuition, sometimes strong intuition, but I’d never know what it was to be a seer like Thalia, to fear my own body sometimes. “I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I never thought about it like that.”
She waved a hand. “I’m too young to have kids anyway. Not like I want them, either.”
“You’re still young. Maybe you’ll change your mind one day.”
“Even if I did, who would marry someone who’s constantly losing pieces of herself?”
I tamped my smile down. “You’d be surprised,” was all I said. Garrett’s expression every time he looked at Thalia when she thought she wasn’t looking told me he’d pick up those pieces every time she lost one and keep them safe for her.
“Yeah, well, I have sex sometimes,” she said grumpily.
Moira burst out laughing. “Good for you!”
A small smile appeared on Thalia’s lips. “I got curious a few years ago and wondered why people were so obsessed with it, but I don’t know what the big deal is.”
Moira blinked like an owl, eyes wide and stunned. “Umm.”
“Oh, Thalia. Gracious.” I rubbed my hand over my face. “What that means is you haven’t had the right partner yet.”
She slid a look my way. “Oh yeah? Things are good with that walking sex stick you’re dating?”
Moira snickered.
“Things are fine,” I emphasized, giving Moira a look to cool it. “But we’re committed and we have been for a while. I’m not the kind of person to…play around. I never have been. There’snothing wrong with that, but I like knowing the person and being willing to commit.”
“Again,” Thalia said, “I’m trapped in an apartment and at work for the vast majority of my time. “Not exactly conducive to having a boyfriend.”
Moira and I exchanged a look. This poor girl was clueless.
Thalia turned her head and speared us with a look. “I can’t answer the question you want to know.”
Should have seen that coming. “Oh? What question is that?”
Thalia rolled her eyes. “You want to know what Caelan is lying to you about.”
“So he is lying?” Moira asked.
“Can’t answer that either.”
“Can’t or won’t?” I asked.
“Can’t.” She mimed a zipper against her lips. “I’m magically bound. I can’t discuss my origins, my reasons for being here, any targeted questions about specific details concerning my magic, or speak about the person currently obligated to act as my caretaker.”
Moira’s eyebrows lifted. “Your caretaker. Is that Garrett?”
“It’s Caelan,” I said. He’d never come right out and said anything, but he was way too involved with Thalia not to be responsible for her. He’d assigned his Second to her, which was telling.
Thalia didn’t respond, but I saw the look on Moira’s face. The vampire loved a puzzle, and this one required a lot of thought and maneuvering.
