She rubbed her palms down her jeans. “So if it’s lost, how do you find it?”
“Magic this old and potent would never be lost. It hides. Fortunately, we do know how to detect it. Retrieving it is the difficult part.”
She didn’t say anything, but her disbelief remained evident in her slightly raised eyebrow. “How so?”
Now came the tricky bit.
He pushed his hands into his jeans pockets. “Because the Stone of Light is female in its power, it will choose likewise to harbor its magic and keep it safe.”
Her eyebrows tipped together, and he saw the moment what he said connected.
She stiffened.
“We have to find the humans housing the magic. And yes, you are likely one of them.”
“What?” She jerked upright. “No, no way!” She started pacing in front of the desk, shaking her head repeatedly.
“It’s not all bad,’ he said, trying to reassure her. “I suspect your telekinesis could be because of this magic.”
“What?” She glared at him, still marching the breadth of the small office, her scuffed boots echoing her frustration on the worn, tiled floor. She rubbed her palms down her faded jeans again. “Your world’s artifact shattered over a decade ago. This thing here—” She shook her hands as if to free herself of the ability. “Whatever it is, started when I wassixafter I nearly cracked my skull by flipping over my bicycle and hitting the asphalt. That happenedeighteenyears ago.”
“I’m sorry you were hurt.” His brow furrowed. Accident or not, he was dead sure she was a Chosen. “What just happened with the keys could be because of the magic stirring.”
“You have an answer for everything.” She scowled, continuing her walkathon, and he let her be. She unfastened the hoodie tied around her waist and flung it on the desk, her chest rising and falling under her maroon t-shirt, drawing his attention to her feminine curves and full breasts.
Dammit! She was likely a Chosen, and not for him to ogle, but to take to Élendium and his brother. His teeth clenched at the thought.
After all,he’drefused a mate.
Aerén forced his gaze off her to take in the tiny office. The bright overhead lights emphasized photos of gardens and yards tacked on a corkboard. Amidst them was a snapshot of Leya with a man who had his arms around her and another taller, curvier female, both of them resembling the human male. Below it, another photo of Leya with a man with wavy, light hair, holding her to his chest as if in ownership. Aerén frowned, not caring for the snapshot.
“And you know this how?”
He glanced back. She’d halted in the middle of the room, hand on her hips, her attention nailed to him.
Hell, he was trying not to breathe in too deeply, but her scent was prevalent in this place, stirring his body and causing his awareness to grow. “Because I tasted your blood and sensed the connection—”
“You didwhat?” she yelled.
“Last night, when you hurt your face, I wiped the blood from your cheek—”
“Convenient.” She glared, marching the room again. “I got hurt, you got your-your—” She flung out a hand. “Whatever.”
“No, I didn’t like seeing you hurt.”
Her rampageous pacing stopped. She cast him a sideways look, then sagged against the desk again, clenching and releasing her fingers repeatedly, as if they hurt. “I can’t simply accept your word about this because you say so. For all I know, you could be a human trafficker, using this supernatural spiel to lure me away,” she said airily. “So yeah, you’re gonna have to prove this to me.”
“I’m not a damn trafficker,” he bit out, anger tipping over his hard-won calm.
She merely rolled her eyes. Waited.
The one emotion females never raised in him was ire, but it seemed the streak had ended.
“Oh, I have no plans to do anything else without having the test done first,” he countered, tone flat. “My sensing of you could just be a reaction to whatever’s in your blood that makes me believe you are a Chosen, nothing more.”
She didn’t say anything for a second as she rubbed her brow. Then she looked up, her dark eyes clashing with his. “Look, I’m sorry about everything your world’s facing. Even if it’s true, I have too much going on in my life, which I can barely cope with, let alone take on your problems, too. So, I’m gonna go. It’s been a long day.” She turned to the desk, reaching for her bag.
Aerén refused to give in to defeat, but he had to give her time, not push her. He played the one card he had left short of abducting the difficult female. “Then I guess you will always wonder if you are one of the Chosen. If you change your mind, I’ll leave my number—”
