"Just like that?"
Cleo bounced slightly on her toes. "What were you expecting? Lightning bolts? Chanting? Sorry to disappoint, but the real magic happens when we're alone."
"The process requires concentration," Lacey explained more gently. "And privacy. We must examine the potential connections, measure their strength and compatibility, determine which has the greatest probability of success."
"And then I cut away what doesn't serve," Atropos finished. Her gaze was steady on mine.
I recognized a dismissal when I heard one. Rising from my chair, I faced the three.
"Thank you," I said, inclining my head with formal politeness. "I appreciate your time and consideration."
Cleo grinned. "Oh, don't thank us yet. Wait until you see what we find."
"Three days," I repeated, committing to the appointment.
Atropos stood as well, though she barely reached my chest. "Do not be late."
I nodded once more, then turned to leave, following Cleo back through the beaded curtain.
"So," Cleo said as she led me toward the door. "Any big plans for the next few days? Besides obsessing over who your thread might connect to, I mean."
I raised an eyebrow slightly. "I don't obsess."
She laughed. "Sure you don't. All our clients say that, and then they come back looking like they haven't slept a wink."
"I have a business to run," I reminded her, though I wasn't sure why I felt the need to defend myself.
"Mmhmm." She clearly didn't believe me. "Well, try not to stab yourself with any needles while your mind wanders to who might be on the other end of your thread." She reached the door and pulled it open with a flourish.
Despite myself, I felt a small smile tug at the corner of my mouth. Her cheer was refreshing after the intensity of the consultation room. "Thank you, Clotho."
"Cleo," she corrected. "Only stuffy magical practitioners and my sisters when they're mad at me use Clotho."
"Thank you, Cleo," I amended.
She winked. "You're welcome, Magnur. Sweet dreams."
I stepped through the doorway and back into the night. The door swung closed behind me with a soft click, the sound oddly final.
I stood on the sidewalk for a moment, adjusting to the shift from the intense, intimate atmosphere of the consultation to the ordinary world. Had anything actually happened in there? They'd asked me a few questions, named their price, scheduled a follow-up appointment if it could be called that. No spells had been cast, no incantations spoken. It all seemed rather... administrative.
Perhaps I'd let desperation cloud my judgment. Maybe "fate-weaving" was just an elaborate metaphor for high-end matchmaking with a magical veneer to justify the price. I should have known better than to—
The thought cut off abruptly as something shifted in my chest. A faint, tugging warmth just below my sternum, like someone had hooked a thread into my solar plexus and was gently pulling from somewhere across the city. I froze mid-step, onefoot hovering above the pavement as the sensation intensified. It wasn't uncomfortable, just...foreign. And somehow right, as if a part of me that had been misaligned had suddenly clicked into proper position.
The thread pulled again, stronger this time. Southeast, if I had to guess the direction. The urge to follow it and trace it to its source, was nearly overwhelming. My foot completed its journey to the ground, but instead of continuing on my path home, I turned slightly, orienting myself toward the pull.
I placed my hand over my heart, feeling the steady beat beneath my palm and the new warmth that pulsed in time with it. Someone was on the other end of this invisible connection.
"Who are you?" I whispered.
The thread tugged again, as if in answer.
Chapter two
Rooftop Dates
Jade
