Teles, the symbol associated with the Fallen Goddess—a circle bisected by a vertical line.
A bold display this day and age. Though, the fact that the Empire didn’t even care enough to shut these establishments down told Ronin all he needed to know about the accuracy of whatever he was about to hear.
Still, he felt compelled to do this. Maybe it was the cumulative effect of Selene’s ramblings. Either way, he knew he couldn’t make a decision about the assignment without hearing what the chronomancer had to say.
“Please, have a seat,” she said. “And tell me what troubles you today?”
“Ifshe’sbeen waiting for me, shouldn’t you know that already?” Ronin cocked a skeptical brow.
“She sees you have many troubles. Neither you nor I have the time for her to examine them all for you this day.”
His wolf chuckled.Savage.
Ronin sat back in his chair, crossed an arm over his chest and scratched at his biceps. “Don’t we need to discuss payment before we begin?”
The female angled her head and blinked her violet eyes. “She does not charge for her readings. Time belongs to us all. However, if you are pleased at the end of the session, you may feel inclined to offer a donation to her disciples.” She gestured toward a small cabinet laden with an overflowing bowl ofdrachasand other trinkets: jeweled necklaces, a golden platter,a silver pocketwatch, and several chunks of god-touched stones in red, purple, and deep blue. “So again I will ask, Ronin Matakos, what troubles you today?”
“I…” He didn’t even know where to start. How to phrase the question to ensure he’d receive a helpful answer. “I was offered a chance this morning to get something back that I lost a long time ago. Something I didn’t believe I would ever get back. I want to know if I should take the chance, if the situation will work out, in the end.”
Crinkles formed at the corner of her eyes, as if she were smiling beneath her veil. “A very worthy question. Different from the trivialities that most of your fellow citizens arrive here with. She will be pleased to have such a challenge.”
The female gripped the obelisk, one hand stacked above the other, and began to rub her hands up and down.
His wolf snickered.
Child,Ronin shushed him.
“Place your palms on the table and close your eyes,” the female commanded softly. “Repeat your question within your mind.”
Ronin did as he was told, the purple tablecloth catching on his calluses.
Will I really get my wolf back?he asked into his mind.
At first, he could hear nothing but the gentle sounds of the female breathing deeply through her nose, her hands swishing over the obelisk.
So he asked again.Will I get my wolf back?
The female’s hands stilled and her feathers rattled as a warm breeze churned through the small room, caressing over Ronin’s skin and stirring his hair.
The scent it bore was nothing that Ronin recognized. Something ancient and mossy and brimming with both life and rot. He shivered as a multi-faceted voice penetrated his mind.
You ask the wrong question,the voice said, sounding like thousands of voices strung together into a timeless melody.Ask again.
Will my wolf and I be reunited?
That is the same question. And you already know the answer. Your wolf never left you.
Ronin clenched his hands into fists. He was beginning to think that this was the second stupid decision he’d made today. Though he didn’t see how the voice could be a trick. He cracked an eye and glanced toward the female across the table, then nearly jumped out of his chair.
Her eyes had gone an opaque shade of white and even without the pupils, he could tell she was staring straight at him. It was fucking unnerving.
He closed his own eyes, trying to come up with a way to phrase the question that would get him the information he needed.
If I take the assignment that was offered to me this morning, will I be happy with the result?
Closer, the voice answered.Pushdeeper.Is happiness truly all you seek?
Ronin sought his wolf for back-up, but the creature was utterly silent for once. Bowed in reverence with his head resting on his paws, ears back, tail down. Supplicating to the presence before him.
