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“Well, you’re not young,” she says, and I chuckle.
“Some of the residents of this realm are much older than I am.”
“Is it normal for the people of your realm to live so long?”
“Tartarus molds its creatures in many ways,” I tell her. “One of them being immortality.”
“What about me and Tori? If we stay here long enough, will we become immortal too?”
“It’s likely, yes.” I hesitate, wondering if I should warn her further. “The magic here will change you, though. You should be aware of the choice you’re making by staying.”
She looks away, her expression flashing with worry I don’t understand. When she looks back at me, I note there’s a forced cheer. “Yeah, I’m aware.”
“I’m sure word has traveled back in your realm,” I say, thinking about the time the portal magic changed a boy into a Corgi.
“No, it’s not that.” She lowers her gaze to her plate. “I’ve seen it. Seen myself here in the future. I’ve seen all of us.”
I almost miss her meaning. But then I remember her gift. The Sight.
Interesting.
“What have you seen exactly?”
“Possible outcomes. Probably futures.”
“You make it sound like nothing is certain.”
“Of course not. Free will changes the outcome constantly. I see possibilities.” She glances around the room and adds, “This is one of them.”
I get the distinct impression that, for everything she’s telling me, there’s a lot more she’s leaving unsaid. “Is it a safe future?” I ask. “For you and your sister.”
“It’s safer than if we’d stayed in the Crossroads.”
I don’t need sight to tell me that.
“And my part in your sister’s curse?”
She shrugs. “I told you everything I know about it, sorry.”
I’m not quite sure that’s true, but I decide to save my questions.
We eat in silence.
My thoughts drift immediately to my mate again. I can feel her one level above us—hurting. She’s been hurting all afternoon. I can do nothing to stop it. I remind myself I don’t want to stop it, but it’s a useless effort. Not mating her is one thing. But feeling her in pain is like a knife slowly twisting inside me.
At least, when she was on the other side of the portal, there was a distance to this awareness. Now, she’s here, and I can’t turn it off. My mood darkens as I try to imagine enduring this for the foreseeable future.
“You’re friendlier when my sister isn’t around.”
Kendall’s words startle me out of my brooding thoughts. “Is that a compliment or a challenge?”
She shrugs. “An observation.”
Her openness prompts an observation of my own. “She doesn’t trust me.”
“She doesn’t trust anyone.”
“She trusts you.”
