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“I have a feeling nothing good.” He made a face. “We should start by talking to some of the other brown robes if we can separate them from the flock. If they’re not fully initiated, they might still be harboring doubts about this place.”
“There you are!” Serenity chimed in her saccharine, sing-song voice. “You can’t wander away like that! This mountain can be dangerous. We were worried.”
Except she had been in the workshop, so how did she know they’d left? They’d only been gone a few minutes.
“Sorry about that,” Cal said easily. “The incense was starting to give me a headache. I get migraines, and strong scents can set them off, so Ellie thought it best to get me out of there.”
Ellie narrowed her eyes at him. Did he actually suffer from migraines? She hadn’t known that, but it had the ring of truth to it.
“I apologize,” Serenity said with genuine sympathy. “I used to get them, too, but Remedy cured me. We’ll make time for you to see her later. She really is a miracle worker.”
“That’d be great.”
A chime sounded distantly, and Serenity paused to listen to it, then nodded. “It’s time for the next session. Come.”
She led them into a cabin that was set up much like theirs—a mishmash of bohemian aesthetics and modern comfort. Instead of a bed, pillows in vibrant colors were thrown haphazardly on the floor, and large tapestries covered the walls. For the first time all day, they were the only ones in the workshop.
Ellie’s alarm bells started ringing, and she stopped just inside the door. “What is this session about?”
chapter
fifteen
Serenity smiled back at her. “We’re going to dig into your specific problems as a couple.”
“Oh. Um… I really don’t think this is necessary.” She tried to back away but found Cal directly behind her, blocking her escape. He closed his hand over her shoulder and gave it a gentle warning squeeze.
“This is why we’re here, honey,” he reminded.
Right. Shit. She had to play along, but it had been much easier to do so when the workshops were all about astral projection and crystals.
Serenity’s smile never wavered. She seemed the embodiment of her chosen name. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Ellie. All couples need a little help sometimes, and the best place to start is by simply acknowledging and accepting that. This retreat is about relinquishing our instinctive defenses and opening ourselves up to all the love that your partner and the universe has to offer.”
Ellie considered herself an open-minded person. She believed in karma and ghosts and didn’t think reincarnation was out of the realm of possibility. But these people, with their relentless optimism and mystic mumbo-jumbo, were fraying her nerves.
She glanced at Cal, but he wasn’t going to be any help. His eyes sparkled with a hint of challenge, silently daring her to take the plunge. The bastard was enjoying this.
She turned back to Serenity. “Fine. Let’s do it.”
“Wonderful.” Serenity moved to the center of the room and gestured for them to follow.
Cal took her hand, the touch igniting that stubborn flame low in her belly.Would she always feel like this when he touched her? Ten years, twenty years down the road, would she still get that flash of heat, that rabble of butterflies?
Not that she planned to be with him in twenty years.
“We need to do this,” he whispered close to her ear.
Of course, she knew that. The longer they were here, the more convinced she became that these people knew something about her sister’s whereabouts. The only way they were going to find Hope was to win the community’s trust.
But that didn’t mean she had to like it.
She drew a fortifying breath and followed Serenity’s lead without another word.
“Sit,” Serenity instructed, pointing to two pillows on the floor. “Get comfortable, then close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. We must prepare ourselves for our journey inward.”
With a last look at Cal, Ellie descended to the floor, perching on a pillow decorated with fantastical bird designs and geometric patterns. Cal took a seat opposite her, knees bent, hands floating uncertainly before settling on his thighs.
Across from her, Cal’s face looked almost serene in the warm glow of the room’s fairy lights. His eyes were closed, and the tension in his face had eased somewhat. It was as if he was genuinely trying to embrace this strange experience. Ellie wrangled her thoughts to focus, her eyes fluttering shut.
