“We have a problem.” Cassia crossed to his desk without waiting for an invitation, setting the candle down on the polished surface. It was a simple beeswax taper, indistinguishable from dozens of others Narla sold at her shop. “A big one.”
“Good morning to you too.” Wyatt leaned back in his chair, forcing calm into his voice. “Is there a reason you’re bringing me candles?”
“Watch.” Cassia pulled a lighter from her pocket—not matches, he noticed, which meant she didn’t trust her own magic for this—and touched the flame to the wick.
The candle ignited.
For a moment, it burned normally. Just fire. Just light.
Then the flame flared—not violet this time, but a deep, rich gold—and in its depths, a face took shape. Sharp features. Ancient eyes. The unmistakable silhouette of a dragon in human form.
Aero.
Wyatt’s blood ran cold.
“Every candle she’s made recently does this.” Cassia’s voice had gone tight, controlled in a way that meant she was barely keeping it contained. “I’ve tested five of them. Different scents, different sizes, bought at different times. They all work.”
“Work how?”
“They show you your fated mate.” Cassia met his gaze, and there was knowing awareness in her expression that made his panther snarl. “Light the candle, look into the flame, and you see their face. Clear as a photograph. Unmistakable.”
The flame on his desk still showed Aero’s features, wavering but distinct. Wyatt couldn’t look away. His mind was racing, cataloguing implications, calculating consequences.
If Narla’s candles showed fated mates…
If she’d lit one after last night…
Did she see you?
His panther’s certainty crashed through him. The beast had no doubts. Had never had doubts. It had known from the first moment, the first glance, the first arc of lightning between them.
She’s our mate.
“How long has this been happening?” His voice came out rougher than intended.
“I noticed it this morning.” Cassia blew out the candle, and Aero’s image dissolved into smoke. “I bought a candle at the festival last night. Lit it when I got home, and—” She gestured at the extinguished wick. “Aero’s face. Right there. I thought it was a fluke, so I tested more. Every single one shows the same thing.”
“The surge.” Wyatt forced himself to think like a sheriff, not like a panther whose mate had developed terrifying new magic. “The equinox surge has been affecting magic all over town. This is probably?—”
“This isn’t just surge fluctuation.” Cassia cut him off. “I talked to Junie on the way here. She tested one too. Saw Leo. Crystal clear, no ambiguity.” She paused. “And Avine found one in her bedroom. Theo’s face in the flame.”
Three witches. Three confirmed mate visions. Three of Narla’s candles taking action that should be impossible.
“Has anyone talked to Narla about this?”
“Not yet.” Cassia’s gaze sharpened on his face. “I came to you first because this warrants the sheriff’s attention. Magical items revealing private information about residents’ mate bonds—that’s going to cause problems.”
Problems. That was an understatement.
Wyatt could already see the chaos unfolding. Couples terrified to light candles in case they saw someone other than their partner. Singles desperate to find their fated mate. People who didn’t want to know, forced to confront truths they’d buried. The gossip network would go into overdrive. Relationships would fracture. The entire town would be thrown into?—
She might have seen you.
His panther’s focus cut through all the professional concerns, zeroing in on the only thing that mattered.
She lit a candle. She looked into the flame. She saw your face.
She knows.
