“Yes, I can. She gave me a thumbs-up sign when she walked behind you.”
“She didn’t.”
She sounded both hopeful and horrified and Troll found himself smiling again. Lia made him happy. It was scary when he thought about it too long, but, hey, he’d been anxious before and taken action. “She did. You’re already making friends.”
Stiffening again, she moved far enough away to break his hold. “Why do you keep trying to sell me on how great it is to be stuck here?”
No guts, no glory, Troll thought and plunged in. “New Orleans, 2002.”
She stared at him blankly.
“You saw Madam Genevieve in a shop not too far from Jackson Square and had a reading done.”
A furrow formed between her brows and Troll watched Lia search her memory. He was aware of the instant it came back to her. “How the hell do you know that?”
“She’s my grandmother.”
“Why would she talk about me so many years after I saw her? It’s not like I ever went back and I can’t imagine she told you about all the tourists she did readings for.”
“She didn’t. Only you.” Troll reached for his wallet, took out the drawing, and unfolded it. For a moment he hesitated, worried about how she’d react, but he passed it to Lia anyway. “She gaveme this when I was eighteen and said you were my destiny. Gram told me you asked her about your soulmate. Do you remember what she said to you?”
Her confusion was brief. “That I’d meet him . . . in the future.” Lia looked stunned. “But she couldn’t know – could she?”
Troll shrugged. “Maybe. Gram is eerie with what she can see, but she didn’t specifically mention time travel to me when we talked.”
She glanced briefly at the drawing and then back at him. “This scares me. Why are you taking it so calmly?”
“I’m not. I’m probably as edgy about this as you are, but I’m not willing to let that stand in my way, not when I’ve spent years wondering how we’d find each other. Let’s throw the dice and discover what we could have.”
Staring into his eyes, she studied him for a moment. Troll remained quiet, giving her time to consider things. “Here,” she said at last and handed him the sketch.
He waited for her to say more, but she didn’t and he put the drawing away. Growing up with his grandmother, Troll was used to the psychic stuff, but most people weren’t and it left them uneasy or sceptical, or both. But he’d thought Lia would be different – she felt the pull between them every bit as strongly as he did, he knew it.
Fear. He sighed. She didn’t have his training and experience, so he’d give her time and let her grow accustomed to the idea of the two of them. It wasn’t as if she was going anywhere.
Lia pursed her lips and Troll found his attention drifting. Damn, he wanted his mouth on hers again when he didn’t have to consider where they were or who might stumble on them. Maybe they should head back to his quarters. They’d have privacy there and he wouldn’t have to worry how far things escalated. He had a feeling they’d both lose control fast.
Her gasp yanked him back to the here and now.
For a split second, he thought she’d read his mind about taking her to bed, then Troll realized she was staring into the city. He turned to see what had her alarmed. No one was coming towards them. “What?” he demanded.
“The wormhole.” She pointed to the top of the pyramid. “It’s back. It’s back!”
And before he could react, Lia took off running.
Lia wasn’t surprised when Troll caught up with her, but she ignored him. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t need to. What he’d said in the park echoed through her mind.Let’s discover what we could have.It was tempting, but she hadn’t opened the vortex and this might be her only opportunity to go home. How could she throw it away on a possibility? On a hope?
She didn’t know where she was going, but she zigzagged through the streets, keeping her gaze locked on the pyramid. Maybe it wasn’t the most direct route, but the wormhole was still glowing when she reached the base.
Troll took her hand, stopping her as she began to climb. Before she could pull free, he said, “There’s a faster way.”
Without giving her time to argue, he brought her around the corner to a tall door that led inside the structure. They travelled down hallways and he pressed crystals that made rock walls slide open. “Secret passages,” Lia said, amazed.
“Yeah.” Troll didn’t sound happy. “Kendall, my captain’s wife, will kill me for showing them to you. She’s protective of this place.”
He took her down a few more long corridors and Lia felt impatience bubble inside. What if the wormhole was gone before they made it to the top? The worry that they’d be too late wouldn’t leave her, and it didn’t matter that Troll was moving at a good clip or that it would have taken her hours to climb the exterior stairs to the altar. “Can we go faster?”
“We’re at the midpoint.”
