My stomach growled on cue and I nodded gratefully.
As Zane headed toward the small kitchenette, I caught Rook still watching me, his gaze intense and unblinking. He hadn't moved from his position against the wall, but something in his posture had changed. A new alertness, like a predator scenting danger on the wind.
I had the distinct feeling he knew I was lying about not remembering my dream. And something told me that Rook was very, very good at sniffing out lies.
Chapter
Five
Winter
"Absolutely not." I folded my arms, the blue symbols on my skin pulsed with my annoyance. "I'm not having anyone poking around in my head."
"Ms. Winter," Fenric's voice was tight as he stood at the entrance to the Prophetic Evaluation Bureau, a gleaming glass building that looked suspiciously like a corporate headquarters for a tech startup. It was weird to see it from the outside instead of popping out of a stone lion's mouth inside."This Destiny Evaluation is mandatory for all newly manifested prophecies, especially if you had a prophetic dream."
"It wasn't a prophecy dream." I insisted for what felt like the hundredth time.
"The glowing blue prophecy markings crawling up your arm suggest otherwise," Fenric's perfect silver-blond hair was not moving despite the wind that tossed my own into my face. "As do the multiple reality-altering incidents you've caused in the last 72 hours."
"Minor incidents," I corrected.
"You made it rain frogs in your apartment building," Rook growled from behind me. He stood with his arms crossed, dark stubble shadowing his jaw, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else.
"They were small frogs," I grumbled, not looking at him. He had a right to be angry, one frog jumped when he was yelling and went down his throat. It had been a whole ordeal.
Zane snorted. "And the vending machine that tried to murder Rook?"
"That wasn't my fault. It wouldn't give me crackers! Look, I just don't want people rooting around in my head, okay?" I crossed my arms over my chest.
Fenric checked his immaculate silver watch because, of course, it was. "We're now seven minutes behind schedule. Dr. Thornwick does not appreciate tardiness."
"Well, I don't appreciate mind invasion, so I guess we're even." I stuck my tongue out at Fenric.
Fenric's fingers twitched toward his breast pocket, where I knew he kept a small crystal that could knock me unconscious. I'd seen him fondling it when I was being particularly difficult.
"Ms. Winter." His voice dropped to that dangerous bureaucratic tone that meant he was about to cite policy. "Under Section 734-C of the Magical Compliance Code, all individuals manifesting Class C or higher prophetic abilities must undergo evaluation within 72 hours of initial manifestation. Failure to comply will result in forcible compliance."
I stared at him. "Forcible compliance? Are youthreateningme?"
"He's stating facts," Zane's voice was gentler than Fenric's, but no less firm. "Winter, you need to do this. Your power is growing, and you don't know how to control it."
I glanced at my arm, where the blue symbols had indeed spread further up toward my elbow. They pulsed with myheartbeat, a constant reminder that something inside me had fundamentally changed.
"Fine," I finally agreed. "But I want it on record that I'm doing this under protest." I was so going to get lectured for not telling them about the dream me.
"Noted," Fenric looked relieved as he gestured toward the entrance. "Now, please. Dr. Thornwick has shifted his entire morning schedule to accommodate you."
As we went inside, the receptionist from the other day was there.
"Destiny Evaluation for Winter Greene," Fenric announced, as if I were a package he was delivering.
"Suite 418," the receptionist replied, her eyes flashing briefly at me. "Dr. Thornwick is waiting."
We took an elevator up, my stomach knotting tighter with each floor we passed. Rook stood beside me, silent but solid, his large frame somehow reassuring despite his perpetual scowl. Zane lounged against the opposite wall, his mismatched eyes focused on me with an intensity that made me shift uncomfortably. Milo was missing today, some kind of necromantic conference he couldn't get out of.
"It won't hurt," Zane glanced at me. "The evaluation. It's like dreaming while awake."
"You've had one?" I was surprised.
