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I raised a hand and patted Wade on the back. “Who are you?”
He released me, well, he stepped back to hold my arms as his gaze learned every inch of my face before pausing on the mark with pride.
“My childhood best friend went missing ages ago. Just vanished without a trace. I’ve missed him—I’ve missed him so much.” Wade’s voice broke over the last few words.
Wait…
Was he saying…?
“Why do you think your best friend would have anything to do with me?” My voice was thick for no reason. I’d never really searched for my family. And when I had tried to investigate them, there hadn’t been any information left to make a trail.
Still holding me, Wade twisted to look at Yunez. “You have the sight, don’t you, my friend? Can you see? Can you confirm?”
Wade knew Yunez as Yunez? Or was he seeing Phin?
Yunez nodded. “For some reason, her birth and how she came to be on Earth was hidden from me, but I have seen Lars in your past threads and I believe you are right.” His gaze shown bright when it landed on me.
Mannos started to press closer, as if the tease of learning more about the Mazza was too much to resist. When he noticed, Yunez raised a hand for the servers. On cue, they brought out the food and pitchers of drink, circling the tables and pulling some of the Mannos away. Although most stayed.
“Let us take this conversation up to the platform,” Yunez ushered us up to the front.
Jari and Nato gently extracted me from Wade, although he loathed to let me go. At their mean mug expressions he relented, but kept his gaze on me the entire walk to the table. He also opted for the chair directly across from me.
I thought he might have tried to take the seat next to me if Jari and Nato hadn’t taken them for themselves, wrapping possessive hands around my shoulders. If I were Wade, I’d also have worried I’d get a knife to the gut if he’d tried.
“Who are you again?”
I almost wanted to roll my eyes at Sage’s severe frown as he questioned the man.
“Sage,” Rand quietly reprimanded.
“No, it’s quite alright.” Wade waved a hand, his hair flowing around his face as if he actually embodied water. He speared Sage with a look too full of happiness to be rude. “I take it you’re part of the Lusty Legion Cabbie announced?”
“I am.” Sage sat up, his chest puffing out.
“Interesting name that.” His amused gaze flicked to me for a few seconds before going back to Sage. “My name is Wade, and I met Yunez some…what is it now—three, four decades ago?”
So that answered that question.
“I believe four decades.”
The soft smile curving over Wade’s mouth seemed to whisper of their friendship over the years. They must have been fond memories for him.
“I understand you have something important to discuss with me,” Wade’s gaze flicked to Yunez once more, “but I think it would be better if we started with your Mazza. What is your name, dear?” He reached his hand across the table to take one of mine in both of his.
Egan and Sage growled, but Wade ignored them.
“Isolde,” I answered on autopilot. There was conversation going on around us in the hall, but I was still stuck on how he might know my past, maybe even my parents?
Wade pressed his lips together as tears filled his eyes. “That’s a lovely name. Ishana must be your mother. I’d bet on it.”
Ishana…
“You don’t know?”I asked.
Nato curled me tighter against him as Jari slipped his hand in mine, both showing their support.
Regretfully, he shook his head. “I don’t for sure. I can only tell you that you’re the spitting image of my best friend. A man I haven’t seen in too long. Ishana was also a friend. We grew up together. She always loved Lars, but he didn’t return her feelings as far as I was aware. We were children then. And I left home when I was barely an adult. When I tried to track him down, I discovered he’d gone missing.”
