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“Carrier?” Why in the world would she think it was the Humans Against Paranormals who had attacked him? He wasn’t paranormal. Oh no. What if they knew about Charlotte?
“Gavin.” Her voice, changed from the soft tone of before, pierced through him like an icepick, stopping his runaway thoughts. “Please. Allow me to start at the beginning, but trust me, as sorry as I am to say it, those men were there for you and you alone.”
He looked at Atlas, watching him settle on the other couch while those words sank into his bones. Was that why Atlas always watched him? Because the seer knew those men would be coming for him? That thought, more than anything else so far, turned his stomach sour. Dropping his eyes, he cleared his throat before focusing on the seer.
If she could read his mind right now, she didn’t give it away. “A carrier is someone, a human, who carries mage magic in their blood. You’re a carrier, Gavin. That’s why those men were after you.”
“But…I don’t have magic! I’m a barista!”
“You don’t have magicat the moment, but if you chose to, you could. The magic is in you. Passed down through the generations of your family.”
His mind whirled. “That doesn’t make any sense. If I am a carrier, or whatever, how would they even know? Is there a blood test for that?”
She shook her head. “I wish I had an answer for you about that, but I don’t. We don’t know how they’re discovering carriers. Only that they’ve begun targeting them. The power I have to see carriers has always brought them to my attention only when the universe sees fit. Now thatHAPis targeting carriers, however, it seems to be bringing me visions when carriers are in danger.”
“You said,if I chose to. What does that mean?”
“Exactly that. I believe one of the reasonsHAPhas taken such an interest in carriers is because you’re human. Fully human, but you can choose not to be.”
4
Atlas wished he’d squeezed onto the other couch beside Gavin. Watching his face as he absorbed the truth about carriers, about mages, was hard. The disbelief, the denial, and finally, the resignation.
Something sharp twisted in Atlas’s gut. Would these truths drive Gavin away? He’d never been able to fully explain why Gavin appealed to him the way that he did. A random stop at a coffee shop on a cool, rainy day had changed his life. Gavin hadn’t treated him differently than the half dozen other customers in line, but Atlas had been transfixed by his warm smile all the same.
Rhea was being gentle with Gavin. Atlas was thankful for that. The seers were generally amicable, but sometimes their visions left them in dark moods.
When Gavin sat for a full minute without saying anything after Rhea’s last statement, she turned to Atlas. “I think that’s enough for now. Will you show Gavin where he can rest and feed him?”
“Of course,” Atlas said, climbing to his feet. Before he could stand up fully, Rhea was already gone. Atlas scowled. Gavin was in enough shock without all the theatrics. Of course, the seers didn’t see their strange comings and goings that way. They didn’t operate on the same wavelength as everyone else, so expecting them to act human was moot.
Gavin startled, staring at the empty cushion where Rhea had been. “How…”
Giving him a gentle smile, Atlas moved to stand in front of him. “Sorry, they do that. Come on, let’s get something to eat.”
Climbing to his feet, Gavin stepped around Atlas and moved a couple feet away. “If there are other things you need to do, I’m sure I can figure it out if you’ll tell me where to go.”
Atlas frowned, hurt that Gavin already wanted to be away from him. “Gavin…”
“It’s just,” Gavin said, voice low and not meeting Atlas’s eyes. “You don’t have to babysit me anymore, you know? I’m here now and…safe. I don’t want to take up any more of your time.”
Atlas’s thoughts spun. Insecurities he’d held for a long time tried to rise up out of his chest to choke him, but he beat them back. Gavin was scared right now—vulnerable—and he thought he’d been a burden to Atlas all this time.
Reaching out, he gently took hold of Gavin’s chin and urged his face up. Once their eyes met and held, he took a breath and bent lower so their faces were close to the same level. “Ask me when I found out you’re a carrier.”
Gavin searched his face, gaze sweeping from Atlas’s eyes to his lips and back again. “When?”
“Today,” Atlas said succinctly. He moved the hand he still had on Gavin’s chin to cup the side of his face, rubbing a gentle line just beneath Gavin’s bottom lip with his thumb. “About two minutes after I left the coffee shop.”
Gavin’s breath caught. “Then why—”
Atlas smiled. “Isn’t it obvious? I have a crush on the cute barista.”
A blush rose in Gavin’s cheeks, and he gave Atlas the sweetest little smile. “You’re not the only one with a crush.”
Thundering hope spread through Atlas’s chest. “Yeah?”
Gavin’s gaze dropped to Atlas’s lips again. “Yeah.”
