Page 75 of Claiming Sarah
I laughed at her reply. “I thought Omen said sex was anoptionfor ghosts.”
“And I’ve optedin,” she said, a delighted look on her face.
Omen smirked at her friend. “That explains a lot.”
Finally, Augur blinked, then swore when she realized she’d lost. “Moons above, Omen, how?”
She shrugged, blinking herself. “I’m that good.”
Her opponent laughed and got up from the table. “Fine. Don’t tell me. Think I’ll go see about getting laid before the fight starts. Excuse me.”
“Still not sure about her?” I asked Omen, once Augur had left the café.
“Something has changed in Augur.” Omen’s brows furrowed. “I can’t figure it out, but she’s not the girl I knew.”
I braced my elbow on the table and my chin against my palm. “Are any of us?”
Omen glanced my way, her eyes perceptive. “Something is really bothering you.”
“It’s just…I’m missing my sisters. I’ve been the equivalent of married twice in the past eight weeks, at least I think it’s been about that long, and my sisters were at neither of my weddings—unions, whatever you want to call them. It’s just not what I pictured when I was a little girl.”
“What did you picture?”
I smiled, melancholy filling me as I thought back to my simple childhood. “Me, in a fluffy white dress, my sisters as my maids of honor. Me, looking gorgeous, them looking jealous, but still happy for me.” I shook my head at myself. “I know, it’s silly and I shouldn’t be focused on that kind of stuff right now—”
"Nonsense,” Omen cut in. “Focus on whatever you want to focus on right now, Sarah. Honestly, your dream sounds nice. Such a simple thing.”
“Me or the dream?”
“The dream. You are the Mother—forgive me—theQueenof conduits,” she said with a grin. “Youare far from simple.”
We were quiet for a few moments, lost in our own thoughts. After a while, I said, “I take it Rex left the café right after I did with Deacon?”
Omen tipped her head. “How’d you know?”
“I think he’s uncomfortable around you when I’m not around.”
She grinned. “Excellent.”
I laughed. “Oh?”
“I hate him,” she said vehemently. “I understand why he is needed for this mission, and I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do, but if it weren’t for all of that, I would have ended him already.”
The intensity of her animosity toward Rex surprised me. “How come?”
“Augur and I differ on the idea of how to keep Faithless calm.”
I mulled over what she’d just said. “I thought you didn’t know about Faithless before all of this.”
“I didn’t.” Omen looked visibly upset. “Before I had heard about Faithless, I had heard of Rex doing other things—terrible things—to keep ghosts in line, and I don’t think that torture should be an option, unless absolutely needed.”
I nodded. “Agreed, though I can’t imagine a time when it’s needed.”
“Trust me, there are times,” she said coolly.
I didn’t want to think about Omen’s idea of when torture was needed, since it went against what I believed in. So, I changed the subject.
“I’m really missing my sisters, and sometimes, I feel so out of place here,” I admitted, sharing a bit of what I was experiencing. “I feel like Deacon and Jac have this bond that I can’t break or even be a part of, and I think that bothers me so much because I had that with my sisters. And when I miss them, seeing the guysand how tight they are together, it makes the pain of being away from my siblings worse. And wow, I feel petty saying that out loud.” I chuckled at myself.