Page 113 of Sight of Fate

“Is Teague coming home tonight?”

Macklin purses his lips. “They’re going to try to track Kian. If they don’t find him in two days, Teague will head home.”

“He’s really close to them, isn’t he?” I ask softly.

“Teague’s first assignment was to serve and protect the church and village where the vampire king resided for most of the year. Ronan was his advisor and commander of his army. Kian was the king’s spy. And Alejandro, the king’s brother. They spent about a hundred years together before Teague was reassigned to my unit in Ireland.”

A hundred years. Long time. More than most people will ever get in one lifetime. “They’re really lucky to have Teague as a friend.”

“You’re right,” Macklin returns, his irritation disappearing. “I don’t tell him that often enough.”

He pulls up to the curb of a very traditional four square home. The kind you see in every city in America. After Macklin helps me out of the vehicle, we walk up to the door and push the doorbell. Maureen answers and frowns when she sees us.

“It’s polite to call first,” she says, pushing the door closed. “Raine’s not accepting visitors.”

Macklin sticks his boot in the door. “Raine’s expecting us.”

Her eyes narrow, but a pale hand gently pulls Maureen to the side. “I’m perfectly capable of deciding who I want to see. You need to back off, or we’re going to stay at my place.” She turns to us, her gaze automatically falling on me. “Come in.”

She glances at her mother. “We’ll be in the sunroom.” The little girl I saw in the vision is standing beside Raine, staring up at her with a bit of hero worship in her eyes.

Entering a large room in the back of the house with windows on three sides, she and the little girl take the couch. I grab one of the chairs, and Macklin stands where he can see the doorway and us.

Tall, with long red hair and crystal blue eyes, Raine is the embodiment of a witch. Not in a warty, hooked-nose kind of way, but in a bohemian, attuned-to-nature kind of way, which is further emphasized by the intelligent but serene expression on her face.

“It’s good to finally meet you, Charli,” she says, smiling at me. “Although it feels like we’ve been vision pals for ages. Besides the vision of you as their mate, I saw you helping Leif and Sam. And of course, me. The only concern I had was the timing. I knew you had to arrive before the pass closed for it to all fall into place. Thanks to Teague, you came to Greystone in the nick of time. Saving yourself and the rest of us too.”

Macklin whips his head toward her. “Hell of a gamble.”

She laughs. “Visions are accurate, but they don’t come with a guarantee. If someone changes their actions in a significant way, it can alter the outcome. Bringing Charli here was only the first step, but a big one.”

My eyes widen at her statement. “It’s nice to meet you too, but I’m glad I didn’t know, or I probably would have run in the opposite direction. Before I came here, my relationship with my ability was complicated. Sometimes it felt like a curse, and other times, a gift. But at the root of it all, I thought it destroyed my family.”

I shrug. “I did everything I could to avoid contact with others so I wouldn’t accidentally trigger a vision, but sometimes they came to me anyway. While I helped others, I was constantly terrified someone would find out what I could do and post it for the whole world to see.”

Raine nods in a way that tells me she completely understands. “Magic is complicated, and there’s always a price. The one you paid was steep.” She tilts her head. “You said before. How do you feel about it now?”

I take a deep breath. “Supernaturals don’t react the same way as humans, which has helped me overcome a lot of my fears. I’m still not crazy about touching people, but it’s getting easier. Plus, the lodestone has helped tremendously, controlling a lot of the emotional spikes I used to feel.” I glance at Macklin. “I love it here. Being a supernatural with a talent that helps people.”

She smiles. “Good.” Her eyes dart to Macklin. “I see the two of you are bonded. What about Teague and Andros?”

“Teague, not Andros,” I state, watching the girl reach out and touch Raine’s arm, then nod.

Raine smiles and motions to the little girl beside her. “This is Tala. She’s an extremely talented dreamwalker but a little shy. Tala helped me reach out to you that first night.”

“Hello, Tala,” I say softly. “I feel like I know you since I saw you in a vision. Your father too. I’m sorry he didn’t make it.”

Her dark eyes perk up. “He told me. Said you were nice.”

“That’s sweet of him,” I say, looking at her, then Raine. “Should we call her mom or someone else to let them know she’s safe?”

“There is no one else,” Raine says, squeezing the little girl’s hand. “But we have each other, right?”

Tala nods.

“Tala is a very brave girl,” Raine tells us. “The night before I went to save Mavros, Tala intercepted me in my dreams. Asked for my help. And I instantly knew Mavros would have to wait a little longer for his rescue. Even though it killed me to tell him. He was ready to die, but I needed him to live and endure torture a little longer to save all the rest of us.”

“He’s in rough shape,” Macklin interjects. “Almost all the captives are. Ramiro, a panther, didn’t make it.” His voice is rough with anger. “But if you hadn’t taken the steps you did, we’d still be clueless. This is widespread, and the few we’ve saved are only the tip of the iceberg.”