Page 83 of Sight of Fate

Silence. A minute passes. Five minutes. Twenty minutes.

“I feel absolutely nothing,” Andros mocks, but I see the relief in his caramel-colored eyes before a shutter comes down over them. “Let’s get out of here. I’m in dire need of more civilized company.”

Macklin glances at me. “What do you think?”

I stare at Andros. “He can come home.”

Macklin narrows his eyes, assessing me closely, then nods. “You’re going home with us, but we have plans tomorrow night, so you’ll have to tag along.”

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to the Wolf’s Den. To a clan party,” Macklin says gleefully.

Andros’ lip curls. “A room full of mutts? No, thank you.”

“They’re welcoming Leif’s daughter,” Teague informs him. “And honoring Charli for her role in finding her.”

Andros snarls. “Merde.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

CHARLI

Teague and I leave Macklin with Andros at the hospital. Out in the parking lot, he opens the door with a flourish, then helps me into the vehicle. Once in the driver’s side, he turns to me. “This is your day. Is there anything special you’d like to do?”

“Show me your Greystone,” I tell him, interested to see where he takes me.

He studies me. “Isn’t there something special you want to do? A romantic picnic in the park? A movie?” He waggles his eyebrows. “I’ve never made out in a movie theater.”

When I shake my head, he sighs. “I wish we had something creative for you.” His eyes narrow. “You know, you could create the first supernatural museum. Curate the contents. Bring in artists from everywhere. There are some incredibly talented individuals out there, and because they’ve lived a long life, their work has insane depth and maturity.”

Why does that sound like so much fun? I laugh. “I’m not sure you know how to take a day off. Although it does sound intriguing.” A sudden thought occurs to me. “Who did that drawing of the church in your office? It’s amazing.”

A sad smile crosses his face. “His name was Julian, a gargoyle I met when his unit visited Spain. He served the Roman Empire. Unlike most of us, he always dreamed of something more than the service the rest of us embraced.” His eyes are distant as he thinks of his friend. “You kind of remind me of him. He never went anywhere without a piece of charcoal or some other drawing tool, stopping whenever inspiration hit him.”

I prop my hand on my chin. “Sounds like my mother. Nothing stood in the way of her capturing a moment.” I shrug. “I really only started carrying my sketchbook when the visions hit, but in college, I realized my talent could also be a career.”

“While I love having you as my PA, I want you to find something that feeds that part of you.”

“What happened to Julian?” I ask, wondering why he looked so sad.

“He died. Killed by a vampire a long time ago,” Teague reveals. “He sent me that drawing about a week before, and I’ve carried it with me ever since.”

“I’ll have to show you my drawings sometime,” I murmur, wanting to share that piece of me with him. “So, where are you taking me?”

“Hmm, some of my favorite places can only be seen from the sky, but I’m afraid you’ll freeze, so I’ll show you one of my favorite spots on the ground,” he says, putting the car in gear. “But let me make a stop first.”

For the first time, Teague appears to be lighthearted, and I can’t help but match my grin to his. “How long has it been since you took a day off?”

His brows draw together as he thinks about it, then he looks embarrassed. “Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I took a weekday off. The weekends always seem to last so long; I’m eager to get to work the next week.” He pauses. “Or I was. Somewhere along the way, I started to wonder whether that would be the only thing I’d have for the rest of my life. Until you came along.” He picks up my hand and presses a kiss to it.

“I don’t know how you did it for so long,” I say softly. “For two years, I did nothing but move around and work, and it was starting to wear on me. Not having a friend or family to call my own. It’s lonely.”

“Never again,” he promises me, pulling the car into the small parking lot connected to a deli. “I’ll grab our lunch, then we’ll go to one of my favorite places to eat it.”

He hops out of the car and comes back five minutes later with a large wicker basket, which he sets in the backseat. “I actually built this place for Macklin as a Christmas gift one year, but it ended up being a favorite place of both his and mine.”

“There’s something about perching up high that gives you an exhilaration like no other,” he says excitedly. We head out of town, passing several ranches and meadows with horses and cows dotting the landscape. After about twenty minutes, he pulls off onto a dirt road. “Almost there.”