up with a visualization in a few minutes.” Jamie gave himself a good swift kick for thinking physical contact would make this easier, and made a determined effort to clear his mind.
He heard Nat’s breathing slow and felt her mind soften. She had impeccable skills—he was more than a little envious. She could teach his student witchlings a thing or two.
Using words at first, and then just mind touch, he gently opened a channel between them. This was something he did with trainee witches all the time.
Nothing about this felt like a training exercise.
Slowly, Jamie pulled up the precog imprint. He shaped the memories like a film reel and hit slow-motion play.
Nat dancing at the club, face full of invitation. He could sense the music called to her, even through the fog of vision.
Nat in the midst of his family on Christmas morning. This time her reaction slammed into his gut. Confusion. Envy. Desire. An ache to belong, and little-girl sadness. His need to comfort was huge. They’re my family, he gently sent. I’ll take you to meet them.
Yoga in a meadow, the light of early morning glistening off her face. He could feel her calming, tucking away the sad little girl. Yoga centered her. Then surprise, as she realized she wasn’t alone. She couldn’t see him, he realized. It was his vision, his future memory. She could only sense him.
Nat, belly round with a baby. He felt her smile and welcome for the babe-to-be.
A snowman, a toddler. Jamie felt Nat reach out to the child that could be. Then the connection broke. His eyes flew open. Nat’s face was white, eyes wide, her cheeks streaked with tears.
“He looks like you. The child, he looks like you.”
Jamie held her hands tightly. She wasn’t the only one who was shaky. “He’s ours. That’s why it was so strong. The future I saw was my own.”
“He’s beautiful.” Nat’s tears flowed again. “What’s his name?”
“I don’t know.” Jamie’s heart broke a little, and he spoke very gently. “Nat, precog isn’t certain. I don’t know for sure if he will even be.”
Nat paled further. “He felt real. I loved him. I don’t know how to do this.”
Jamie lifted her into his lap and held on. “I don’t know, either.”
Slowly, his world stopped shaking. Nat felt cold. He grabbed a line of power and pumped some heat into the room. Not a lot of finesse, but it would do. He could impress her with his magic tricks some other time.
When she was warmer, he closed down thoughts of curly-haired toddlers and snowmen. There was only one way he knew how to deal when his entire future was on the line.
“Hungry? I know a decent sushi place.”
…
Carrying tea and a bowl of pretzels, Lauren walked back over to her beloved couch. What a day. Her head still felt vaguely hollow, as did her stomach. If she kept eating like this, she was going to need to seriously upsize her next grocery order.
So, she was a witch. Some kind of mind powers, anyhow. Maybe she was basically an empath. That didn’t sound so completely weird. She’d think more about that tomorrow. Thinking hurt.
Lauren let her mind go and drifted toward sleep. She watched the edges of dream drift across her mind. Dancing at some club. Nat surrounded by hordes of people on Christmas morning. Couldn’t be Nat’s family—they were way more uptight. Nat with a big pregnant belly. Nat building a snowman with a kid who looked like Jamie.
Lauren sat up fast enough to dump her pretzels. Nat and Jamie? She shut her eyes again to sharpen the image. No. Nat, Jamie, and a little kid who looked a lot like Jamie. They were a family. It made her ache, how much he loved them.
These weren’t dreams; this was from Jamie’s head. His precog had been about him and Nat. That’s what had hit her so hard—Jamie’s feelings. Holy God. Her best friend was going to make babies with a witch?
Lauren picked up her tea. She was wide awake now, with plenty to think about. She tried to imagine the future she’d just seen. She might not have asked for weird witchy powers, but maybe she wasn’t the only one whose life had just taken a sharp turn.
Then a stray thought almost added hot tea to the mess in her lap. Jamie’s precog had missed one thing.
Nat’s mother’s head was going to explode. For that alone, she would cheer for Jamie. Even if he was a witch.