Let Me Find Your Omega - Ashe Moon Page 0,32

This might sound strange, but I’d had the thought that Elise might by the closest experience I would ever have to having a child myself. Or being an uncle, since I’m an only child.”

“I’m happy to hear that,” he said. “I bet she’d really like knowing that, too.”

“Let’s keep it between us,” I said with a small smile. “She should have some fear of me, as my pupil.”

“It’s hard to imagine anyone being afraid of you. I mean that as a compliment. You've just got a really pleasant personality.” He cleared his throat. “Speaking of children, you know what’s awkward? Walking in on your brother and your sister-in-law trying to make a baby in the living room.”

“Oh no,” I gasped.

“They could’ve at least done it in their own living room.” He started laughing. “I’m sorry, that was way too much information.”

“Do they have any children?”

“Elise has been like a daughter to them, but, no. They’ve always wanted a kid, though. It just doesn’t seem to be happening for them. It’s like we talked about, right? Some things are just not in the cards for everyone.”

“I see,” I said sadly. “That must be very hard for them.”

He nodded. “When we were young, Ivan was always the one talking about having a family. I never thought I’d be the one to end up having a kid. But they’ll keep trying, you know. They’re the type to never give up as long as there’s hope. Anyway, uh, for tonight… we can just introduce you as my friend and Elise’s tutor if it’s asked. It’s probably the easiest thing to do. I don’t know how many of those people are going to understand anything about divination academies and all of that.”

“Okay,” I said. “Is there anything I should know?”

“Just that they’re all pretty much a bunch of assholes who still believe in dusty, outdated clan hierarchies. I mean, seriously. We’re not living like packs of wolves anymore. People need to give single alpha dads a break.”

“A bunch of assholes. Got it.” I touched the side of my glasses. “And is there anything I should know about Elise?”

“Don’t worry. These things are mostly just social gatherings, a chance for the parents to one-up each other about how well their kids are doing. Hopefully, it’ll be over fast. I know her teacher isn’t going to tell me anything I don’t already know.”

Markos pulled into the parking lot and parked the car beneath the cover of a large tree, far away from the small cluster of cars near the front of the school. He took a deep breath and looked over his shoulder at them like he was psyching himself up. I studied him, reading the expression on his face and feeling the ripples of nervous energy emanating from him. It didn’t take divination for me to realize that his bad experiences with school were the reason for his reaction. There’d been a lot of trauma from when he was a kid.

“Okay,” he muttered. “Let’s go, let’s do this.”

I reached out and grabbed his hand. “Wait. Just a few moments. Give me your other hand?”

He stared at me in surprise.

“Well, come on,” I said. “I’ll help you calm down a bit. Find your center. Give me your other hand.”

His palms were warm in mine, the end of his forefingers calloused and rough from his work in the kitchen. I clasped my hands around his and told him to close his eyes.

“Picture the center of yourself,” I said. “Like a glowing, luminous star in a brilliant galaxy.”

I concentrated and then let go, allowing my mind to float freely to the spectral realm. I felt his energy flowing, and his anxious thoughts touched mine like a colored dye blooming into water. It was more intense than I’d expected. I ignored the specifics of the thoughts, not wanting to invade his private space, and focused only on the feelings themselves. Then, I used my abilities to displace them. It was like blowing away a cloud of smoke. I pushed my energy against his, transmitting a balancing wave of positivity into his spectral sphere. I heard him draw in a breath like he’d touched something ice cold. His hands squeezed mine.

“Okay,” I said. “You can open your eyes now. Do you feel better?”

“How did you do that?” he murmured, looking at me with shock.

“Energy channeling. A bit of mind melding. Spectral resonance.”

“Can all divination agents do that?”

“Not very many,” I said, and I grinned. “Be thankful. That’s a five hundred-credit service