Get dressed!
And that was how I ended up sitting down at my reading table and unveiling my crystal ball right as the doorbell chimed.
It was nice not to be late or in a panic. Why didn’t I do that more often?
“Come in,” I said, putting all the psychic rizz I could muster into my voice. I needed to lay it on thick to make the right impression. “Come in and greet the fates.”
A man rounded the corner of my little foyer, andphew, wasn’t he a hunk of somethin’ somethin’? I didn’t normally like to ogle people—I didn’t like it happening to me—butdamn,between that jaw cut from steel and those piercing gray eyes, how could Inot?
He stopped short, his strong brows knitting together over his understated but stylish glasses. “You’re not Ophelia.”
There were probably a lot of tactful ways I could respond to that, but as usual, my mouth moved before my brain did, and the next thing I knew, I was talking.
“No, I am not. Ophelia is dead and has been for a while now. I’m her daughter, and the owner of this establishment.”
Huh.
Kind of weird to say that out loud.
It wasn’t the first time I had, but for some reason it just hit a bit more intensely. Emotions were funny that way. Sometimes people thought they had everything handled, and all wrapped up in a neat box, only for a wave ofsomethingto come swooping in and making it all brand new again.
“Apologies,” the mysterious stranger said, sounding quite contrite. “I will take my leave then.”
“What? Why?” WhileIknew I was an empath masquerading as a psychic, he didn’t. Was there something so off-putting about me that he had to leave immediately?
“The matter is quite sensitive, and I was under the impression...”
Now, normally I wouldn’t persuade anyone to try my services if they weren’t interested, but the man had offered three times my going rate, so even if he still ended up walking away, Ihadto know what was going on with him.
He was enshrouded in emotions so thick and intense, I couldn’t distinguish them from each other. I would need him to sit down, to make physical contact, and parse through the mess of feelings around him.
“Look, I’m not sure what outdated ads you saw with my mother in them, but I can tell you that the gift of the oracle has always and will always run through the Donmoue line. Ophelia was not only an incredible psychic, she was an incredible parent.
“Even before I received my gift, she trained me in her ways. Taught me how to listen, how to expand my senses. So, if youcame here to discuss things with her on a personal level, I understand if you’d prefer to leave because I’m not her. But if you are leaving because you think I am lesser than the amazing woman who raised me, then you arewrong,and I challenge you to at least sit at my table to see for yourself.”
He stared at me with a neutral expression. I tried to peer harder at his emotions, but it was as if a wall made of brick surrounded him, barring me from looking inside so easily.
He wasn’t the first person I’d met who’d been walled off, and he likely wouldn’t be the last. I always ended up seeing through their guard one way or another.
Something I said must have clicked with him, because he tilted his head in what could be considered a nod, then sat down at my table.
“Your mother passed her abilities down to you?” he asked, voice still exceedingly polite and neutral. I held his gaze right back, even though I felt therealCherry pushing past my psychic persona.
“I am an oracle, yes,” I answered—it wasn’t actually a lie—but it wasn’t what he’d asked. “As was every eldest Donmoue daughter for the past millennium.”
“Yet only your mother gained any relative acclaim.”
A statement, not a question. I narrowed my eyes slightly at the handsome man and swore I saw the slightest flashes of oil-slick iridescence of doubt shimmering against the brick of his emotional fortress. But there, just barely visible in the mortar, was the pale coral shine of hope.
Hewantedme to be able to help him.
And really, I wanted to help him. I didn’t know why he was here yet, but I had a feeling it was more than worth my time.
“Only my mother used modern technology to advertise,” I said. It was kind of fun that someone who knew about my mother wasn’t all starry-eyed about her allure. Don’t get mewrong, my mom deserved every word of praise she got, but it was nice when people realized that it took a lot more than some psychic razzmatazz to get as far as she got. “She wanted to show people that there are those of us who have been gifted with all sorts of different kinds of sight, and that we weren’t all scammers who took advantage of people.”
“That’s… admirable.”
“She was a very admirable woman.” I softened my tone as those bricks in front of me began to shake and crumble slightly. “The world can feel like it’s become a smaller, much less magical place than when our grandparents were running around, especially yours. But the truth is, the magic is always there, we often just need help reconnecting to it.”