Fractured Souls(39)

“So you went into a vision?” Nicholas asks and Laylen and I jump, startled by his sudden appearance on the sofa across from us. Damn it. “Without a crystal?”
This is bad, very, very bad. Nicholas should not have this kind of information on me and I have a feeling he’s going to use it against me.
I lift Laylen’s hand off my shoulder, sit up, and get a head rush. I blink a few times while I wait for the room to stop spinning in blurs and streaks of color. “Did I hit my head?” I ask Laylen. “When I blacked out?”
“No, I caught you before you did.” He helps me sit up and then examines my eyes. “But didn’t Alex say you hit your head when you went to get him.” He nods his head in Nicholas’s direction.
I press my fingertips to my head and wince at the tender spot on the temple. “I have a really bad headache.”
“So,” Nicholas interrupts, marveling at me as though I am the most fascinating thing he has ever laid eyes on. He inclines forward in the sofa and overlaps his hands on his knee “You can go into a vision without the help of a crystal…how fascinating.”
“I guess that’s what I did,” I mutter, racking my brain for a way out of this, but my mind’s foggy with pain from the earlier fall as well as from the memory I’ve just witnessed.
“How long have you known you could do it?” Nicholas asks with way too much interest.
I shrug as I scratch my head. “Not too long I don’t think.”
“Do you know how rare that is?” Nicholas asks. “Jesus, I’ve never even met a Foreseer who could do it.”
“Well, I’m not one-hundred percent sure that’s what I can do.” I shrug, unsure what to say that would make the situation better. “I’m just guessing.”
“No, you can… I can sense it all over you now that I know what to look for.” Nicholas’s eyes devour me, drifting over my entire body, and I wrap my arms around myself as I squirm from his unrelenting gaze. “I’ve only heard of one other Foreseer who could do it and that’s Dyvinius’s younger brother,” he says. “Who’s been a Foreseer for a really long time, and comes from a line of many, many powerful Foreseers. He isn’t some girl who just got her Foreseer’s mark only a couple of days ago. Do you know how unlikely it is for anyone to be able to do that? You would have to be…” He trails off, mulling over something, his forehead furrowing.
“Have to be what?” I wonder, glancing at Laylen. We exchange a curious glance and then Laylen chimes in.
“Nicholas, just finish the damn sentence,” he says in a low, commanding tone.
“Very powerful,” Nicholas finishes, glaring at him. “You better watch it, Vampire boy. I might be here to help, but I can very easily leave.”
Laylen’s expression darkens and I note that his lip twitches. For a second, I swear his fangs descend, though then I blink and he looks normal.
“So about the Ira?” I ask, changing the subject, knowing the clock is ticking. The longer I sit and argue, the more time my mom spends down in The Underworld. “Where is it?”
Nicholas smirks as he pats the pocket of his pants. “Safe and sound.”
I stick out my hand. “Can I see it?”
He shakes his head. “Not until I get my fraxinus invisibili.” His eyes wander to the doorway and I’m surprised to find Aislin’s there with a small, velvet bag in her hand. “Do you have it?” he asks her.
She doesn’t respond right away, and then, reluctantly, she stomps across the room and drops the bag into Nicholas’s lap. He grins and she turns away, looking at Laylen.
“I’ll be in the store if you need anything.” He eyes glide over me as she turns to leave the room. There’s something about her; sadness and pain along with longing in her eyes. It hurts my heart and I turn to Laylen the moment she walks out.
“Go check on her,” I tell him. “Something’s wrong.”
He glances at Nicholas. “What about him?”
“He’s fine,” I say, waving him off. “Now go.”
He dithers momentarily then gets up and hurries out of the room.
“Trouble in paradise?” Nicholas wonders, getting comfy on the sofa. “Let me guess, your beautiful eyes have gotten in the way of their love.”
I scowl at him, placing my hands on my hips. “That’s none of your business.”
His expression lights up with enthusiasm. “So it’s true.”
“No, it’s not true you asshole,” I say. “Now show me the Ira.”
He picks up the bag on his lap, unlaces the golden ribbon on it, and glances inside, looking pleased before he ties it back up and sets it aside on the apothecary table.