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Bemused, he followed her into his kitchen and watched as she prepared a solution of salt and warm water. She set the bowl on the table and ordered him to sit. “Put your hand in the bowl.”

Why not? He shrugged and obeyed, and then sucked in a breath as the salt bit into the wound. But within a few seconds, the pain eased. To help it along, he pulsed some energy from his quartz to the injury. He wasn’t a healer, but he had a minor ability to heal. The blisters began to recede.

“Better?” She took the seat across from his.

He nodded and reluctantly tacked on a thanks. “Now, about why you’re here—”

She gave him a sunny smile. “Aren’t you going to offer me a drink?”

“Would you like a drink?” he said between his teeth.

“Yes, please. But don’t get up,” she said airily when he started to remove his hand from the bowl. “I can get it.” She opened the quartz-powered cooling unit and peered at the nearly empty shelves. “You don’t entertain much, do you?”

He set his jaw. “I wasn’t expecting company. There should be a couple of beers, though. Or I can make coffee.”

“I’d rather have juice.”

He winced. “I’m not sure how fresh it is.”

She pulled out a carton of orange juice, took a sniff and poured it down the drain. “I’ll stick with water. What about you?”

“Water’s good. The glasses are to the right of the sink.”

She found two mismatched glasses, filled them with tap water and set one on the table before him.

But instead of retaking her seat, she moved back into the living room, glass in hand, examining the amber quartz sconces, taking in his thrift-shop furniture.

A second-hand couch. A coffee table he’d scavenged from a dumpster and repaired.

The only newish item was the soft orange shag rug in front of the fireplace, purchased because his cat liked to warm itself at the fire.

He felt a curl of shame. He and Jani had furnished the apartment right after he first made alpha, back when the clan could barely manage to feed the women and cubs.

Things had improved enough that he could’ve bought some new furniture, but why bother?

Plus, it sent a message that, unlike his uncle, he wasn’t enriching himself at his people’s expense.

But compared with what Rosana was used to, his den must seem cramped, shabby. The Rock Run Clan was three times the size of his, with a huge base and hundreds of acres on the outskirts of Grace Harbor. Not only that, they were allied with Queen Cleia and her powerful Rising Sun Fae Clan.

Still, Rosana didn’t seem disdainful, just curious.

Taking his hand from the water, he tentatively worked the fingers. The blisters had almost disappeared. He set the bowl in the sink and joined her in the living room.

She was examining the foot-high geode on his mantelpiece. On the outside, it appeared to be an ordinary gray rock, but he’d split it open to reveal the amethyst crystals inside.

She ran a finger over the reddish-purple crystals. “Amethyst is a type of quartz, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Not many laypeople knew that, though. “You work with crystals?”

“A little. I study with a fae Seer. He had me try different crystals to see if any of them amp up my Gift. Amethyst, especially. He says it helps promote balance, calm, peace.” Her mouth curved in a wry grin.

“In my opinion, he’s the one who needs it.

The man’s an arrogant pain-in-my-ass. But he knows his stuff—I’m already getting better at controlling and directing my visions. ”

“Did the crystals work?”

“Not really.”

She moved to a basket of quartz crystals on the mantel that he kept as an emergency stash for the clan and fingered another amethyst, a six-sided chunk of purple that faded to almost white at its points. “Pretty.” She held it up to the light.

“Keep it.”

“Really?” A smile lit her elfin features.

“Yeah.” He moved forward, closed her fingers around it. “I found it myself—it’s a special, high-quality quartz with a strong internal energy. Maybe you’ve just been working with the wrong crystals.”

“Thank you.” She carefully pocketed it.

He remained close to her. Breathing her in. Taking in every detail from the jet-black lashes fringing her eyes to her lush lower lip to her slightly pointed chin.

A strand of hair had escaped her ponytail. He brushed it back behind her ear. “That must be a tough Gift to have. My clan had a Seer, but my uncle ordered her to remain silent when she didn’t See what he wanted her to.”

Her pretty mouth twisted. “Everybody thinks they want to know the future, but they don’t—not really. And even when you tell them what you See, they do what they wanted anyway.”

“Like me.”

“Like you.” She met his eyes, and he knew they were both thinking of her prophecy.

“We always have free will,” he reminded her.

“I know.” She sighed and moved away. “It’s okay? Your hand?”

He blinked. “My hand?” He glanced at his injured limb. “It’s fine.”

“Good. Because you’ll need it when you leave.”

His heart thumped. “When I leave?” he repeated neutrally.

“For Virginia,” she said, as if she was inside his head. Those ocean-colored eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “And soon, I think. Maybe even tonight.”