Page 74 of Seer

His eyes went wide. “What? I didn’t mean to do that. I’m so sorry!”

I put a hand out. “It’s okay. That’s what’s supposed to happen, at least for bonded couples or those who have a strong connection. They draw on each other’s magic to boost their natural abilities.”

He frowned. “Like Shane and Ellis were talking about? That boost?”

I waggled my hand in a so-so movement. “There’s a lot more to bonding than that. But sharing magic and pulling it from your partner is a big part of it.”

“Your mom didn’t mention that.”

“Yeah, it needs to come naturally. When people are told to use their, uh, bonded partner’s magic, sometimes they pull too much, or they get too worried about how much they’re pulling. But without any instruction you’ll instinctively know what to do. Just like you did.”

He made a disgruntled noise and ran his thumb over the side of his water glass. “But it didn’t work. I didn’t get anything.”

“It was your first try, Cal. You won’t be perfect the first time.”

He grunted again. Then he sighed and said, “Well, thanks for hanging out while I gave it a shot. Um, I can look through the books in my stack by tomorrow night. I’ll let you know if I find anything interesting. How long do you think it’ll take you to go through your stack?”

He was trying to get rid of me. But that wouldn’t be happening until we had a little talk.

“I’ll get started tonight, and I’ll talk to Craig and see how much I’m needed at the pet resort tomorrow. Maybe I can finish then.”

“Great.” He set his glass down on the coffee table and stood up. His eyes fell on Ms. Jackson, and I knew he was going to ask them whether they wanted to stay here or leave with me.

“Cal,” I said. “Before I go, we need to have a conversation.”

He stared at me for a few seconds, then he fell back onto the couch with his face toward the ceiling and said, “Fine.” He waved a hand in my direction without looking at me. “You start.”

“Um.” Shit, I hadn’t actually thought this through. I ran my hand through my hair. “I guess I want to talk about our connection. It’s here to stay, so I was hoping we could discuss maybe making a go of it.”

Cal made a scoffing sound. He sat up and turned, bending his leg so he could face me on the couch. “I’m sorry, but are you seriously suggesting that we get together? Like, romantically? Sexually?”

I smiled. “Yes. All of those things.”

He stared at me, his mouth hanging open. Then he gave a harsh laugh. “Greg. When you met metwo days ago, you looked at me like I was something nasty on the bottom of your shoe. And now you’ve decided, what? Since I’m theonly person you’ll be able to get it up with for the rest of your life that you’ll close your eyes and pretend?”

“No, I’m not?—"

He stood up and pointed at me. “I have way too much self-respect for that. I’m better off alone forever if my only other option is someone who’ssettlingfor me.” His eyes shone, his face was flushed, and his magic sparked off him like fireworks. He was magnificent.

And I was a dumbshit.

TEXT CONVERSATION

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29

Edgar

Delphia had a contact who knew a DM in Idaho. I called her, and the reader I remembered hearing about passed away several years ago. No one I’ve spoken to knows of another.

Cal

Well, shit. I’ll hang onto Thomas’s water bottle just in case, but I guess that’s a dead end. Did you happen to ask the person in Idaho if they knew of any missing or dead Wonders?

Edgar

Yes, and she said the only ones she was aware of died of natural causes.

Greg