Chapter 27

I woke with my face pressed into Remy's chest and his arm thrown over my shoulder. He radiated heat like a blacksmith's forge, and I snuggled closer, craving his warmth. I breathed in his cedar scent and felt my body respond. Shifting my leg over his hip, the hardness of his arousal pressed between my legs, and he groaned. I knew we shouldn't indulge, that we needed to focus on understanding the Eye, but it was hard to concentrate with him this close.

He slid his arm from my shoulder down to my rear and pulled me tighter against him. Fire erupted in my core, and I moaned. His lips grazed my temple, and I turned my head, seeking his kiss. He angled his head and brushed my lips with his. I trembled, waiting for him to deepen the kiss, but he teased me with the barest of touches. I nipped at his lower lip before taking a deep breath and pulling back.

"We need to get this sorted with the guild, don't we," I whispered, trying not to lose myself in his blue eyes.

He stroked my hair and blew out a long, heavy sigh. "Yeah, we do." He leaned down, breath tickling my ear as he murmured, "Then we can take the time to do this properly."

I knew I should walk away from any emotional entanglements with Remy and follow my well-thought-out plans to advance in the Guild of Thieves and Spies, but it was becoming impossible. I was too far gone. I wanted him and my place in the guild. Surely, that wasn't asking too much.

With a groan, I extracted myself from his embrace and stood, immediately missing the heat of his body. I shuffled into the main room and rummaged through the remaining food: ale, tea, soggy meat pie, and one last bonbon. Dropping the heat stone in a cup of water for tea, I ate the chocolate and left the sad meat pie for Remy.

"We need to get food," I said as he walked in from the bedroom.

There was a small sink on one side of the room, and he turned on the water. With a shiver, he stuck his head under the stream and scrubbed at his hair, then his torso. Grabbing a towel, he muttered, "I'm getting soft."

I raised a brow at him in silent question.

"At home I have a tub where I can heat water for a bath."

I looked away from him with a frown. Other than the occasional visit to public baths in some of the larger towns where our troupe had performed, I had never sat in a tub. Circus wagons didn't lug bathtubs around the countryside, and I couldn't afford rooms with a private bath in Sageport. I made do with sponge baths and washing my hair in the sink with cold water. Yet another reason I had to improve my status in the guild.

"Where do you live?"

"On the other side of the city," he said vaguely.

I sighed. Apparently, this was another of Remy's secrets.

"So, what did you learn from Shadows of Futures Past?"

He winced and dried his face with the towel. "There were pages of gloom and doom. Old Jeremiah must have been loads of fun at a party."

He threw the towel over his shoulder and sat at the table. Peering at the meat pie, he asked, "You eating this?"

"It's all yours."

I watched with morbid fascination as he took a bite and washed it down with some ale. I guessed that growing up on the streets made for some interesting breakfast choices. We might not have had bathtubs in the circus, but at least we had porridge.

"From what I could gather, the power Oris captured in the Eye can be accessed by non-mages to some extent. The Eye has awareness and decides what it wishes to reveal. It might decline to show anything at all. However, a high fae with seer magic or a powerful mage can direct the visions and get clearer results."

"Does it show an unchangeable future?"

"No. It shows possibilities depending on the wielder's actions."

I swallowed rapidly and rubbed my palms on my knees. "So, you are tied to the dead ocean?"

He slumped and his sable-tipped hair swung forward to screen his face. "It seems so."

"If you touch it again, will it give you more information?"

"Maybe. But Jeremiah wrote that the pull to use it becomes stronger each time. I'm not sure I want to touch it again."

I shivered and wrapped my fingers around my teacup. "Does Jeremiah talk about changing the past?"

"The Eye might decide to let someone without magic alter previous events, but he doesn't say how. A strong mage or high fae can do it without the Eye's consent."

"That's somewhat terrifying."

Remy nodded.

"We have to turn it over to the guild."

"What if that somehow causes the disaster I saw?"

"And what if not turning it over causes the disaster?"

His eyebrows drew together, forming a deep crease, and he raked a hand through his hair. "I don't know."

"Can it be destroyed?"

"Jeremiah said that Oris couldn't destroy it, but I don't know if he meant Oris didn't have the power or didn't have the will."

I put down my cup and grasped his hand. "I'll try. It will be my first time, so I won't be as much at risk as you would be for a second try."

The furrows in his brow grew deeper, but he nodded. "I was caught by surprise. Maybe you can direct it with a specific question."

Rising, I retrieved the box, returned to the table, and opened it, seeing the Eye for the first time. It was mesmerizing—about the size of my fist and glittering in rich tones of deep blue and purple. I stretched out my finger to lightly touch it when Remy grabbed my arm and pulled it away.

"Don't touch it until you have your question firmly in mind. Then just pick it up."

I took a deep breath and thought about the consequences of giving the Eye to the guild. The moment my fingers made contact with the orb, the room around me dissolved into shifting colors and ethereal light. I was drawn into the depths of the Eye's magic, spiraling down a tunnel of possibilities.

The first image that emerged was of me, but not the me I knew now. This Ziola wore an exquisitely embroidered tunic and sat behind a magnificent mahogany desk in an opulent office. Guild members stood before the desk, looking up to me with a mix of respect and admiration. I had not only risen through the ranks but had joined the board of directors.

The scene shifted, and I was in a field filled with vibrant flowers and the sound of children's laughter. Remy was there, looking just a touch older but with the same mischievous glint in his eyes. He was chasing two children, a boy and a girl, with Remy's bright blue eyes, but dark hair and skin. They squealed in delight as Remy caught them, lifted them into the air, and spun them around. I watched as the children collapsed in a fit of giggles and Remy joined them on the grass, pulling them close in a warm embrace.

The vision faded, and I was pulled back to the present. The room came into focus, and I found myself clutching the Eye tightly, its magic still humming under my fingertips.

Remy was watching me intently, his eyes filled with concern. "What did you see?"

I took a moment to gather my thoughts, my heart still racing from the intensity of the vision. "I saw a future where I am one of the guild directors."

"Nothing about the waterfront?"

"No."

He sat back with a sigh. "Those two futures are not mutually exclusive."

Remy was obviously more suspicious of the guild directors' motivations than I was. Given his history, I understood his concerns, but he could afford to defy the guild. He had skills they respected, along with comfortable living quarters and plenty of external lucrative activities. I had nothing.

I chewed on a thumbnail as I contemplated the second part of the vision. With their coloring, those children could not have been Remy's and mine. I wondered if that meant our relationship was doomed if I became a guild director. My stomach churned at the thought that I might have to choose between my ambitions and Remy. I decided not to tell him what I had seen until I could sort through my own feelings.