He knew nothing about her, yet what he saw, he liked; he related to her. The woman had no airs. She was very down to earth, very physical. A fire in the open air, a beer … yeah, he liked her a lot.
When he opened the door, she turned and called to him. “Hey, I thought maybe you could use a cold one about now.”
“Can you read minds as well?”
At that, she smiled and for a moment his heart got pulled into a knot the size of Swanicott. He could hardly breathe.
Sweet Goddess, was this what Malik and the rest of the mastyrs had gone through? Had each met up with their blood rose, then jumped into a full-blown relationship faster than his battle energy could fly through the air?
He forced his gaze away from her, trying to regain his equilibrium, and made his feet move in the direction of the waiting chair.
The fire was blazing and the air chilly. He sat down and picked up his beer. The first swallow, like heaven.
“Did you get everything settled with your lieutenants and your Communication Specialist?”
At that, he shook his head. “Is there anything you don’t know about me?”
“I’m psychic.” She tapped her forehead with her index finger, then laughed. But when he just stared at her, she added, “Hey, I’m kidding.”
“Listen, I’ve seen you run then bound off sixty foot high cliffs like they were nothing. You have this cloaking thing and you brought me out of a deadly camp at Angler’s Cliff. So why wouldn’t you be something as simple as psychic?”
“Point taken. But, no, I’m not psychic. I just enjoy the Realm Internet. I think I’ve read every blog and article there is about you. I mean, I suppose I sound like a stalker, but the truth is more that I’ve been really worried about my weird ghosting gift. And since that power seems to be attached to you, I wanted to know who you were, what I was in for.”
“I’m waiting for a verdict.”
“Oh, I don’t really have one. I think you are who you are. You’re a bit of a wild man, a player, but you take your job seriously and you support your friends. I imagine when Mastyr Malik asked you to help out in Ashleaf Realm you didn’t take long to say yes.”
“Of course not. All the mastyrs support each other. I don’t think we could survive otherwise.” He sipped his beer.
The wood crackled and sparks flew into the air.
“So, here’s the deal, Olivia, I don’t think I’ll be comfortable until you tell me about yourself. You know about me, so it only seems fair. And my guess is that I won’t be finding anything about you on the Internet.”
She rose to her feet, carrying her beer with her. She sipped a few times before she drew close to his chair. She then dropped down beside him, resting on her haunches while holding on to the arm of his chair.
“I’m weird, Zane. There. I’ve said it. I don’t have any friends. My abilities are too pronounced, and the way I sprout fur is kind of crazy. I own and run an organic farm to the south that services restaurants in Helm’s Watch. I’ve never had a long-term anything and I moved to Swanicott because of this.” She waved her hand in the air, the silver ruff beautiful against her creamy hands. “And because I like my fur, I rarely retract it.”
“I think it’s beautiful.”
Her brows rose. “You do?”
“Yes, I do. But you have to remember, shifters, and all their idiosyncrasies have been part of my life since I was born. I grew up round them, and I now have a Shifter Brigade.
~
Olivia stared into crystal blue eyes. The fire reflected in their depths. She couldn’t believe Zane had told her that her fur was beautiful. She’d always been distressed by it, especially as a child. The fur on the backs of her hands and her chest would appear spontaneously, before she could even form the thought to prevent its emergence.
She’d been teased a lot for being different.
Her mother had done her best, encouraging her to stand up for herself, to let everyone know her father was a fierce shifter warrior in one of the Nine Realms. But the kids had been cruel and their parents worse. She’d learned to live a very solitary life.
She’d been a runner as long as she could remember, whether on two legs, or as soon as she’d shifted for the first time, on four paws.
“Did you go to university?” Zane asked.
“Yes. I majored in Phys Ed. Not many jobs around, though, for human-shifters who can’t easily control fur-sprouting.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I can see this has been a huge challenge for you but I’m not really hearing any bitterness in your voice.”