Chapter 26 #2
“I really hate that guy,” Madeleine murmurs. “Why can’t you guys just kill him?” She directs her question at Vin, brows raised as she awaits his answer.
His gaze is on Alex, the two of them holding a silent conversation, before moving to Madeleine. “We don’t get involved with politics. Too messy.” A server appears with our first course of the night, placing plates before us. “But I suppose never say never.”
After the third course, performers begin filtering into the room, drifting from table to table in a swirl of colors and movement.
The room grows louder, laughter overlapping laughter, voices rising as the air grows thick and warm with too many bodies packed too closely together.
The walls seem to inch inward. A familiar tightness creeps up my spine, my chest constricting as I tug at my collar and discreetly loosen the top button.
My heart starts to pound as I brace for the panic I know all too well.
“Hey.” Alina places her palm against my cheek. “Everything okay?”
I close my eyes, leaning into her touch. The chaos fades instantly, like someone turned the volume down on the world. When I open them again, she’s looking at me with those wide brown eyes.
I lift my hand and cup her cheek in return, my thumb brushing gently over her skin as I take her in, noticing details I’ve memorized without realizing it, like the faint freckles scattered across her nose.
For a moment, it’s just us.
“Ahhh, I see many stories at this table.” My gaze shifts to the right.
An older woman stands behind Vin, draped in layers of shimmering gold fabric that catch the light with every subtle movement.
Without waiting for an invitation, she lowers herself into the empty seat beside him, settling in as if she belongs there. “I am Madame Elisia, and I see all.”
Vin scoffs, unimpressed. “You don’t say?”
One perfectly sculpted brow arches. “Hold out your hand.”
He glances at me, skepticism written all over his face. I shrug. We’ve got time to kill before the auction starts. Might as well enjoy the show.
Hesitantly, he offers his hand, which she eagerly accepts. Her index finger traces along the lines of his palm. “Interesting,” she murmurs.
“Is he dying?” Madeleine blurts, perched on the edge of her seat as she chews on her thumbnail.
Madame Elisia shakes her head slowly. “No. You see this line here.” She taps his palm lightly. “It suggests a long life. But this line…” Her finger slides across a deep crease running straight through the center of his palm. Her gaze lifts, sharp and assessing, locking onto his.
“What?” he asks, alert as he sits up.
“I see two women in your life.”
A smug grin spreads across his face as he leans back. “Now we’re talking.”
“One,” she continues, “is a queen. The other is fire.”
Scarlett tilts her head. “What does that mean?”
“It means I have a threesome in my near future,” Vin quips.
Mother whacks his arm, shaking her head. “God, help me.”
The woman drops Vin’s hand. “We don’t see the whole picture, only parts of it. Sometimes the images make perfect sense, and other times, they leave us seeking more answers than we are given.”
“No disrespect,” Alex remarks, “but doesn’t that seem like a…”
“Scam?” she says to him with a shrug. “You can choose to believe or not. I don’t force my visions onto you.
” She holds her hand out and motions for Alex to give her his.
He taps a finger on the table in front of him, weighing his options, before giving in to the temptation of knowing one’s fate.
With a keen eye, the woman inspects every line on his hand before suddenly positioning her index finger in the center of his palm.
A smile spreads over her face. “Your life is about to become very messy. Some might even say chaotic.”
Vin laughs, slapping a hand against his thigh. “Oh, this is amazing.”
Alex pulls back his hand, grumbling, seeming unpleased with the prospect.
“Sometimes,” Elisia begins, “a mess can be a good thing. It can open your eyes to everything around you. It can even welcome new adventures.”
“If you keep talking about a mess, you’re going to give the poor bloke a heart attack,” Eli muses with a chuckle.
Elisia turns her attention to Madeleine, her eyes seeing something that no one else can. She extends her hand, and Madeleine, without a flicker of hesitation, places hers in the older woman’s.
“Hmm…” Elisia hums thoughtfully. “You are difficult to read.”
Madeleine pouts. “So, I’ve been told.”
“But here,” Elisia continues, her finger tracing a line that cuts across Madeleine’s palm, intersected by three smaller lines.
“This line speaks of loss, yet these three… They speak of life.” She smiles, gentle and knowing.
“You will have a home filled with love and laughter.” Madeleine’s eyes glisten, tears threatening to spill.
Eli leans forward, brushing a soft kiss to her temple.
“We will,” he voices with certainty.
Dropping Madeleine’s hand, Madame Elisia regards the rest of the family before her eyes land on Alina. She stands and walks over, her head tilting to the side. “May I?” she asks, holding out her hand.
Alina bites down on her bottom lip, appearing wary, and then cautiously places her hand in hers.
She moves her finger all over her palm, tracing patterns and lines. “Your heart,” she says, looking into Alina’s eyes. “Your heart is heavy. I see so much uncertainty mixed with…pain.”
Pain?
Alina swallows hard as the woman turns her gaze on me, extending a hand.
An uneasiness fills my veins, the look in her eye seeing more beneath my hard exterior than I want to reveal.
With reluctance, I place my palm in hers.
She interlaces Alina’s hand with mine and slowly circles them, closing her eyes.
“A secret is shared between you two,” she murmurs, voice soft but resonant.
My heart pounds wildly. There’s no way she could know.
It’s not possible. It’s not— “One that altered the course of destiny.” Her eyes open, staring into mine as if seeing every thought and memory.
“One word. Two lives. Now, intertwined forever.”
My breath feels heavy, my muscles like iron, pressing down against my lungs.
How could she know?
“Stop!”
My eyes lock onto hers…
My knees connect to the ground…
Her arms wrap around me…
My heart thunders beneath my chest…
Panic.
Shame.
It all comes racing back to me.
A memory.
Our memory.
One I’ve worked so hard to keep locked in the dark.
I press my hand to my chest, my fingers tugging into the collar of my shirt. I can’t catch my breath.
Alina’s fingers tighten around mine, bringing me back to the here and now. I get lost in her eyes as she mouths, It’s okay. I’m here.
And then I feel it.
The first deep breath that fills my lungs.
The way my heart beats steady beneath my chest.
The warmth that invades my soul, relentless and smooth.
A knowing smile flickers across Elisia’s face as she lets our hands fall. “Soul mates.”
Soul mates.
Alina’s eyes glimmer against the candles in the center of the table, our gaze locked as the world around us disappears. And that’s when I realize what this feeling is washing over me.
It’s love…
I’m in love with my wife.