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  “So, the fashion choice is making sense.”

  “I thought it might. You will come here every day and meet with your petitioners, getting through as many as you are comfortable with.”

  “I hope I have a few days.” Freddy crossed her fingers.

  “You begin tomorrow morning. For the first few days, one of us will be with you at all times, for safety’s sake. There may be a few petitioners who don’t like your answers.”

  The rest of the tour was simple. She saw her desk, the formal chair over the crevice that would take some getting used to, and the tea set that would be her only sustenance in her office. The petitioners would not be allowed to see her eat.

  “So, I come here and make tea every morning and then press the door release for the force shield to let in one petitioner at a time.”

  “Correct.”

  “Well, it seems easy enough.”

  Ember suddenly looked shy. “Would you read my future?”

  “As practice?”

  “Sure.”

  “Let me heat up that tea. I need practice at that as well.”

  She went to the crystalline fountain burbling with water and filled a metal pot carved with images of the Oracle. She set it on the tiny heating unit—a small puck with a switch.

  The bubbling sound started slowly before cascading into a rolling boil. Freddy turned the kettle off and sprinkled two pinches of the herbs into the formal pot. Some water on the grey-green herbs and the now-familiar smell curled into her nostrils.

  She counted to thirty and poured the tea into the small cup. A few ounces were all that was needed.

  She took the cup and sat on the freaky chair. With three short sips, she took in the tea and set the cup on a ledge that was just right for her purpose.

  She intoned, “Petitioner, come forward.”

  Ember stepped toward her and stopped in the groove worn by thousands of years of feet.

  “I wish to know of my future, Oracle.”

  “Touch my hand.”

  “Yes, Oracle.”

  Freddy extended her fingers, and the light touch from Ember sent a pulse through her mind.

  “You will walk alone until the day that you find the woman who fights and wins your heart. Jealousy will mark the day as your brother also wants to have her, but she will be yours alone.”

  “When?”

  “When the cleared moon grows a heart and the sun sees its shadow.”

  She sat up and blinked rubbing her eyes. “Was that what you wanted to know?”

  Ember grinned. “Yes. Too bad, I thought you were the one.”

  “Even with Rune eyeing me?”

  Ember cocked her head. “I could take him. Maybe. You look like you would nurse me back to health.”

  She smiled. “You are wrong, but I appreciate the thought.” Freddy flexed her hands. The urge to touch and explore with her jacked-up senses was hard to fight.

  She pivoted and hopped off her chair, walking around the crevice to where Ember was standing. The Guardian moved away as she approached and knelt.

  With a deep breath, Freddy pressed her hands to the worn grooves in the floor. Thousands of years of predictions flowed through her mind. She saw wars, weddings, deaths, children, arguments, lost treasure and souls looking for rest.

  Shuddering, she pulled her hands away from the stone.

  “What did you see?”

  Freddy met her gaze.

  Ember recoiled. “Your eyes!”

  “Did they do that thing again? They do that when I look too far.” She clenched her hands and got to her feet. “Apparently, the tea is like training wheels to get me started. I will eventually be able to see without it.”

  “Right, but what did you see?”

  Ember was bouncing around her in curiosity, but Freddy kept walking. It was hard to describe what she had seen.

  How could one describe their own future?

  Chapter Three

  Her quarters were quiet, and the shawl that she found in her closet was comforting. Whether her clothing hadn’t shown up or it was considered incorrect for her station, she didn’t know. Sneed was with her and that was what mattered.

  She wrapped the shawl tightly around her and went in search of some tea without funny properties.

  Freddy found the kitchen and boiled the water while getting out the tea set. Weeks of training and she knew how to make tea blindfolded.

  It took her a bit of groping around to find what she needed, but when the water boiled, she was ready to add it to leaves that had a peachy scent.

  She poured the water and watched the colour spread.

  “I am surprised Ember has let you out of her sight.” Rune’s voice was low and amused.

  “She got overexcited and needed a nap.”

  “I see. What are you doing?”

  She looked toward the teapot. “Making tea. It is my default when I want to keep busy.”

  “Is there enough for two?” His expression was hopeful.

  “There is. Where should I set up?”

  He inclined his head. “Please, allow me.”

  He got a tray and set the teapot, cups and some biscuits on it before he lifted it and carried it out into a dining room with a wide, round table.

  He set the service out with practiced movements and pulled her chair out for her.

  Freddy pulled her shawl around her and sat down. He poured a cup for her and set it in front of her with one of the biscuits on a small plate.

  “You have done that more than once.”

  “A time or two. I confess that when the computer sent me here, I thought I was to bring a bride home, not set up residence. My time here has been entertaining. Pouring tea is part of that.”

  “That was convoluted. What computer?”

  “When I woke after my long hibernation, I expected that a Terran had passed by or landed and woken me. I was unprepared for the order to install myself in the Guardians and wait. Aissa calculated the odds and knew that any woman who was a match for me would contain the Delphic genes.”

  “Aissa?”

  “The computer that monitored the sleepers on Admar.”

  It all suddenly clicked. “Admar! That is where I know your physique from.”

  He raised his brows and drank from the delicate cup. “Do you now? I think I would have remembered that.”

  She blushed and looked at the fierce marks that were now on his cheeks and neck. “That isn’t what I meant. I am still absorbing the information they gave me. Language stuck but the details of species are blurry.”

  She closed her eyes for a moment and ran the details of the Admaryn through her thoughts. Elves, fey, humans, half-breeds and genocide, all rushed to her.

  “So, you were in favour of the Terrans surviving?”

  “I was willing to take the chance that we hadn’t killed them all and that one day they would return. They did. You did. We are not so far from Admar, but it would have been a universe away if I had not woken early.”

  “So, you expect me just to take you as you are? What if I am not into men?”

  “Then, I would not have smelled the heat between your thighs when you looked at me.” He quirked his lips.

  Her blush fired up again. “You are very pretty. Based on the histories, few of the women of my kind were able to avoid the lure of yours.”

  He sipped at his tea. “We had gotten to the point where sex was for pleasure; survival was no longer under our control. The women of Terra were eager for a little play in the day-to-day fight for survival. They were offered an easier life with pleasure, and they took it.”

  “Until they began to bear children and the Admar came after them and their families.”

  He sighed and set his cup down. “Correct. When the council of planets saw what had been wrought, they raised the resistance and the tide turned. It was too late for your species. They had to start fresh, but your beginning was our ending.
”

  “Does that bother you?”

  He shook his head. “Survival was assured by breaking the purity of our kind. We are now part of races that we hadn’t even heard of. Whispers of the Admaryn are held in the archives and genealogy of dozens of species. They made it into the future after all, just not in the forms they would have chosen.”

  She smiled slightly. As long as the conversation moved away from sex, she was fine.

  “So, while I am not expecting you to fling your thighs wide this moment, I am going to attempt to woo you with my charms.”

  Damn it.

  “I don’t even know you.”

  He was going to reply when an alarm sounded.

  He set his cup down, inclined his head, stood and ran out with the rest of the team. Even Ember waved at her as she sprinted past. It seemed they had something to do.

  “Well, I guess I am alone, and exploring is on the agenda.” She finished her tea, nibbled the biscuit and washed up.

  When she went to grab Rune’s teacup, she nearly dropped it. While he had been professing mild interest toward her, their future seemed twined.

  Images of her sitting in his lap, laughing and sipping from that teacup flooded through her. She was reading the cup’s fortune.

  With a snort, Freddy washed the cup and put it in the cupboard. It was just like being at home, but the view out the windows was a reminder that she was definitely somewhere else.

  The gym explained the fitness of the Guardians, and the general scent of sweat told her it was used often.

  The pool was a surprise. Olympic sized, it beckoned to her with tiny, rippling waves catching the light. It was tempting, but she kept snooping.

  There was another flying vehicle. A few small ones for single riders.

  The property was encased in a huge fence, which didn’t seem to have a door. She was locked in unless she went through the Oracle’s cave.

  Freddy saw the line of doors and couldn’t resist finding out who slept where.

  She pressed her hand to the door across from hers and saw Rune.

  The others were set left and right with Ember across from her brother, Rescue. The realization made her laugh. Fire and rescue. Too funny.

  Freddy wondered how long the ability to read without a swig of tea would last. On Earth, it had only continued for an hour. It had already done more than that here. Out of curiosity, she walked back to her quarters and pressed her palm to the door. Aw... Axis had given up his room.

  Wait... no. Axis would be there in the future. What the hell?

  She turned and touched Rune’s door again, concentrating.

  Sounds came to her, reverberating through the wood and metal, the audio track of a couple who were very into each other.

  She shivered and jerked her hand back. It was like listening to porn.

  So, she had read the occupant when she touched the doorplate, but she read the door when she touched the flat surface. Hmm.

  With the interior of the base explored, including all the common spaces, she headed back to the exterior door that would let her explore the grounds.

  She walked down to the wall and quirked her lips, pressing her hand against it.

  She woke up next to the stone with her head pounding. She muttered, “Note to self. Don’t screw with anything that looks like it will outlive you.”

  With her head pulsing painfully, she staggered toward the base.

  Light had shifted drastically, and she heard someone calling her. “Over here.”

  Rune came out of the shadows and walked toward her. “Where were you? What happened?”

  “I was experimenting.”

  He sighed and lifted her into his arms. “You are bleeding.”

  She touched her head and nodded. “I went head first into the wall. Long story.”

  “Did something attack you?”

  “The future. Note to self, don’t try to read or scan objects that will be around for ten thousand years. It is going to see some serious stuff.”

  “So, you really can see the future.”

  She chuckled and kept her hand pressed to the small cut. “Yeah. Thankfully, the booster I took has worn off. I am just getting a general hum now.”

  “From me?”

  “Yes.” Freddy wrinkled her nose.

  He carried her to the medical chamber and sat her on an exam bed.

  “Where are the others?”

  “Showering. We had to attend an outbreak, and they were exposed to the nullifying slime.”

  “What about you?”

  “I am immune to the toxin. It is in this rune.” He tapped his ribs.

  “Are you covered with markings?” She cocked her head while he grabbed a med kit.

  He turned. “Do you want to look?”

  His challenging smile was a bit more than she was up to.

  “Not today; thank you for the offer.”

  “I was not offering. I was merely trying to gauge your interest.”

  She rolled her eyes before wincing as he cleaned her cut.

  “Well, this is deep, but it didn’t crack your skull. The bruising will be minimized by this regenerator, but it will be tender.” Rune lined up the healing device and activated it.

  The prickles that danced across her skull were tiny lights of pain. She held still and breathed shallowly while it did its work. She exhaled in relief when it was over.

  “Did that hurt?”

  She rocked her head. “A little.” Her scalp felt better.

  He swiped a cool swab over the area. “Well, it may have hurt, but you took to the healing.”

  “Oh. Goody. Can I go now?”

  “Have you eaten?”

  “No. I got distracted.”

  “What was the last thing you ate?”

  She thought about it. “A cookie?”

  He muttered and put his hands on her waist, pulling her off the table and setting her on her feet.

  He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of medical and back to the kitchen. “With an active talent, you need to keep your meals regular so your body doesn’t affect your focus.”

  “Is that what you do?”

  He laughed. “That is one of the only things that we have to entertain ourselves during down time. Masturbating gets boring after a while.”

  “Even if you switch hands to change things up?” She clapped her free hand over her mouth and pulled free to scoot around the counter.

  He stared at her for a moment before he laughed. “Here, I thought I would shock you.”

  “I have two older brothers who lived at home into their twenties. I am well aware of masculine humour.”

  “You have family and still you came out here?”

  “It appealed to me, and my family was supportive.”

  He started pulling vegetables and meat out of the coolers, and he chopped, sliced and peeled while he pelted her with questions.

  “Your family let you come here?”

  “They let me leave them, knowing that I had to. My life was fine; it was normal; it was bland. The test that popped Delphic on my genetics gave me a window to another world, and I went through it.”

  “Do your family members have the talent?”

  “My mom has always had insight and an eye toward our futures. I am guessing she let me go because she always knew I would.” The moment it was out of Freddy’s mouth, she knew it was true.

  She chuckled. “My mom even said that she had known that day was coming for a long time, she just didn’t know when it would be there.”

  He chuckled. “It seems likely that she had the gift.”

  “Did your people seek out Terrans with talents?”

  “Occasionally. They were exotic and traded among those who sought out the precious and rare.” He brought out a large pot and set it on the heating unit.

  He added the chopped vegetables in a specific order before dumping the sliced meat on top. He spiced th
e upper layer and put a lid on it, washing up quickly.

  “The stew will take a couple of hours. In the meantime, I will get you a sandwich.”

  She chuckled. “Fair enough. What time of day is it?”

  “It is nearly sundown.”

  “How long are the days here?”

  “Thirty-two hours. Longer than what you are used to, I am guessing.”

  She caught his knowing look. “Don’t tease.”

  He laughed as he prepared some sandwiches. “You have a quick wit.”

  “Thank you. It tends to get me into trouble.”

  “As might your candour.”

  Freddy took the sandwich he handed her to the table. “I do not believe you are wrong.”

  He chuckled again and joined her with his own monstrous sandwich.

  She bit into hers without waiting. Seeing the food had made her ravenous. She didn’t even care what it tasted like.

  When she had taken the edge of her hunger, she asked, “So, what do you do for fun around here?”

  “We go to the bawdy houses in town. They shut them down if we make reservations.”

  She could understand that. “Anything else?”

  “We attend festivals; generally, we do what any others would do, we just have to fly in and out of our home.”

  “Right. So, I am going to be stuck here unless I get a new wardrobe.”

  “You are the Oracle and the only Terran on this world. You can’t socialize with the locals. They would try to take advantage of the exposure.”

  Freddy didn’t like that. “Great. Travel to a new world and have to stay inside the whole time. Fantastic.”

  “I will see what can be done. I have never had to disguise a woman leaving the base before.”

  She snorted. “I am sorry to put you out.”

  “It is no trouble. I will enjoy the adaptation. I mean to have you as mine, so keeping you happy is on my agenda.”

  “That is a very straight-forward statement.”

  He grinned. “Your candour rubbed off on me.”

  “I will try to keep it in check.”

  “Feel free to rub anything you like on me.” He winked.

  “And we are back to that. Thanks for the food.”

  “You are welcome. I would suggest rest for a few hours, and then, I will wake you for some of the stew.”