Charmed By The Fox's Heart: Superhero Reverse Harem Romance (Cosmic Guardians Book 1), стр. 7

She brings the cup to her lips and takes a dainty sip, staring up at me from over the rim of the mug. I sit down beside her, petting the cat while she considers my new creation.

The cat stands up and crawls into my lap, purring loudly as I stroke her chin. She’s really affectionate. I’m already getting attached, but I don’t think Lynx would like her.

Come to think of it, I’m not even sure if a fox and a cat would make good companions to one another. Lynx is definitely not a normal fox, but still...

It’s probably for the best that Kyra keeps her. My familiar is so dramatic. I’m sure I’d never hear the end of it from Lynx if I came home with a new companion.

As if sensing my thoughts, the cat opens her green eyes and looks up at me. My fingertips warm as I run them over her fur. I glance down and notice the slight tinge of a blue glow following in their wake. My mouth drifts open. I blink, and it disappears, stunning me even more.

This is no ordinary cat. She’s a familiar, like Lynx. She has to be.

I shake my head as if to clear my thoughts and then look to Kyra. Maybe I’m just tired, and it’s causing me to see things. After all, I was a bit concerned about my first day here. This is a joint venture between Aris and me, and there is nothing I want more than for it to be a success.

But then again… maybe there’s a reason I feel about her the way that I do. What if Kyra is like me? Maybe that’s why I’m drawn to her.

Kyra’s eyes light up as she tastes my new creation. She lifts a thoughtful gaze to the ceiling. “Dark chocolate, caramel, and a hint of almond.” Her blue eyes search mine. “Am I right?”

This girl is special. I just know it. I feel it deep in my soul. “What do you think? Is it a keeper?”

“Definitely. You should add this one to the regular menu,” she adds as she lifts her cup. “I think customers would love it.”

“Then, we’ll be sure to do that.” I wink, already thinking about what else I would like to make for her.

Now, I just need to build up my courage and ask her out.

When she’s finished with her drink, she holds her cup out to me. As I take it, my fingers accidentally brush against hers, and a strange warmth moves through me from the contact of her skin. An image flashes in my mind.

I still as I realize it’s from my recurring dream—the nightmare that wakes me up in a cold sweat almost every night.

I’m holding a woman. I stare down at her ashen face, her eyelids fluttering open and closed as she fights the death that will claim her.

Tears sting my eyes as I cup her cheek, horrified when I realize too late that my hand is covered in blood as it smears across her face. “Forgive me,” I barely manage.

She reaches for me. “It was not you,” she whispers. “I know it was not you.” Her eyes close, and she goes completely still.

Pain and sadness move through me, consuming everything in their path, leaving behind nothing but devastation in their wake. I roar my anguish to the sky as I hold her against me.

I draw in a shaking breath as the terrible images slowly retreat from my mind.

Kyra blinks up at me as if stunned. “Did you—” she starts to ask, but her wristband chirps, startling us both. She glances down at the display and then looks back to me. “I—I have to get this. It’s my friend, Claire.”

Still slightly in shock, I somehow manage to nod. I take her cup and move back behind the counter. My heart taps a frantic beat as I think on what just happened. Numbly, I go to the sink to rinse out the cup. How can this be? Why did her touch make me see the images from my nightmare?

Aris elbows my side, ripping me from my thoughts.

“What’s wrong with you?” he smirks. “Tired from a hard day’s work already?”

I turn to him with a sober look. “My nightmare, Aris… the same one you have, too. Something just happened.”

His expression falls as he scans my face. He knows exactly what I’m talking about. We share this terrible recurring dream but we don’t understand why.

“What happened?”

“When I touched her,”—I jerk my chin toward Kyra—“it triggered a… a flash of it for some reason.” I meet his eyes evenly. “Has that ever happened to you? With her?”

He clenches his jaw. “I have to be careful, Cael. You know I can’t touch people.”

Of course, he hasn’t ever touched her. I should have remembered. The first time we met, we bumped into each other in the lift at the college. I took his hand to help him back up after he’d fallen, and because he was so stunned, he didn’t pull away.

The moment his palm touched mine, a flash of images moved through me. At first, I didn’t understand, then he explained. Aris is a touch telepath, able to sense things through the simple act of touch.

The images I saw when I touched him were of my nightmare. Only a few passed through my thoughts at that moment, but when he explained he had the same recurring dreams as I did, we knew it was more than a coincidence. We just didn’t understand what it was.

We still don’t.

We became friends in our joint search to find answers, but after finding none for the past five years, we sort of gave up, figuring at least we got a friendship out of our shared misery. But now… I look toward Kyra, and Aris does the same.

Perhaps we’ll get some answers.