It was raining—not just a little, but one of those sudden torrential downpours. Even an umbrella didn’t help. The wind whipped up and flipped it inside out the minute I opened it.

I tried to avoid a water puddle, but my feet were moving fast, and one of them stepped in, splashing even more water all around.

Dammit!

As I spun, I caught my reflection in a full-sized window at a store. It was me. The old me! Hair plastered to my forehead. No scars across my face and forehead. I looked a little more pale than normal. What really caught me off guard were my eyes. They were red. Not "I've been crying for an hour red"; they were filled with malevolence.

I woke up with a start and looked down at myself. The covers and blanket were pulled up to my neck. I was in bed at the tavern, and there was an astonishingly beautiful woman sleeping next to me. What a strange nightmare! Snuggling up to Seraphina, I drifted off again.

I woke to the gentle touch of Seraphina's hand on my forehead. She lay next to me with a soft smile on her face. Sunlight streamed through the window, and I realized with a start that I'd slept in. Something in the room besides Seraphina smelled wonderful.

"Hey," I mumbled, still groggy.

"Hey, yourself," she replied, her fingers playing with my hair.

I noticed a steaming mug of coffee on the nightstand. That would be the source of the rich aroma. But Seraphina's presence was even more enticing. I pulled her close, and we shared a warm embrace.

"You let me sleep in," I said between kisses.

She laughed. "You needed it. You looked pretty stressed out last night."

I groaned, remembering that the baron had it out for me and The Shadow's Respite. I was going to have to hustle to bump up our alcohol supply. "Don't remind me."

Her finger continued to twirl a lock of my hair.

"Lady Churl was already up and had a pot of water boiling. She helped me find all the coffee and the mugs. Did you know she drinks mushroom tea? Like, full-on mushrooms swinging in hot water."

"I think she might be self-medicating with a little bit of magic mushroom, but I'm not going to judge."

"Do you think she's sucking down shroom juice every morning?" Seraphina laughed.

"How would we know? She's a goblin."

"That's a good point."

"Did you go downstairs like that?" I asked, referring to her very warm and very naked body under the sheets and pressed into me.

"Nope. Borrowed a nightshirt. I'd rather not give the ghosts a show."

"Sir Garin likely would have averted his eyes. Ophelia would have stared daggers and uttered curses. I'm sure I'd have to hear all about it later."

"Is she really that bad?"

I shrugged. "She's odd. But consider her evil origin story. She was married to one of the most vile and reprehensible figures in Mythralon's history and wielded immense power both in magic and as his wife. Then she tried to kill him, but he got her first. Some of her comments make me think she still misses him. On more than one occasion, she’s asked me to remove the amulet. I don't get it."

"The heart wants what the heart wants."

"But she wanted her dagger in his heart."

"My point, exactly."

I laughed, and we cuddled for a few moments, enjoying the quiet morning. Then I asked, "How's work been going? I feel like I've barely seen you this week."

Seraphina's expression turned apologetic. "I'm sorry I missed Market Day. I've been working on a large project for Roland Hightown and the city council."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

She nodded, her eyes lit up. "I'm developing a new kind of enchanted stone. It sits in a glass box on a post and illuminates the night."

I glanced at her silencing stone, making sure we could speak freely. "That's impressive. Sounds like the lampposts back home. One thing that's been hard to get used to is how dark it is at night. If the moon's not full, there is hardly any light to see your way. It sucks to go everywhere with a lantern."

"That was my point, exactly." Seraphina grinned. "Can't see a damn thing out there. There are a series of crystals in each glass dome. They power a special gem at night. The crystals collect sunlight during the day and power the large gems. It's very similar to solar power, but with a magical element."

"Like the gems you created for The Shadow's Respite."

"Right, except these won't need to be manually charged every week."

"That's brilliant," I said, genuinely impressed by her ingenuity. "How did you come up with that?"

"I can't take all the credit. Glimmer had a lot to do with the idea. He helped research the charging crystals so they renew daily."

"Glimmer. What an interesting friend." I chuckled. "Do you actually know how old he is?"

"No clue, but he's older than anything in Everspring. Much older. For all I know, he's thousands of years old."

"I was honored to meet him. I hope he knows that."

She chuckled. "Glimmer knows. He assumes everyone is honored to meet him."

I laughed. "I can see that. So when will the new lights be ready?"

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"We're launching a test run in the center of Everspring in a few days. I'm excited, but nervous. What if they stop working in a few days?"

"They'll work." I shook my head in amazement. "Intelligent and the most beautiful woman I've ever met. How did I get so lucky?"

She pretended to think for a moment, then said with a mischievous grin, "Well, you can cook. How can a girl resist chili and chicken wings? That's just hot."

I laughed and pulled her close for another kiss. "Thank you again for that amazing cookbook.”

She snuggled closer. “I'm just glad you like it."

"I love it. I really do."

"How long until you have to get up?”

“I mean." I shrugged. "I do own the place."

“Good. Let’s stay in bed a little longer. How does that sound?”

"We're not wearing any clothes, and we’re in bed together." I grinned. "So, yeah. That sounds like the best idea ever."

Later, I yawned and closed my eyes. I could have stayed in bed all day, but the reality of running the tavern was in the back of my mind. I'd also kept Seraphina away from her shop long enough.

"I should probably get up," I said reluctantly.

Seraphina nodded. "Probably. But first, drink your coffee before it gets any colder."

“I think it's already cold, and I'm okay with that." I laughed. "Do you have time for breakfast?”

“Um, yes! You better make me some food after that. I'm famished."

I sat up, reached for the mug, savoring the rich aroma, and shook my head. That dream was still fresh in my mind.

"This is going to sound like a weird question."

"Now you have my attention," Seraphina said, her eyes narrowing and her lips quirked up into a smile.

"Okay. Hypothetically speaking, could I be seeing Morthisal in my old body on our old world? Like, channeling him, somehow?"

“I won't begin to act like I understand how the transmigration process is achieved. If Morthisal ended up in your body, he was probably tossed straight into a mental institution. I've often wondered if the old Seraphina ended up in my body. I didn't hear or see her, for that matter. I was thrown to the floor when my bus hit something. Between blinks, I woke up here. Like this." She looked down.

I followed her gaze, reached down, and tugged the sheet down. "I, for one, am glad you're like this."

"Hey!" She playfully smacked my hand. "Why did you ask about him?"

I blew out a breath and gathered my thoughts. “I’ve had a few… strange dreams. Not exactly nightmares. It's more like I can see my old self doing things I don’t remember ever doing. I swear I’m seeing the old world through his eyes.”

"His eyes?"

"Yeah. And they're red."

Seraphina sat up as well and peered into my eyes.

"What?” I asked her.

She looked deeper and deeper. Her eyes didn't blink. She literally held me with her gaze. "You're you. I can't sense anything else. Maybe if I had a more specialized gem, I could see deeper, but from what I can sense, he is not there. Not even a little. You're purely you. Provided you don't remove the pendant." She touched the red gem that hung on my chest.

I shook my head and blinked a few times. "What was that?"

"Just me plumbing the depth of your soul," she said.

"Really?"

She shook her head. "I wanted to make sure it was all you in there. It is."

"That's some pretty cool magic."

"Thank you. I have a few spells up my sleeves. I'll do a little research. Maybe Glimmer will have some information about the possibility of a link to our old world."

"Thanks. I want to make sure he never comes back here. Ever."

Seraphina's smile faded. She looked me up and down, but her eyes settled on the pendant. "We need to do something about that. I'm still working on a solution."

"Thank you, Seraphina," I said, leaned over, and kissed her gently.

I stretched my hands over my head, reaching for the sky, as I slowly took the stairs. With a yawn, I stumbled into the kitchen and stood there, bleary-eyed, for a moment. Launching into motion, I gathered eggs, shrimp, and a few ripe tomatoes from the cooler, then retrieved some spices from the shelf. There was a hunk of soft goat cheese, so I took it out of the cooler.

As I set a cast iron pan on the stove and drizzled oil into it, I noticed a bowl of mushrooms on the counter. "Lady Churl," I called out, "is this your private stash of mushrooms?"

"Nah, boss," she replied from somewhere in the tavern. "Just somes I picked up while out and about in the woods last night. Strange sights out there."

"Strange sights?"

"Yeah. Dogs or something. Reckon they don't wanna be seen."

"Huh," I said. "Want a shrimp omelet? I can add mushrooms, if you like.

"Reckon, that sounds real good, boss," she hollered back. "Just keep them onions out."

I chuckled and began prepping the ingredients. While the pan heated, I chopped the tomatoes and some fresh herbs.

I cracked eggs into a wooden bowl, whisking them with a fork until they were well combined. Then I added a pinch of salt and let them sit for a moment. The shrimp first went into the hot pan, sizzling as they hit the oil. The aroma of cooking seafood filled the kitchen.

Seraphina's footsteps clacked on the stairs as I poured the egg mixture into the pan. She appeared in the doorway, wearing her clothes from the night before. Her hair was slightly mussed, but she looked refreshed.

"Good morning again," I said warmly, pausing my cooking to give her a quick kiss.

"It is a good morning," Seraphina said, and turned to ask Lady Churl how she was this morning.

"Eh. Reckon I'm fine. Buncha scratching under the tavern last night. Had to put a sack over my head."

Seraphina laughed. "A sack?"

"Yeah. Bag, sack, wossit… pillow? Yeah, reckon that was a pillow."

"I guess my cat Morth isn't earning his keep if we still have vermin down there."

Lady Churl shrugged. I sensed there was more to the scratching than she was letting on. She would probably fill me in later.

I returned to the stove, pouring the beaten eggs over the now-pink shrimp. "I hope you like shrimp," I said, "because I seem to have a lot on hand."

"Love it," Seraphina assured me. "Need any help?"

I shook my head. "I've got it under control. But feel free to pour yourself some more coffee if you'd like."

As the eggs began to set, I sprinkled the chopped tomatoes over one half of the omelet. The kitchen was filled with the mingled scents of herbs, eggs, and seafood. I carefully folded the omelet over, encasing the filling.

"That smells amazing," Seraphina said, inhaling deeply.

I slid the first omelet onto a plate and started on the second one. "This one's for Lady Churl," I explained. "Ours will be ready in a few minutes."

As I cooked, Seraphina and I chatted about little things. Small town gossip, Jessara, and her odd fixation on Grondak.

I finished cooking our omelets, adding a sprinkle of fresh parsley on top for a final touch. We sat down at the small table in the corner of the kitchen, the plates steaming.

My stomach grumbled.

Someone pounded loudly on the back door as I cut into the omelet and lifted the eggs to my mouth.

"Son of a…"

"Want me ta chase 'em off, boss?" Lady Churl asked.

I shook my head, shoveled the piece of omelet into my mouth, and went to see who needed to see me so urgently. As I stepped out of the kitchen, the banging started up again.

"Keep your pants on!" I yelled.

The incessant knocking didn't stop until I reached for the doorknob. Pausing, I waited a moment. The shuffle of feet and steel outside caught my attention. I cleared my voice and opened the door to find Mira, Alic, and a couple of men at arms with them.

Oh. Shit. Were they finally onto the man behind the mask?

"Varix!" Mira greeted me. "Can we come in? There's something important we need to discuss.”