Each book lit up in a haze of colour, each with an aura that could tell a story in of itself. The feelings Kismet pulled from books were safer, less intrusive than what emanated from people. They were more filtered and less raw. Digestible.

As Watcher Liz spoke with Nyx in the back room, she strolled idly among the bookshelves, flipping through pages and distracting herself with their colours. Kismet cracked open a sci-fi mystery that splattered dark blue, blacks, and mossy green. There would be no happy endings here.

I hope it will be different for me.

Nyx’s anxiety oozed into the room, impossible to avoid. With a deep breath, Kismet forced the thoughts into the hive, not letting a single one barb or catch on its way through. They sifted like water through fingers.

I don’t deserve her kindness. I’m wretched for not telling her the truth about my powers, but why start now? I’ve been lying about them my whole life. What’s a little more until I can go on my way. Nyx is different though… but if Daisy thinks it’s for the best, what can I do? Maybe once I’m settled I can finally be honest.

When Nyx and Watcher Liz rounded the corner, magenta and burgundy waves rolled off Nyx hitting Kismet in the chest. She braced herself and tried to keep a straight face.

“Ready to go?” Nyx asked, bouncing on her heels. Magenta sparks flicked through her aura like fireworks.

Kismet nodded and they headed toward the door.

“Oh, I forgot to mention something,” Watcher Liz said to Kismet as she wandered behind the desk to sit. “Will you please select two references for the council meeting? It can be anyone on the island, just not an existing council member,”

“Oh…” Kismet squeezed the sleeves of her sweater in her fist.

Who will I pick? They hardly know me, maybe they won’t want to vouch for me

“Don’t worry,” said Liz, smiling. “You have a month to choose. If you’d still like to help me with the books, you can come by tomorrow morning?”

Kismet brightened if only a little. “Alright.”

Nyx was already halfway through the door and Kismet hurried after her onto the street. She struggled to keep up with the other woman’s long, purposeful strides. A cigarette was already lit, pressed between her ruby red lips. Her tan skin gleamed in the summer sun, highlighting freckles dusted over her exposed shoulders where the straps of her tank top dug in.

Now they were outside, the heat became unbearable. Kismet tugged off her sweater, manuvering it around her headphones, and tied it around her waist.

“Where to now?” she asked.

“To Daisy, if you like?” Nyx said.

“Sure,” said Kismet, still hurrying to keep up.

Nyx was silent as they walked, but her thoughts were loud. Kismet was sure she must be unaware of the volume her presence carried, capable of speaking a thousand words in a glance. She fought to shut her out. The conversation with Liz deeply troubled her... something about a bright blue light… Ivy… Angel especially…

…Why do I always have to be the one… I’m not his keeper…

They left the village core behind them, weaving their way into the side streets. Sea birds called as they sored overhead toward the small restaurants and dumpsters in the shops behind them. A dog barked a few blocks away while cicadas chirped in the tall grass lawns. Nyx hummed a tune, drumming the beat absently against her thigh as they moved.

"Ok, we're here," Nyx announced and Kismet snapped to the present. They stood in front of the russet house Alistair had taken her to yesterday. The garden bustled with even more butterflies than the day before. "Will you be able to find your way back alright?”

“Thank you again for your help today. Sor- I mean -”

“No worries,” Nyx smiled. “It was my day off anyway. Say Hi to Daisy for me.”

They said their good-byes, and Nyx departed. Now alone, Kismet urged herself along the stone walkway, hesitant to approach the door.

What if Daisy forgot? What if she changed her mind?

Even though Kismet's knock had been a mere tap, Daisy answered immediately. Her smile was warm and sweet as a fresh clementine. Her braids were tied in a high pony tail. A radiant orange aura, much like the halos of holy people Kismet saw in the gallery paintings surrounded the older woman.

"You came back!" Daisy exclaimed and ushered Kismet inside. Her brown maxi dress swished around her heels.

The moment Kismet crossed the threshold, anxiety fled from her body. Incense burned sandalwood and white sage. Everything became still as tension fled like an exhale.

"Would you like some tea?" Daisy asked.

"Yes, please," Kismet said.

Daisy led her to the living-room, gesturing for Kismet to take a seat before continuing to the kitchen to get the tea.

Kismet sat on the same whicker stool from the day before. The rattan crinkled under her as she shifted. She admired the Macramé baskets swinging from the ceiling near the picture window, dangling spindly leaves from the spider plants and ferns. The afternoon sun bled through the drawn curtains, glimmering through the myriad of crystals on the shelves on the far wall of the room. Other tiny artifacts like feathers and carved effigies crowded in alongside them. She exhaled, listening to the wrens nesting in the bushes outside.

Daisy returned from the kitchen, placing a tea tray on the coffee table between them. She settled on the couch and poured them each a cup.

It dawned on Kismet that she couldn't hear Daisy's thoughts at all. In fact, Kismet's mind was completely clear. It was utterly disorienting.

"So, what are the nature of your abilities?" Daisy asked.

Kismet frowned, confused. “I’m a -”

“Yes, I know what you are,” she corrected, “I’m asking how do they work? What does it feel like?”

Kismet's cheeks flushed and she wiped her palms on her jeans, taking a moment to gain her bearings. Speaking was harder than she anticipated.

How do I even begin to describe it?

She took a deep breath, inhaling the soothing scent of incense. Daisy's influence wrapped around her like a warm blanket.

The words rushed from her like a confession. She drew in a shuddering breath. "It's - it's too much. "

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That didn’t exactly answer the question, but it was the best she could muster. Kismet shrunk under the kindness in Daisy's soft eyes and looked at the carpet. Daisy scooched toward the edge of the couch, reaching for her across the coffee table.

"Can I take your hand?"

Kismet nodded and held her hand out to the other woman. The second they touched fingers, Kismet felt Daisy swell with the same emotion; A mingling of hurt and longing, abandonment and desire. Then there was rage and sorrow like a heaving wave.

"It's overwhelming, isn't it?" said Daisy.

Kismet nodded. Tears pressed behind her eyes. Pressure surged in her chest. She tensed, anticipating slipping away and braced against it. The fingernails of her other hand dug into her jeans. Daisy's influence kept her firmly fixed in her body. For the first time, she didn't have to fight. Now she had to sit with it.

And breathe.

Is this what it's like to be inside myself? This is awful.

Her mind tried to pull back, but Daisy's gentle grip tethered her to earth.

Why does it have to hurt so much?

The lump in the base of her throat ached and burned, swelling like the wings of a bird trying to spread its wings inside a cage that was much too small. She collapsed into tears. Pain throbbed deep in her chest. It shifted and came loose, lessening the harder she cried. After what felt like forever, gradually, Kismet's muscles relaxed as she exhaled, easing into the emotion, letting it dissipate. She blinked, disoriented.

Daisy still held her hand, patting gently. "Just breath."

Crying with Daisy had left her lightheaded, but somehow relaxed. Normally, she would have been mortified to become so emotional, but here, it would have almost been a disgrace not to.

Still, she expected shame to creep up like a tiger to devour her any minute.

The older woman's touch was firm yet gentle as she tightened her grip ever so slightly. Warmth expanded throughout Kismet's body, tingling across the surface of her skin. She slumped, relaxing.

"What happened to bring you here?" Daisy’s voice was soft and smooth. The question spiraled through time, an echoing consideration of events concerning what may have kept Kismet away from herself. A feeling of disconnection she could no longer fathom while sitting in the warm acceptance she found here.

I don’t want to go back out there… back to lying… When can I be who I am?

At first, Kismet thought she would resist Daisy’s question, but the answer was already on the tip of her tongue, slipping away faster than she could think to catch it. She swallowed, saliva scratching her dry throat, and she pried her lips apart.

"When I was thirteen, I was sent to live with a couple. Percy and Jade. For a while, things were going alright," Kismet twisted the ends of her sweater sleeves in her fingers. "Then, one day, I slipped up." The horror she had felt in that moment surged inside of her once again and she started to tremble. "I don't even remember what I said exactly. Maybe I answered something she hadn't spoken out loud, but regardless, Jade caught me. I remember we were in the kitchen cooking supper.

"Jade said that it was ok. She wouldn't tell anyone, but I'd have to do her a favour. I agreed. I didn't think I had a choice. My life was over." She stopped to take a breath. "I was too scared of The Academy."

Daisy nodded, understanding. "Ivy doesn't exactly do herself many favours in that regard. She tries, but it's hard for people to forget what she's capable of."

"All I wanted was to be normal, like everyone else,” Kismet continued. “So I agreed to do anything Jade asked of me. We grew close during that time, or at least it felt like we had, but it wasn't real."

The pressure in Kismet's chest gradually released, but it swirled into nausea. She trembled, becoming cold. A wave of tingly warmth emanating from Daisy, brought Kismet back into herself.

"She made me read people's minds and dig up all their secrets. Jade took me to parties, her friend's houses, everywhere. At first I liked it. The more I could tell her, the better. She loved the details. The most awful, horrible things made her happy, and I hate to say it, but I was happy too." Kismet choked on her words and propped her face in her free hand, sniffling. "I saw the worst things. The worst. People's minds are complex, beautiful places but some are darker than others. Everyone thinks terrible things from time to time, they don't mean anything by it, it's human nature, but some people are..."

"I can only imagine.” Daisy leaned close to Kismet, patient and waiting. Concern shadowed the kindness in her dark eyes. "I'm fortunate to not be privy to the details."

"It's awful," Kismet said, wiping her eyes with the heel of her hand. "But the worst was that Jade collected these secrets and used them against people any way she could. She manipulated them, or pitted them against each other for her own gains. Then she spilled the wrong secret and - and one night the neighbor's husband murdered his wife because she'd been having an affair.

"After that, Jade got scared and told the authorities what I could do. Some people in suits came. They waited for me after school, so I ran. I lived on my own for a while. I had to use my powers sometimes to survive, but I tried not to unless it was absolutely necessary. It took me years, but I finally got an apartment and a job. I just wanted to forget it ever happened."

Daisy continued to radiate warmth and the terrible knot in Kismet's chest loosened.

"I hope one day you can see your abilities were not the problem. They're a very precious thing and I'm so sorry they were never appropriately trained or appreciated."

"What did you do, you know, before?" Kismet asked once she gathered herself again. “How did you stop it?”

"Well that’s the thing, I didn’t ever stop it. I learned to live with it. I was young when my powers manifested and I tried to keep it to myself, but it slips, as you're well aware. My parents tried to hide me. I was sent to my cousin's in the next town over so I wouldn't be taken to The Old Academy. It worked for a time, until I was about seventeen. Then I was discovered again. This time I ran. I met Ember and Molly first, then we found Julian and Jay, and then Aiden. They told me about this island where mutants could be safe. At the time, we weren't sure if it was just a rumor, but we had to try at least."

Kismet imagined young Daisy struggling to hide her abilities under fear of imprisonment or death and shuddered.

"It took its toll.” Daisy’s eyes flashed with memory. "I had to find a way to get them under control, and quickly. I couldn't afford to get caught. Just one of us being exposed could have put the others in danger too, and ruin everything. We all struggled to keep our abilities under control, but it was harder for some than others. We helped each other the best we could."

"How did you manage it?" Kismet asked, in awe of her.

"Mostly meditation," she said. "I read anything about spirituality or managing emotions I could get my hands on. There's not much written about mutant abilities available to the public, not yet anyway, so most sources I used were based on human experiences. I had to extrapolate and experiment.

"You're going to be so sick of meditating by the time we're done, but it's necessary. You have to get acquainted with your inside, what it feels like to be you and in your own skin, so it'll be easier to draw boundaries. Then you'll come to know how your own energy expands, and learn to establish boundaries in the astral too. It's like scaffolding. You've probably noticed you can't read my mind?"

Kismet nodded, spell bound by her.

"That's not because I'm particularly immune to your abilities, but because I have such precise control of mine. The barriers I have in place are thick, and I determine when and if they come down."

"I would love to be able to do that," Kismet said, wistfully.

Daisy smiled and placed her tea cup on the table. "You will. Be it my way, or your way, or something in between, there will be a way."

"Thank you," said Kismet. "You've all been too kind."

"We have to look out for each other," Daisy said. "How are you getting along? Are they taking good care of you?"

"Oh yes," said Kismet, smiling. The hospitality she had found on the island far exceeded her expectations. "They've all been lovely, especially Nyx and Alistair."

"She's a firecracker, isn't she?" laughed Daisy. "Angel better play his cards right or he'll regret it."

Kismet chewed the inside of her cheek. There was a gnawing in the pit of her stomach she couldn't ignore, and it bubbled to the surface.

“I haven’t met him yet,” she said.

“Oh, you will. Give it time.”

“I don’t know what to expect,” Kismet said, finally giving voice to the concern she’d been feeling since first hearing of him. Everything she’d gathered so far was a jumbled up mess.

“Believe me, you’re better off not expecting anything,” Daisy explained. “Don’t be surprised if your powers don’t work on him. Mine don’t. I wish they would, honestly. If I could just calm him down for a second.”

The prospect of someone with the ability to nullify her powers was ecstatic.

If only there was some way to make it permanent.

Regardless, Daisy had quelled her nerves. Between lessons with Daisy, and Angel possibly shutting her powers down entirely, there was finally a sliver hope to get some lasting peace of mind.

Even if I have to say I’m an empath forever, if it means I can actually get a handle on my powers, I’ll take it.

They parted ways, deciding to meet again after work at the library again tomorrow. Kismet stepped outside, the summer sun warm on her cheeks. Even the return of the continuous hum of voices could not break her spirit as she began to walk toward Nyx’s cabin.