Nixy leaned her head back against her desk chair and let her gaze wander around her silent office. The dimming light from the windows bathed it in the muted blue-gray tones of early evening.
I’m going to miss this place.
But, by this time tomorrow, she’d be long gone. Handed her walking papers. And there was nothing she could do to change it. Granted, there was a remote possibility that Jordan wanted to talk to her about something else entirely, but not likely.
The office door swished open and Adam leaned partway in. “Why are the lights off?”
“It’s more relaxing this way.”
“Ah. Got it. It’s after six. You going home?”
“Soon.” That was a bald-faced lie.
If she went home, she’d go to bed. And then she’d dream.
“Maybe Ms. Jones is coming for another reason.”
“I thought about that. Lights on.” She sat up a little straighter in her chair as the recessed lighting glowed to life in imitation day. “Guess we’ll just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings.”
“Yeah.” He didn’t look too convinced. “Want to go get a drink?”
“Nah. I’m just going to wrap things up here as much as I can before I call it a night.”
Adam’s half smile was equal parts sympathetic and understanding. “All right. Night, Nixy.”
“Night, Adam.”
The office door swished shut with a soft sigh, like her after a long but productive day.
What was she going to do with the rest of her life? Go back to accounting? Nah, that’d be a step backward. Maybe NebulaX was hiring. She had never matched LGBTQ couples…or groups like Adam’s triad. That would be something new and challenging.
But, matching older couples is so rewarding.
There was something soul stirring about seeing people her age find love. Did NebX have an over-fifty department? If they didn’t, maybe she could petition them and offer her services to set one up.
Her thoughts drifted to Kai. He had never found his soul mate, never experienced love the way she had. The way she could again, if she ignored that age gap and focused on what was really important: the sweet, kind, sexy pain in the butt he was.
Her channel clenched and she bit back a groan. What? Now just thinking about him made her almost come? It was a really good thing she wasn’t going home tonight. There wasn’t nearly enough coffee in her kitchen cabinet to keep her awake until morning.
And speaking of coffee…. She placed her palms on the desk and pushed out of her chair. May as well get the first pot started, then do a status review of all her clients to make sure everything was in order for her replacement. No one would be able to say Nixy Vogel half-assed anything. Including her own termination.
Kai leaned back against the edge of Adam’s desk, wings tucked forward so as not to knock anything over, arms folded across his chest and ankles crossed. The dim night lighting gave the lobby a more intimate atmosphere. In the right situation, it could be considered romantic, if only his Nixy were here.
But she was on the other side of the wall doing who knew what, completely clueless about his presence. He opened himself to her feelings again. Her sadness, desperation, hope, and…yes, that was most definitely a flash of desire…washed through him. Was she thinking about him?
He allowed one corner of his mouth to curve up in a satisfied smirk. That was something he rarely did—smirk. But just the idea that Nixy was feeling all the same confusing things about him as he felt for her warranted such a reaction.
Just a few more minutes.
Buzz.
The sound of the cell phone vibrating on the desk next to his hip drew his attention. Raven had texted two letters, a “g” and an “o”. The two younglings were ready on their end. Everything was set. Now it was up to him. The timing of his talk with Nixy—Phoenix—was crucial.
He closed his hand around the device and pushed away from the desk.
The swish of a door opening broke the silence of the lobby and Nixy stepped through the doorway. A wave of heat ripped through him with the force of a wild-fire, stronger than any of his previous reactions to her presence.
Soul mate. How had he not figured it out sooner?
Her eyes widened with a flash of surprise, and a tinge of panic. “Kai?”
“Aye.” He surreptitiously flicked his thumb over the “one” button to let Raven and Fyad know contact had been made.
“What are you doing here?”
Being utterly amazed by fate. “Do you have a moment to talk?”
“Um, well.” She made a fanning gesture around her face with her hands. “I have all night, I guess. Is it hot in here?”
“A bit.” Hotter than a desert at high summer. He tilted his head toward her office. “Shall we?”
“Oh, uh, in my office? Sure.” She seemed adorably flustered.
He followed her inside, stopping in front of her desk until she had rounded it and sat in her chair. “First, I have something for you.”
He placed the phone on the desk and slid it over the glass surface, then reached into his carrying pouch and lifted out a sealed baggie of reddish-brown powder.
She frowned at it. “A bag of cinnamon?”
“Yes. It is delightfully similar to a sacred Bezchian spice we use called cinbin.” Please remember that later.
“Okay, now I’m really confused.”
“I promise it will get more confusing before it becomes clear. And for that, I am sorry.”
She huffed. “Don’t make me get the fire extinguisher again.”
“It is probably best if you do not.” The results could be disastrous. “Do you remember that I told you I was a phoenix?”
“At the restaurant. Yes.” She barked a small laugh. “We have a mythology here about them, you know.”
“I heard about that earlier this afternoon.” Thanks to Raven. Now for the hard part. “What happens to Earth phoenixes is very similar to what happens to us.”
Her eyes widened in increasing increments as his words sank in, then she slapped her hand to her mouth. “You mean, you go up in a ball of fire when you die?”
“Aye, something like that. But we call it rebirth.” He gave her a crooked smile. “It happens every hundred years or so. It also happens when our soul mate confesses their love, which can be alarming to them since our soul mates are never another phoenix.”
“I’m going to throw up.” She did seem paler than normal.
“Nixy…Phoenix Vogel, please do not do that.” He leaned across her desk until there was barely a hand’s width between them. “We have more to discuss.”
She shook her head in denial. “H…h…how did you know my name?”
“It is on the Silverstar application you accidently submitted.”
“I never told you….”
“I…guessed, after sharing your dream with you last night.” He would explain Fya’s timeslips later.
“Oh, my God.” Her cheeks turned the most brilliant and beautiful shade of red. “That was real?”
“Every. Last. Moment.”
“Everything we did….”
“Aye. As real as my feelings for you. Hold out your hand. I have another gift for you.” He waited for her to comply, then dropped the thumb drive into her hand.
“What’s this?”
“If I promise to answer all your questions, will you humor me for another moment?”
“I…fine. Okay. I suppose I should plug this into the computer?”
“Please.” He moved around her desk as she inserted the thumb drive. “And open the file named Future.”
“It’s a Silverstar application.” She looked up at him, a frown marring her features. “Your application.”
“So it is.”
He reached past her, reveling in the ever-present scent of roses that surrounded her, and gave the screen a series of taps as Raven had instructed. A message popped up:
Application accepted. Please access bio-app on your communication device.
A chirp from his phone filled the silence as Nixy watched him, her lips slightly parted. He curved one wing forward, pinched a feather between his fingers, and gave it a sharp tug. The sting was no more than a sand flea bite, and as inconsequential if all went well with his plan.
He moved the feather over the phone’s 5-senses reader.
Bio-app reading accepted. The Silverstar Agency thanks you for your application. You will be contacted by an agent for an interview. Your agent’s name is Nixy Vogel.
“Well, that’s lucky,” she murmured. “You got me.”
He tucked the feather into the pocket of his leggings. “I requested you on the application.”
Could not afford anyone else picking it up.
“So, do I get an expla—”
Ping.
Surprise flashed in Nixy’s eyes at the confirmation signal from her computer. “That was fast.”
“Aye.” He turned his head in unison with hers.
Match for Firewing, Kai located. Display match’s bio? Y/N
Suspicion and anticipation radiated from Nixy, and he opened himself to it. To her feelings. She tapped her finger over the Y and another application appeared next to his, along with Nixy’s photograph.
Relief and joy radiated through him. He had been right, and Silverstar had concurred. Nixy was his match and his soul mate. But, would she recognize it?
He turned her chair to face him, leaning close, and braced his hands on the armrests. “Phoenix Vogel; it is so appropriate that Phoenix is your first name.”
A shaky laugh bubbled out of her, and she nodded.
He suppressed his own chuckle at the delight of watching her make the connections he had already made. “I love you, Phoenix. You are my soul mate, my life. I burn for you in all ways, and will do so forever.”
She drew in a ragged breath as tears rolled free of her eyes and over her cheeks. “This is the weirdest thing, Kai, but I lo—”
“Stop.” His command was sharp enough to startle her, but she must know everything before she completed the bond. “Remember what I told you happens when a soul mate commits to a phoenix?”
“Are you about to burn up?”
“I hope so.”
“God, Kai.” She shook her head. “I can’t do that to you.”
“But, you can, my heart’s flame. You must, or I cannot rejuvenate.”
Tears gathered in her eyes. “I’m so scared.”
“Follow Fyad’s instructions when he gets here, and there will be nothing to fear. I promise.” He dipped his head and brushed his lips over hers. “Say it, Phoenix. Say the words now.”
“I…love you, Kai.” She whispered back. “With all my heart.”
Victory!
Hot coals swirled to life in his belly. He took a step back, and another, holding her soft brown gaze with his. “I promise.”
He stretched his arms out, tipped his head back, and welcomed the consuming heat of the flames.
Nixy shook her head in denial as her stomach roiled. Until this moment, the most terrifying thing to happen to her was being cornered by a group of reporters on her way home from school when she was nine. And the most soul-crushing moment had been sitting next to Efrem’s hospital bed as he died.
But, this—watching Kai being consumed by bright red and purple flames, feeling the flash of heat over her skin and being helpless to stop it—was far worse.
Get the fire extinguisher, idiot.
She scrambled out of her chair, but it looked like it was too late. The flames had already ebbed, licking over the smooth surface of a huge gray-black egg like eddies of an outgoing tide. The thing was the size of three footballs, and was all that was left of Kai.
A whimper rose in her throat as she lowered herself to her knees next to the egg.
“What the ever-loving hell, Kai?” And what was she going to do now?
I’m alone again.
Just like before, with the shattered remains of her heart stabbing at her soul. A high-pitched laugh of irrational panic escaped her, the sound of hysteria and denial. Because who came back from being incinerated like that? No one.
A convulsion rocked her body as her whole world narrowed down to the silent stone-like egg on the floor. And she gave herself over to dark grief, letting it swallow her up.
Swoosh.
“Ms. Vogel?” The deep voice called her through the blackness, and awareness of her surroundings creeped back.
Her office, the desk drawer handle digging into her back, the floor under her numb butt cheeks, and the warm weight of something in her lap.
It’s the egg…Kai.
She stroked her hand over its smooth surface. It was gorgeous, like a piece of polished obsidian. Except not as inert as it’d seemed. Purple and red flames danced under its surface, following her fingertips.
Purple, like his eyes.
“Ms. Vogel?” The voice again.
She leaned her head back against the desk and stared at the black-winged Bezchian kneeling next to her. Fyad. The bodyguard.
She ran her tongue over her parched lips. “Was I supposed to call you?”
Her voice was rough, as though she had been screaming. Had she screamed?
Fyad shook his head. “Raven and I are here to help you now. Do not worry.”
“I…I guess I’m just one of those people destined to love and lose.” God, that sounded so fatalistic.
“No.” His firm grip on her shoulder snapped her back from sinking into the depths of self-pity. “This is just a temporary situation for Elder Kai. We will get him back as soon as we can.”
Just as Kai had promised. A tiny kernel of hope sparked in her heart. “He’ll come back.”
“Yes.”
“Because,” she smoothed her hand over the egg’s surface again, “he’s a phoenix, right?”
“Exactly. This is his rebirth.”
A familiar young, black-haired woman peered at her from between the top of Fyad’s wing and his head.
“Hi, I’m Raven.” Raven’s smile radiated confidence. “Everything’s going to be okay, Ms. Vogel, trust me. His Elderliness has a plan.”
The spark of hope blossomed and an edge of determination took root. “What do we have to do?”
“First,” Fyad glanced at the egg, “we need a fire pit or wood-burning oven.”
“I have a brick barbeque in my backyard. Will that work?”
“As long as we can light a fire in it.” Fyad turned partway around. “Raven, would you grab the cinnamon?”
Oh, right. The bag Kai had brought was still on her desk. “What’s that for anyway?”
“Phoenixes rejuvenate in a nest of a rebirth spice called cinbin.” Fyad rested his hands on each curved end of the egg. “Your cinnamon is identical to it. Ready to go?”
She shooed his hands away. “Yes, but I’m not letting go of him. Raven…?”
“I’m here.” The young woman stepped into view again.
“My keys are in my purse in the bottom drawer. You’re driving.”
It took twenty minutes to get loaded and back to her place. Fyad had to fly because he didn’t fit into her compact car. Once they’d reconvened on her enclosed back patio, Fyad removed the barbeque grills and fussed with the cinnamon, spreading it in a thick layer across the bottom.
“Smells like Christmas out here.” She murmured the words as she lowered herself to perch on the end of her chaise lounge.
Raven chuckled as she sat next to her. “Nothing wrong with that.”
She trailed her fingers over the egg again. “I swear the flames follow my fingers.”
“What flames?”
“The ones just under the surface, see?” She moved her hand so the young woman could see.
Raven leaned close, then shook her head. “Looks like a giant, polished, black glass egg to me.”
Fyad stood up and brushed his hands together. “It could be that only the soul mate of a phoenix can see flames.” He gestured toward the barbeque. “It is ready, Ms. Vogel. Set the egg down gently in the trough in the center of the cinnamon pile.”
But I don’t want to let him go.
But Fyad was the Bezchian expert here. The one who’d received a crash course on phoenix rebirth just hours before Kai had come to her office.
“Here we go, Kai.” She hoisted herself to her feet, pressed her lips to the egg’s warm surface, then settled the egg in the bowl scooped out in the middle of the cinnamon. “Now what?”
“What time did he combust?”
“In the car, she told me it was around seven twenty,” Raven said. “And it’s just after ten now, so we should light him up Sunday evening.”
“Light him up?” That sounded counter intuitive. She moved her gaze from one to the other. “He’s already spontaneously combusted once. Please don’t tell me he has to do it again. And why Sunday?”
That’s six days away, for crying out loud.
“He needs the heat to hatch,” Fyad said. “And during rebirth, his kind age backward at a rate of roughly three sun migrations per day, which would take about twenty-four days. However, Elder Kai does not wish to rejuvenate to infancy this time, so we will force early rebirth by lighting the egg.”
She should get this, but her brain had taken a self-imposed timeout. “Nope. Still don’t understand.”
“It means,” Raven took her hand between her own and patted it. “His elderliness wants to rejuvenate to be the same age as you. In six days from the time he became an egg, he’ll be fifty-five. Your age.”
Wonder filled her. “Oh! That’s…that’s….”
“…the most romantic damn thing ever.” Raven nudged Fyad in the ribs with her elbow.
Yes. Yes, it was. As long as she didn’t miss ignition time, everything would be okay.