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precognition. I am a seer, but I paint what I see in a sort of fugue state. When I come out of it, there is the picture.”
    “Do you have to have a sitter for the portrait?”
    “It sometimes helps, but if I have any kind of attachment to the person, I can usually make it work. That is what I have been doing with the Terrans in the Nyal Imperium. There aren’t many of us, so I have been doodling whenever I get the urge. I have three of you, all with Cowl.”
    “How can you tell? His brother is very similar.”
    Rhoda wrinkled her nose. “Well, if he has a birthmark or scar in pale silver on his left side that is the man who is your destiny.”
    Twist coughed slightly and gave a short nod when Jianne looked at him.
    She turned back to the screen. “How detailed are these portraits and does free will enter into it?”
    Rhoda grinned. “The detail varies with the question. If someone asks who their perfect partner would be, the image may be both of them working together. If it is the love of their life, they may be in a clinch, but if they want to see their ideal lover or perfect mate…mating is what appears on the portrait, but I have not been wrong yet.”
    “Dare I ask what Cowl asked for?”
    Rhoda laughed and gave her the hint, “You don’t have any birthmarks and you are remarkably limber.”
    “Oh god.”
    “Don’t be embarrassed. I have painted far worse. At least you aren’t into anything too weird.” Rhoda’s eyes showed the wisdom of experience. She yawned delicately. “No offense, but is there anything else? I need to get to bed before Charm finds out I have snuck away.”
    Jianne winced. “Is he tall, silvery and butt naked?”
    Rhoda cringed. “He is right behind me, isn’t he?”
    The man walked up behind his mate, placed his hands on her shoulders and kissed her neck. Rhoda closed her eyes and sighed before she sat upright again.
    Jianne waved farewell as Rhoda did the same. They disconnected the call and Jianne chortled. “Well, it seems that destiny has spoken.”
     
     

 
     
     
    Chapter Eight
     
     
    Dinner was peculiar. Roil was cooking, Flare was serving and Cowl was sitting on one side of the small table while she occupied the other.
    “When you invited me to have dinner with you, I thought it would be a more intimate setting.” She smiled and sipped at the wine that Flare had poured. It was a lovely vintage and a charming purple-blue.
    “We are living in a Guardian base, this is as intimate as it gets.” Cowl’s voice was amused, but she couldn’t see his features.
    “Do people eventually develop a tolerance for exposure to your skin? I mean, can Roil, Twist and Flare ever see your face?”
    He shrugged. “We have never experimented like that. We can’t have a team missing members.”
    “You have one over the standard team already. Why not experiment on a volunteer, and if there is an emergency call, send three instead of all four.”
    He stared at her as if she had just told him to gut his team.
    She sighed. “I mean, if they would be willing to volunteer. I don’t mean that you should pin them up against the wall and scream look into my eyes .”
    Flare chuckled. “That would work for me but not in the way you intended. Carry on.”
    Jianne grinned. “The other option, if you are controlling them, is to tell them to act normal. I am pretty sure that that is what the other guy was doing. His companions didn’t move right.”
    The first plate was slid in front of her, and it contained a shredded salad. Jianne waited until Cowl had his own portion, and then, she lifted her eating prongs and tucked in.
    Dinner was a delightful affair with Flare attending them and glowing softly to illuminate the room as night fell.
    Jianne asked Cowl about his home life, and he described a set of parents that she envied. “How many siblings do you have?”
    “I am one of five. My eldest brother is mated with two children. My younger brother you have met, and my two sisters are