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“I do sometimes consult for hospitals,” I admitted easily. “Psych wards especially love me, I can give them insights a machine and imaging can’t.”

Donovan turned his head to tack on, “The joke’s been that when he’s tired of being shot at, he’ll go back to school for a medical degree.”

I didn’t really see it happening, to be honest. All of that schooling meant Donovan would have to be in school with me—I can’t handle the electronics, the computers, none of it. He’d have to basically earn the same degree. It didn’t seem fair as this wasn’t really his wheelhouse or something that interested him. I was quite content to be where I am.

Lachlan let out a low whistle. “Damn, mate, anything you can’t see?”

“Very little.” Reminded, I twisted a bit more to see his face. “Why do you have an emotional bond with your swords?”

Watching those hazel eyes flare wide with surprise was comical, as let’s face it, not much could truly surprise this man. Then he grinned as if I’d passed some kind of test. “Because I made them.”

“Ahhh, that makes perfect sense.” I saw the history of being with those swords a long time, of spending years with them in hand. I knew he made things, that was in his lines, but makers don’t always bond with their creation.

Seiji put a hand to my head and gently turned me. “While I’m just sitting here, let me study you a bit more.”

“Oh, sure.” I sat perfectly still. “I’m hoping you’ll find a method to help me and Abby.”

“I’d love to figure out how, I have a feeling this will help other psychics with poor Limiters.”

“By all means, keep staring at me, run experiments, what have you. I think this can benefit the psychic community at large.”

“I’m very much in agreement. Want to co-author a paper with me?”

Oooh. Seiji says fun things. “I absolutely do.”

“Good, we’ll work on it while I’m down here. If the two of us say something, people will pay attention.”

He wasn’t bragging. It was just truth. He and I were famous enough in psychic circles that if we released a paper about Limiters and all that, others were bound to pay attention. We might be able to help a lot of struggling people.

In a musing tone, Seiji continued, “I think there’s a way to tie your ability a bit more into your anchor bond. A way to make Donovan your Limiter, in a sense.”

Huh. I had no problem with the idea, but I watched Donovan carefully from the corner of my eye, studying his lines carefully. I had a good idea how he’d respond, but still, I wanted to make sure he didn’t feel cornered or pressured into doing something he wasn’t quite comfortable with.

Why I had this fear, I didn’t know, because he was all eagerness. Antique gold mixed with daisy yellow excitement, wrapped in azure blue of surprise. He’s absolutely on board and whatever kernel of unease I had died an immediate death.

“How?” Donovan asked excitedly.

“I’m still figuring that part out. But I do see a way, and I want to pass the idea by Elio before doing anything permanent. Jon’s bond with you is so tight, so beautifully formed—hm, how to explain?” He paused, volume dropping a notch as he struggled to use layman’s terms. “If you view a psychic-anchor bond as a building, then the bond would be the foundation of it. A place for two people to stand side by side. Yours isn’t just a foundation, it’s an entire basement. You’ve truly created a solid structure between the two of you. It’s honestly rather inspiring, like I’m looking at relationship goals. It’s because of the sturdiness, though, that I think it is possible.”

I knew just enough now to have an educated guess at the stumbling block. “It’s the location of the bond, isn’t it? Because it’s at the core, near the heart chakra, the placement is a little too far from the Limiter to make this easy.”

A digestive pause. Then Seiji puffed out this sound of surprise. “My god, you’re this smart and intuitive and you went into law enforcement?”

“I know, right?” Donovan commiserated with him. “I keep telling him medicine.”

Excuse the blush, folks, it’ll die down eventually. “I’m not dragging us through seven years of schooling.”

“Uh-huh,” Donovan said in a tone that clearly did not agree. Uh-oh, he’s got light orange stubbornness joining his lines. Fuck. Well, that’d be an interesting talk later.

Lachlan was highly entertained by his ringside seat, cackling like he was some kind of Gentleman of the Hills. Bastard.

Seiji pointedly cleared his throat and kept going. “I’m happy to do it, but I want Gwyn at hand. She’s got enough ability to manage something like this and frankly, the more of us who know how to help, the better.”

“Absolutely,” I said firmly. Being a master myself, I understood how key it was to pass knowledge down to the next generation, so it wouldn’t get lost. So the next generation had the same advantages. “Will she be back soon?”

“In less than a week, they expect. Brandon messaged me this morning saying they’re hunting a singular ghost down, but he doesn’t expect it to take much longer.”

True, most of their cases were a quick in and out. The longer cases, like that hell town they’d met Seiji in, wasn’t the norm. Fortunately. I think the burnout in Mediums would be a lot higher if it was the norm.