Curse Euphemia Amell and her lovely, infectious, delightfully easy smile. She’s caught him off guard again — she’s been doing that a lot lately and with too little effort. He wonders if she can see the answer of a grin in his ‘colors and shapes,’ or if she knows that his groan of protest conceals a genuine chuckle. Knowing her, she can probably hear it. Curse her twice.
“Terrible.” He irons the smile out from all but his eyes, but his voice is too warm to sound even slightly reproachful. “Where’s a Fade demon when you need one? I’d make any deal to purge that joke from my memory.”
And just when he’s finally managed to tame his mirth, she finds a new way to disarm him. “You ‘absorb the knowledge.’” he repeats, wondering. But there’s no way he can turn that sentence in his mind to make it logically consistent; either she’s said utter nonsense or she’s said something beyond extraordinary. It wouldn’t be the first time, either way.
She can’t, but oh she wishes she could. She imagines he has a wonderful smile. The Inquisitor’s constant remarks about how gorgeous he is doesn’t help that image, of course, but Euphemia is choosing to believe Owen. Besides, he is not the worst looking set of blotches and splashes of colour. His remark makes her snicker to herself, hands continuing to move across page after page.
“I could arrange a meeting, if you like. You would be surprised how many of them are eager to speak with me.” No he wouldn’t, and she makes it a point to flick her eyes up at him, smiling still. “I’m joking.”
His baffled response makes her laugh, and Euphy finally moves hands away from the book in front of her, holding them out instead to Owen. “I know, it sounds crazy, but due to my connection with the Fade, I can sort of...sense things, I suppose. I can’t read minds or tell the future, but I can read the essence of different things. With books, I’m able to pick up on what that book is meant to be about, what the author put into it. It can get a little fuzzy sometimes, depending on how the Author was feeling while writing it, but it’s better than nothing.” She waves her fingers back towards herself, motioning for him to give her his hands.
“I can do it with people too. Would you like to know what the Fade has to say about you?” She’s grinning, rather deviously in fact, waiting for him to oblige her.