DragonMate Read Online Free

captured Aislinn’s surprise and Jazzlyn started to put it back on the counter. Aislinn stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Hold on to it for just a few minutes longer, please. You’re the first person it’s reacted to.”
     
    Aislinn’s smile was infectious, further putting Jazzlyn at ease. “Forgive the personal question, but are you involved with anyone?”
     
    Jazzlyn felt her face heat up. “No. Why?”
     
    Aislinn touched one of the crystal-clear gems. “These are called heartmate stones. Or sometimes simply heartstones.”
     
    A jolt of surprise speared Jazzlyn. “They exist?”
     
    Aislinn startled. “You’ve heard of them?”
     
    “I’ve got a friend who collects and sells rare books. She showed me a passage in one of them, and the pictures accompanying it since she knows I’m interested in old jewelry designs. There were two rings, each supposedly set with a heartmate stone.”
     
    “Does she still have the book?”
     
    “Probably. It was written in a language she didn’t recognize. I think she was going to take it to the university and see if one of the professors there could identify it so she’d know exactly what she had in her possession and who the likely buyers might be. There was a penciled in caption under the pictures, someone’s translation.”
     
    “What’d it say?”
     
    Color rose in Jazzlyn’s cheeks as she thought about the conversation that had ensued, the private hopes she and Alexandria had shared about meeting Mr. Right, as they’d sat on the balcony of Alex’s apartment watching the sun set and drinking piña coladas while Jimmy Buffet sang about being wasted away in Margaritaville. “It claimed heartmate stones were incomparable when it came to finding true love.”
     
    Aislinn nodded. “If you’re sensitive to them, they react in the presence of your perfect mate. Usually they’re placed individually in pieces of jewelry. Most people wear them in a ring or a pendant. They’re very rare now, but once they were widely used. They can be any color, though they can only be worked successfully by those with a certain heritage.”
     
    Jazzlyn was reminded of the flight of fancy she’d had when she stepped into the shop—Aislinn as a fey being with supernatural powers—followed by the odd thought she’d had about the symbols and stones on the mirror’s frame being part of a spell. Her sense of humor came to her rescue, allowing her to dip her toe into the waters of magical belief without losing her balance and being submerged in it. “So how does this work? Should I say something like ‘Mirror, mirror in my hands, where’s the man I’m meant to land?’”
     
    “Like reeling in a fish?” Aislinn’s asked, eyes dancing with mischief.
     
    Jazzlyn couldn’t suppress an answering smile. “In my case it’s more likely to end up a fish story , about the big one that got away.”
     
    Aislinn’s laugh ended with a slight shake of her head. “Only if you allow him to get away. The next time you see Sophie—after she and Severn return from their honeymoon—you can ask her about the heartmate stone she wears.”
     
    “She’s married?” Jazzlyn asked, surprised. Less than a month ago she’d overheard Sophie joking about the lack of available men.
     
    “For all practical purposes. All that remains is an official ceremony. Severn will probably insist on it the minute they get back.”
     
    Jazzlyn glanced down at the mirror, half hopeful and half afraid, and not completely convinced the magic Aislinn apparently believed in was real. Alexandria would love this. “Nothing seems to be happening.”
     
    Almost as soon as the words were out, Jazzlyn thought she saw a flash of silver streak through the stones. Aislinn’s quick smile made her ask, “Did you see that?”
     
    “Yes.”
     
    Jazzlyn worried her bottom lip as her courage started to desert her. Asking Aislinn to find Caro was one thing, even police departments sometimes used psychics,