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muscle, and his curling black hair brushed the collar in back. The open expression on his face helped her unclench a little.
    “How many women have you sought commonality with?” The words blurted out before she could stop them. A blush ran up her hairline as he raised a brow in surprise.
    “How long have you been here?”
    “I got here about an hour ago. I am sorry if it was a rude question.” She was rescued by the arrival of her cheeseburger, and she immediately dove in.
    “Well, I am happy to be your first contact, but if we are not meant to be, you will go on beyond me, and I will continue past you. It is simply how things work in the Crossroads. We are here to find a mate, and to do that, we have to give up the idea of falling in love with the first person we see.” His expression suddenly went grim.
    Ezzy used a napkin to tidy her mouth before she spoke. “Personal experience?”
    Buzz nodded. “So, what drove you here?”
    “My best friend. She knew that I was desperately unimpressed with my father’s choices for me, so she sent me here.”
    “She sent you? That is highly unusual. Did she find her own mate at the Crossroads?” His curiosity was genuine.
    “Um…no. My best friend is a Transporter.” Ezzy worked her way through the surprisingly good burger, stopping for the occasional fry dipped in ketchup.
    “You’re kidding.”
    “I am not. She and I had an agreement never to discuss our other lives, so when she saw how desperate I was, she gave me a card and had me meet my Transporter at her office. I had no idea it was her until I went through the door.”
    “I’m still getting around the idea of a shifter having a magic user as a best friend. How long have you known her?”
    Ezzy chuckled and settled into an easy topic of conversation. Krisia had shared in hundreds of misadventures with her, and Buzz seemed interested in how it all began.
    “We met at school in grade one and have been best friends ever since.”
    “How is it that you didn’t know that she was a Transporter?”
    Ezzy laughed and finished her burger. “Just after my first shift, she started her Guild indoctrination. I wasn’t allowed to talk about my shifting, and she wasn’t allowed to discuss magic, so we decided that we simply wouldn’t talk about it, and we never did.”
    Buzz tilted his head. “It sounds difficult.”
    “It was horrible. When I mastered my shape, I wanted to tell her, and I couldn’t. I would see her start a conversation about why her eyebrows were scorched, and she couldn’t. It was a test to our friendship that I’m very glad we passed.”
    She watched him rub his jawline and noted the five o’clock shadow that was appearing on his chin. “What about you—what drove you to the Crossroads?”
    He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck before drinking his coffee. “The area I live in is rather sparsely populated. There were few eligible women and even fewer that held any appeal for me. It was time for me to seek out a mate, and so, here I am.”
    She snickered at what he left unsaid. “Your parents as well?”
    He grinned. “Yes. You are very perceptive.”
    She shrugged, “That one is obvious when you have experience with it.”
    She nibbled at her fries as they sat in companionable silence. Outside, night was fully in control, and her inner wings ached to fly through the darkness.
    “Your form is nocturnal?” His words were polite, but she could tell he wanted to know what she became when she embraced her inner magic.
    “It is. Yours?”
    “Not particularly.” He shrugged.
    She sighed and wondered if he was something small and annoying. It seemed unlikely. His sprawl was far too natural, and he took up every inch of space he occupied. Folk who changed into smaller animals tended to give it away in their body language.
    The waitress, Tee, returned with a smile and took the plate away. “Can I interest you in dessert?”
    Ezzy shook her head. “Thank you, but no. I think I need a bit