Maybe Fate: A Novel (New Adult Paranormal Romance) (14 page)

Still
as the surface of a pond, he gave no hint he understood me. “That
was who, now?”

Opening
my mouth, I fought down the worry that I was wrong. That I was about
to say something entirely ridiculous. Surely, if Ethan was the one
from last night, Nethiun would have reacted differently?

“
He—Ethan—he's...
he's the guy you were fighting.”

There,
I saw it. His white eyes widened only a hair, but it was there;
surprise. With his smile washed away, he spoke calmly. “So you
did notice.”

A
shudder ran down to my knees. “So I
am
right. Did you not know, then? Oh, shit, what do we do? Why is he—”

Strong
hands squeezed my shoulders, his sharp features moving close to
mine. Though his opal eyes were more human looking, the seriousness
in them still sent my pulse shifting into a sprint. “Of course
I knew it was him. Gale, answer me very precisely,
how
can
you
possibly know that's the twaelin from last night?”

I
didn't have an answer. Not a good one, anyway. Shaking my head side
to side, I forced myself to keep looking into his intimidating face.
“It's just a feeling, that's all.”

Silent,
he peered at me like I might say more. When I didn't, he pulled back
and let me go. “Just a feeling,” he muttered, looking
out into the throbbing crowd. “I see, interesting.”

Lifting
a hand, I touched where he had been holding me so firmly. “What
do we do now?”

“
Hmn?”
It was like he was a different person, his mood shifting to that
small grin again. “I suppose we could go dance.”

Mouth
gaping, I waited for him to indicate he was joking. Of course, he
didn't. “But—but Becky is in danger! Everyone is in
danger, aren't they?”

“
Perhaps,
though honestly, I'm afraid you're still in the worst of it.”

“
I
know that!” Balling my hands into fists, wondering if I might
shatter the cup into pieces, I spoke softer. “I know that, but
that Ethan guy is an attempted
murderer!
One who's dancing with my friend and...” Briefly, the image of
Becky straddling the sculpted body of the twaelin in our dorm struck
my memory.

“
You
just got very red,” he observed.

Furiously,
I pointed my free hand at him. “We can't just act like nothing
is going on!”

“
On
the contrary,” he mused, arching one fine eyebrow, “it's
all we should do at this point.”

Tensing
up, a knot of muscle cramping in my neck, I glared at him. “This
is about me not getting in too deep again, isn't it?”

There,
that hint again that something sinister was swimming beneath the
surface of that pleasant smile Nethiun liked to wear. “I'm not
so sure you haven't managed to find yourself in the full fray
already.”

Being
reminded of what was going on behind the scenes, that others were
watching me that I hadn't met, I grimaced. “How do you mean?”

“
Did
you forget what I told you earlier, about how twaelin absorb
emotions?” he asked.

“
I—no,
I remember.”
The
idea still gives me the creeps.

Tilting
his head, Nethiun sighed. “Then put the pieces together. You
looked him in the eye in front of everyone. Then, you gave him the
biggest, bluntest display of terror for no apparent reason. It's
possible he didn't understand why, but...”

The
cold wash of fear rolled down to my toes. Nethiun nodded knowingly,
looking back out into the dancing masses. “Yes, exactly like
that. I'm not so sure you're protected by ignorance any longer,
Gale. The more I think about it, it's unlikely you could have walked
away from this at all.”

I
wasn't listening anymore. My own eyes had floated into the group,
the pulse of the music driving them all to bounce and stomp.

There,
I spotted Becky, her hair flying as she giggled. Swaying against
Ethan, her back was to me, her expression hidden.

But
not Ethan's.

In
the darkness of the club, the flickering colored lights rippling
over his strong features, he was looking straight at me. Yellow
eyes, fixed firmly and unblinking, laid on my own.

Eyes
that were serious, and without any pretense of hiding their
smugness.

Gripping
the cup, the ice long melted, I found my wobbling words. “What
happens if he knows?”

“
You
mean, right now?”

“
In
general,” I hissed, wiping droplets of sweat from my throat.
“You've been saying that you wouldn't tell me more about the
guy who tried to kill me because it'd drag me in deeper. If he's
here
,
then aren't I already in deep, regardless?”

Nethiun
mulled over my question, closing his eyes as he did so. “Very
astute. I believed things might not progress as far as this, but I
was clearly mistaken. At this stage, I don't think knowing more
about him would change your fate, one way or the other.”

I
didn't like how he phrased that. Who the hell believed in a thing
like 'fate?' Looking down into the useless remnants of my drink, I
tipped it back and chugged it down in one swallow.

Setting
the empty glass down on a nearby table covered in forgotten drinks,
I turned back to the thoughtful face of Nethiun.

“
I
want you to tell me everything you can.”

Nethiun

The
swatches of energy rolling around were strong, lovely things. Still,
they paled in comparison when next to the searing monsoon that came
off of Gale Everette.

It
was difficult to not push her further, knowing how close she was to
breaking down as she watched her friend dance with Ethlyn—or
Ethan, as he had chosen to go by—in the middle of the gyrating
club.

I'm
still not positive why Valenforth would bother to send his servant
to mingle like this.
Not
knowing was one of the things I hated most.

Still,
recalling how much undistilled hate had been in Ethlyn's face when
he shook my hand, that brought me glee.

Glancing
down, seeing the anxiety in Gale, tasting the sweet edges of it, I
breathed in deeply. While I'd desired the pieces to come together,
for her to be nudged into the mess of everything just to sate my
curiosity, I hadn't imagined it would be as simple as this.

Valenforth
is no longer just watching. The only person who might know his
intentions right now, besides the Corpse King himself, is Ethlyn.

Lifting
my head, catching his golden-eyed stare, I offered him a sweet twist
of my lips.

Perhaps
I'll stumble into luck again and gather that answer, as well.

“
Here,”
I said, reaching out and touching the smooth skin at the nape of her
neck. The girl jumped, baffled by my overt contact. That, too, was
addicting. “You want to know more, who am I to deny you that?
However, you also claimed you wanted to have some fun tonight, why
not have both?”

Flipping
her braid, she moved away and eyed me. “You want me to have
fun while Ethan the demon-but-not-demon-guy flirts with my friend
and stares at me all night?”

“
He's
unlikely to try anything here,” I mused, unable to promise
entirely. “Like me, he's observing. If he was going to attack,
why not do it by now?”

Gale
looked at her roommate, bridge of her nose crinkling. “I
wouldn't be dancing if things were normal, how can you expect me to
now?”

“
Standing
here and gawking at the two of them isn't entirely subtle. Work with
me, I'll feed you some facts while we spin around.”

“
I
do want to know about him,” she huffed, pinkness flushing her
neck, “but I also can't let him be alone with her.”

Considering
her words, glancing once at Ethlyn where he was swaying with Becky
several feet away, the solution became perfectly obvious.

In
a single motion, I coiled my arm around her waist. Instantly, the
heat of her heart exploded around me, her energy a mass of wildfire.

Addictive,
far too addictive. Why does all of this emotion come off of her so
strongly? I've never known a human capable of this.

Pulling
her against me, I snagged one of her hands, entwining our fingers.
Clearly too astounded to struggle, Gale stumbled instead when I
turned us in a weaving circle.

“
What
are you doing?” she gasped, her eyes so wide they were almost
just the whites.

“
Dancing,”
I said, a smirk tugging at one side of my mouth. Pulling her against
me firmly, I bent my head and whispered into her ear. “And
talking, like you asked for.”

Again,
her energy flared like a star ready to die out. I didn't think for a
second that Gale's emotional roar had reached a peak yet, though.

The
freckles across her shoulders stood out to me even more when she
trembled. “This—I—wait, listen, I can hardly dance
as it is. Never mind dancing and talking at the same time.”

Lifting
my eyebrows, I leaned back to meet her worried, wide eyes, the color
of spring clouds. They looked especially wonderful when they were
alive with nerves. “Then I'll move us slowly. Here, just do
what everyone else is.”

“
Oh,
no, I couldn't,” she blurted.

Chuckling
in my throat, I rolled my palms down to her hips and lower back,
holding her warm body against me. It was like hugging a wall of
living steam. “Of course you can, just stay like this, and
neither your friend or Ethlyn will find us suspicious.”

I
could hear the sound of her swallowing. “You mean Ethan?”

Grinning,
I tucked my mouth close to the hollow of her neck, murmuring into
her ear again. “And here we go, talking. No, his name is
Ethlyn.”

Her
breathing was rapid, it made her voice fragile.

I
adored it.

“
Why
would he use a fake name?” she asked.

A
good question, that.
My
finger tips traced the curve of her outer thighs. The way she
tightened up, solid as brick, was instant.
I'm
more curious about why you're so easily pushed, Gale Everette. What
makes you so anxious around me?