Maybe Fate: A Novel (New Adult Paranormal Romance) (35 page)

I
turned his way, wondering what I had done. What I
was
.

Ethlyn
made a pained grunt, then with apparent difficulty, for it took him
longer than I had ever seen, he flashed out of existence. Running
away, running from me.

I
didn't remember falling to the ground, only that I was kneeling in
mud. Arms surrounded me, Nethiun holding me close. “No,”
I cried, shutting my eyes as tears mixed with warm rain. “No,
don't touch me, I might hurt you, too.”

“
Shh,”
he said, and that was all.

What
else could he have even said?

Nethiun

What
had happened, what I had seen...

It
was impossible.

Yet,
I knew in that moment as I watched Gale draining Ethlyn towards the
brink of destruction, what my Mistress had dreamed of.

What
her prediction of dread, her vision of Gale Everette, had meant.

In
true, terrible conciseness, I knew the truth...

And
I loathed it.

Holding
the girl close, I listened to her rattled crying. She'd been at it
for some time, the rain soaking us as I kept her close, thought
about my next move.

It's
over now, everything I've been gaining, I'm about to lose it.

“
Shh,”
I said to her again, for what had to be the fourth time. “Calm
down, everything is fine.”

“
I'm
a monster,” she sniffled. “A terrible thing, I'm not
human.”

“
You're
very human,” I said softly, soaking in her emotional distress
and hating it even as I did so. I didn't recall ever wanting a human
to be happy, but for Gale, it was all I desired.

She
said nothing for some time, simply trembling in the rain. “I'm
going to take you to your dorm,” I whispered.

“
I
can't go back, I'm not—”

“
Yes,”
I interrupted her. “You're going back, because everything is
fine. You're not a monster, Gale,” I said firmly. Reaching for
her, I tilted her chin and forced her gaze to mine. I wanted to say
more, but instead, I kissed her forehead gently.

Her
arms wound around me, embracing me as hard as she could. “Nethiun,
how did I do that? I'm not crazy, that happened, right? I felt it,
something in me as
reaching
,
trying to take everything he was, into me.”

I
don't know, I have no answers,
I
thought sadly.
But
this, this is what I felt, I know that. When we made love, that
thing was like a black hole... her energy wanted to consume ME. I'd
thought I'd imagined it, but...

But
now it would change everything, this information.

“
Come
on,” I said. Lifting her to her feet, I glanced around. “We'll
talk about this another time.”

Gale
was silent, only leaning into me as we shifted through to my
reality, then back into hers. Standing in the alley between
buildings on her campus, I looked up at the dark sky. “You're
going to get asked why you're soaked, it hasn't been raining here
still.”

“
I
don't care. Who cares about that?”

Frowning,
I walked with her to her dorms, thankful it was late enough that no
one was out to stare at us.

When
we were in the hall, I turned her towards me. “Gale, listen.
Please try to relax, alright? What happened was intense, you're
right, but Ethlyn will be fine. You didn't kill him, not at all.”

If
that idiot hadn't started a fight, this wouldn't have even happened.

It
was too easy to be angry at him, even though I knew I was wrong. If
Gale had this power, whatever it was, it would have come out
eventually.

But
I would have had more time, more...

More
of her.

Hindsight
was useless, in the end.

The
girl I loved, for what else could I possibly call it, looked up at
me with her beautiful features twisted in pain. “And you,
you're alright?”

Blinking,
I looked down, gesturing at the place the wound was; the area was
already covered up by human skin. “It'll heal quickly, trust
me. Now, go inside, dry off before you become sick and get yourself
in worse shape than me.”

Her
mouth almost smiled. Almost.

She
vanished into her room, and soon, I flickered away as well.

I
had no choice.

****

I
would have delayed, if I thought it would have helped. I wasn't so
naive.

On
bent knee, I appeared before my Mistress, my Queen of Dreams. With
my head hung as low as it could be, I waited for her to acknowledge
me.

The
whisper sound of her satin shifting when she adjusted on her throne
was as loud as a siren to me. “Nethiun, what are you here to
report?”

Don't
tell her, don't tell her, don't...

But
she would find out, one way or another. If I dared to keep this from
her—something I had never, until that moment, considered
doing—I knew it would be my downfall.

A
servant who can't be trusted is one not worth keeping around.

Hating
myself, hating everything about what I was, I parted my lips
reluctantly. “Gale Everette has almost destroyed Ethlyn. The
girl can drain our energy, somehow... somehow she can kill us.”

The
silence above me was painful.

“
Yes,”
she sighed. “That sounds right. I had a suspicion, but I
wanted it confirmed. In my very own dream, I felt myself turned to
nothing. She was my source of dread, now I know why.”

Again,
there was a long moment. I didn't want to look at her. I didn't need
to see her face.

When
she reached down, long nails guiding my gaze upwards, I didn't
resist. Her elegant face, those melting, flat eyes that were the
color of blood. My Mistress watched me fiercely, even with such a
cool expression.

Her
glossy lips spread. The words I had expected, yet longed to never
hear, flowed to me like poison.

“
Go
now, and kill Gale Everette.”

Gale
Everette

Becky's
face could not have been more surprised when she saw me. If I hadn't
been so numb, so nauseous, it would have been funny.

“
Gale!
What happened to you?” Jumping to her feet, dressed in only a
thick sweater and some thin shorts, I knew she had been preparing
for bed.

Looking
down at myself, I watched the water dripping on the floor. “A
lot.”

“
You're
soaked,” she gasped, looking at me, reading me too quickly.
“How did this happen?”

Lifting
my arms, I stared at them like they belonged to someone else. “I...
fell.”

“
You
fell?”

“
Into
the pond, in the park. Yeah.”

Becky
looked me straight in the eye, but she didn't breathe a word about
my obvious lie. “We need to get you out of these, dry you off.
You're going to get horribly sick otherwise. Come on.”

I
didn't fight her. Letting her strip me, I did everything she said;
arms up, head down, step out of those shoes... I did it all.

I
didn't even have the heart to feel shame, being naked in front of
her. I think she noticed that the most, I could
feel
how she was eyeing me warily.

She
didn't ask me anymore questions until she'd gotten me dried off with
a towel, and stuffed into my familiar warm sweats.

For
some time, she left. When she returned, she had a mug she'd filled
with hot water from the jug in the hall. Dropping a tea bag in it,
she gently forced the steaming cup into my hands.

“
Now,”
she said crisply, sitting on my bed beside me, “what is all
this about?”

How
could I even begin to explain it?

“
It's
nothing.”

“
Gale,
the face you're making means
something
happened.”

Tilting
my head down, I inhaled the steam.
Yes,
something happened. Something awful and beyond any logical scope.

She
seemed to sense my reluctance. With a soft, soothing voice, she
spoke again. “Gale, I have a strong hunch this is about you
and Nethiun.”

It's
about him, and everything, and...

“
Did
something happen between you two? Did you have a fight?”

I
didn't like the guessing game, but I didn't have a desire to speak.

Sighing,
she reached out and hugged me close. Putting her chin on my head,
she whispered. “I have another suspicion, but I've been afraid
to ask about it. It's been on my mind all day.”

Once
more, I had nothing to say. I imagined she had to be getting
frustrated with me. I felt bad about that, but there was no
discussion to be had.

Becky
pulled away, staring at the side of my face through my curtain of
hair. “I saw you with Ethan today. In the food court, that
is.”

Finally,
I turned and looked at her. “You... saw us?”
Of
course, we drew enough attention. I was stupid, thinking that place
was private enough.

“
Yeah,
I did.” I expected her to be angry. Upset, at the very least.
All I could see was a strangely remorseful glow in her blue eyes.
“Listen, Gale... I don't know what happened to you tonight,
but I'm not a dummy. I have an idea what's going on.”

Shifting
on the bed, clutching the mug, I couldn't look away. “You do?”
She
does?

Shrugging,
she tugged at a thick curl of hair. “Ethan has a thing for
you. It was obvious even that first night you met him at the club.
He went from hot on me, to cold in just a day.”

My
eyebrows trickled upwards. “Oh, uh.”

“
Like
I said, it's okay.” Her smile was so understanding, it was
like razors in my blood. “He likes you. It isn't what I
expected—not to be mean, I swear!—I just... I'm not used
to guys burning out on me.” Laughing sheepishly, she glanced
away. “I'm always the one to toss them aside.”

She
thinks Ethan left her for me... she doesn't know, can't know, that I
told him to back off of her.