Maybe Fate: A Novel (New Adult Paranormal Romance) (28 page)

Gazing
off into the distance, she took a small breath. “It's nothing
so tragic, when you get down to it. My mom's a nurse, she works
crazy hours to support me going to school here.” Her lips
coiled, wry. “I'm probably frustrating her by not picking a
major, still. I don't know what I want out of life, I don't know
what I'm looking for.”

That
was something I could relate to. Lately, the more time I spent
tailing Gale, experiencing things with her I'd never before, the
more I wondered what my purpose was. “And your father?”

Her
laugh was sour. “What father? I never knew him, mom only ever
talks badly about him, if she talks about him at all. Far as I
understand, he abandoned us when I was first born.” The
tension around her was fierce, I saw her bunching up inside her
jacket. “The guy might as well never have existed, for all it
matters.”

I
realized I was frowning, leaning in closer to her as she sank into
her dark mood. I knew, inherently, that I should have been longing
for more of the wonderful negative emotions she was letting fly
free.

Instead,
I curled an arm around her shoulders in an attempt to comfort.

Gale
jumped, jerking her head around to eye me, my closeness. I didn't
speak, I just offered her the little cinnamon roll Josef had baked.

She
squinted at it, then me, then the bread once more. Wordless, she
took it gently, then gave it a nibble. The scent of sugar was
strong.

Gale
pushed against me, as close to snuggling as we could get while
sitting on a cold stone step.

Why
do I find myself caring so much for this girl... this is beyond
being drawn to her because of my duties, because of the energy that
resonates in her...

Isn't
it?

“
I
can feel the pulsing in you again,” she whispered suddenly.
Looking down, I stared at the top of her head as she leaned against
my chest. “It's kind of like music, when I think about it. The
beat is different than my heart, but not by much.”

Lifting
my hand, I almost stroked her hair. Holding back, I let my arm fall
to my side instead when I felt her move.

Sitting
up enough so she could look into my eyes, she spoke with such an
innocence that it threw me off. “What's it like?”

“
What
is... what like?”

“
Being
a twaelin. Everything about it, the absorbing emotions, changing
your eyes, flying... Not dying. Tell me how it feels.”

“
You
think I can only change my eyes?” Chuckling, I ruffled the
back of my head. “Being able to change how we look is one of
the greatest abilities of the twaelin.”

“
Valenforth
said that, too.” Gale was wide-eyed, but there wasn't the
disgust I expected.

It's
because she doesn't know how it's done.

“
Do
it, then,” she challenged me. “Change yourself, go on.”

Shaking
my head, I wagged a finger in front of her nose. “Little
things, like remembering to make my eyes reflect light... those are
easy. The ability to change more than that, to become someone else?
Well, that can't be done on the spot.”

“
I
don't get it,” she admitted. “Being able to change who
you are sounds pretty great, though. Does that mean you didn't
always look like you do now?”

Gesturing
down at myself, I allowed myself to look pleased. “When my
Mistress created me, she gave me this form. I've never had a reason
to change it.”

“
Oh,”
she said, making a face. “Wait, if you could have looked less
creepy from the get go—”

“
Creepy!”

“
—
Why,
then, were you bothering with sunglasses originally?”

Glancing
upwards, my lips puckered. “Ah, well. I saw a lot of people
wearing them, so I lifted a pair. It seemed normal enough.”

She
giggled, muffling it with her sleeve. “I see, right. I think,
if I could change what I looked like, I would do something far more
drastic.”

I
ran my eyes over her, indulgent. “Why would you ever find a
need to do that?”

Her
blush was hot, exactly what I needed to break the mood. Reaching
out, I brushed my thumb across her jaw. “You're lovely, Gale.
I may be biased, since I admit I can see the most beautiful,
intriguing of energy burning inside of you. Even so,” I went
on, watching her expression shift from bashfulness to uncertainty,
“I may not be human, but I can appreciate human attraction
just fine.”

“
That's
a complicated way to say you think I'm pretty,” she mumbled.
“Honestly, I—look, I'm just not used to thinking of
myself that way. Guys never ask me out or give me the time of day.”

Trailing
my hand through her rich crimson hair, I lifted an eyebrow. “Oh?
Maybe you just never gave them a chance.”

“
Hah,
no,” she whispered, closing her eyes and thrilling under my
touch. “It isn't that. Not completely, at least. I always
thought... don't laugh, I guess I just found the whole romance thing
to be sort of a waste of energy.”

“
And
now?” I teased, knowing full well how she'd react.

The
bundle of warmth, of excitement, didn't disappoint. “Now, I
don't know. I'd be lying if I didn't admit I'm enjoying this. I feel
sort of bad, I gave Becky a hard time yesterday for how quickly she
was falling for Ethlyn—oh, shit!”

Blinking,
I sat back as she started to climb to her feet. “What's
wrong?”

“
We
left them alone, or I guess, I did,” she rambled, looking side
to side at the quiet area of street. “When I ran out of the
game tent, I... we should go back, shouldn't we?”

“
Should
we?” I asked, shrugging. “We can, if you really want. I
thought you might prefer something else, though.”

Her
hesitation was exactly what I had hoped for. “What are you
talking about?”

Grinning
wide, I rose with balanced grace. “You asked me what it was
like to be a twaelin. What it was like to fly.”

Her
attention was fixed on me, entirely and without question. I could
almost see myself reflected in her wide eyes. “I did ask that,
yeah.”

“
Then,”
I purred, reaching out a hand towards her. “Would you like to
find out?”

Gale
gawked at me, then my open palm. “You really think they're
okay on their own, do you?”

“
Yes,
I do.”

Gale
twisted to stare back out towards the nearby sounds and lights of
the festival. I could feel her emotions roiling, and had a strong
suspicion what she would decide on.

I
wasn't disappointed.

Turning
back to me, Gale took my hand.

Gale
Everette

I'd
never get used to it, feeling myself pulled through reality in such
a way that no human should ever experience.

Gasping,
I wobbled on my feet when we appeared on a beach. Nethiun grabbed me
around the middle, steadying my balance.

Grateful,
I gave him a weak smile while my guts felt like they were
rearranging. “That was less bad than the first time you did
it,” I said.

“
Perhaps
you're adjusting.”

I
didn't know about that.

Turning
around, I ran my gaze across the expanse of sand. The crashing of
the waves, wild in the rising storm, was intimidating. “Where
did you bring us?”

“
The
ocean, not too far from where your college is. Perhaps only a
hundred miles or so.”

Only
a hundred. Sure.

“
You
really can travel amazingly far, and fast, doing that thing you do.”

“
It's
called shifting. Or it's what we've always know it as, which
probably makes it the proper title.”

I
wasn't watching him, I was staring out into the beast that was the
ocean. It clawed at the shore, stole what it could with every
attack.

Pushing
my hair back, the wind only ripped it out of place again, slapping
the strands against my neck. “I've never been to the ocean
during a storm.”

“
It's
a fantastic thing, isn't it?” He stood next to me, arms folded
behind his back. I could see the wind tearing at his shirt, whipping
it like a sail on a ship.

“
Alright,
I need to ask. It's been bugging me for a bit.” Wrapping my
jacket harder, my teeth chattered, breaking my words up into pieces.
“Are you really not cold? Like, ever?”

Nethiun
turned his head, just enough to show I had his attention. “I'm
aware of it, it's just as if I'm experiencing it from a distance.”

“
So
why bother with clothes at all, then?” I joked.

“
You
make a good point.”

“
I—what?
I do?”

His
finger crawled down the front of his shirt, undoing the buttons so
fast I couldn't speak in time. “Yes, it does seem needless.”

Unable
to tear my eyes from the sight of his hard, lean chest, I forgot all
about my dignity. “Oh, no no no! I was just... it was a joke,
I mean...”

Those
quick fingers touched the top button of his trousers, making me
squeal. “Nethiun, wait!”

Laughing,
he leveled his smirk on me. “There are far better ways to get
me to take my clothes off than playing at clever jokes, Gale.”

“
I
was seriously just teasing,” I muttered, face sizzling.

He
turned back towards the water, letting his shirt billow around him.
That skin of his, it was marble in the dim light; almost glowing. He
was thin enough that I could see the lines of his ribs, but muscles
rolled beneath his flesh in an easy display of strength.

He
looks like a swimmer.
My
thoughts were stuck on him, as much as my eyes tried to not be.
Beside such a vision of beauty, I felt more like a trout than
anything else.

The
sound of the water drew me back, serving as a distraction. It let my
mind relax, my heart start to calm.

That
is, until he reached over and took my hand. “I took us here
for a reason, if you recall.”

My
eyes lit up.
Yes,
that's right, he talked about flying.
“How will we do this, what's the plan?”