Maybe Fate: A Novel (New Adult Paranormal Romance) (34 page)

Gasping,
I scrambled to my feet and hugged myself like it was armor. “Were
you
watching
us?”

“
No,”
he spat, hovering beside the oranges that hung so heavy. “I
didn't need to. I showed up as you were finishing.”

Nethiun
rose with the grace of a dancer. “Ah, I'd never expect you to
stalk us for such perverted reasons.”

Twisting
his face into a snarl, Ethlyn narrowed his eyes on my smiling lover.
“Shut up! I wasn't trying to do that, I came to make sure you
weren't going to hurt her.”

“
How
did you even find us?” I asked, hating the idea of being crept
up on.

“
You
broadcast so much energy, you leave a slight residue trail when he
shifts with you. It isn't hard to track you down.” He
flickered out of view, then appeared so close to me I was aghast.
“Come on,” he grumbled, trying to take my hand. “Let's
go, before things get bad.”

Wrenching
away from Ethlyn, remembering everything Nethiun had said earlier
about the skin snatching, I didn't hide my horror. “Don't
touch me, I...”

His
surprise made me twinge with guilt, especially when his voice got
soft, fragile. “What's wrong? Gale, I'm only trying to help
you.”

“
She
doesn't need your help.” Nethiun hadn't moved, he still stood
only a few feet away, watching calmly. “Especially not the
help of someone so keen to kill humans, if it matters.”

Ethlyn
gaped, more baffled than I had expected. “Human killer? Is
that what you...” Recognition flooded him, turning his
surprise to jaded humor. “Oh, I get it now. You told her about
that
,
then.”

Swallowing,
my mouth dry, I nodded slowly. “I know about the skin stuff,
the consuming people to change your body.”

Ethlyn
didn't look at me, but his words were clear. “You don't know
anything.”

What
does he mean?

Unsure
about the turn this was taking, I stepped backwards, away from him.
“Just go home, Ethlyn. Please? I don't... we don't need this
to become more than it is. Everything is fine, really.”

“
No.”
Those gold orbs, warm as honey but searing as acid, rolled my way.
“No, everything isn't fine. You think I'm worse than him, some
kind of killer, but you don't have a clue about me. Fine. Fine,
then.”

The
air around him vibrated, reminding me of the rage I had felt what
seemed forever ago. That time in the construction site, the first
time he had looked down at me in anger. “Ethlyn, don't!”

He
wasn't going to listen to me, I knew it before I said anything. His
arm whipped around, ivory scarf fluttering as he aimed a blast of
bright azure energy at Nethiun.

The
explosion was loud, I covered my ears and ducked away with a scream.
Nethiun,
no!

Looking
back, I saw the giant hole in the ground where the man I loved had
been only seconds ago. My heart was jittery, hands covering my
mouth. “Nethiun! Oh, God, no! No, no!”

His
voice came from above; relaxed, if a bit tired. “Really, we
don't need to do this, Ethlyn.”

“
Oh,”
he growled, whipping his head back to see the man floating in the
sky. “We really do.”

My
relief was short lived. Stumbling back down the grass, I watched in
distress as Ethlyn zipped into the air after Nethiun.

They
were a blur, vanishing here or there, darting around to avoid or
attack. I didn't want to watch, but it was impossible to look away.

Why,
why are they doing this? They don't need to fight!

Nethiun
was faster, as far as I could tell. Before, when I had seen them
tangle, I hadn't witnessed the pale-eyed twaelin striking back.

This
time, I had a front row seat.

He
flickered in behind Ethlyn, his smirk solid. Ripping fingers and
blackened energy sank into the man's shoulder.

Ethlyn
screamed
,
a sound so awful I shook in my guts. I couldn't move, couldn't do
anything as Nethiun tore a chunk from his target.

“
Stop!
You need to stop, please!”

They
didn't listen, they didn't even look.

Grunting,
Ethlyn spun away, holding where I thought he should have been
bleeding. But there was no blood, or if there had been, it was
drowned out by a cut that hinted at something flowing and blue
inside of him.

What...
what is that?

Nethiun
vanished again, leaving Ethlyn spinning in place. It wasn't long
before the blonde appeared, flashing in with his palm aiming.

The
ball of light exploded, catching the other twaelin in his back.
Ethlyn roared, eyes wild as he hit the earth.

He's
outmatched, why is he fighting?

Nethiun
flickered in beside the crumpled man, his face too amused.
He's
enjoying this, they both are, aren't they?

“
You
should have left,” Nethiun sighed, wistful. Reaching down, he
grabbed Ethlyn, lifting him by the front of his jacket.

With
gold eyes like lava, Ethlyn swung his arm, grazing Nethiun's cheek
as a cat might. The cut was small, red blood dripping. “Shut
up, just shut up,” he hissed.

Frowning,
Nethiun slammed his fist into Ethlyn's abdomen, then dropped him to
the ground. Touching his face, he eyed the crimson on his fingers.
“Tsk, a surface wound.” With a horrible smile, he lifted
his hand, crackling onyx burning in the center. “Either way, I
hope your Corpse King is ready for you to be useless for a bit.”

“
Stop!”
I shouted, my legs pumping to take me over to the pair. Nethiun,
hearing my voice, glanced my way.

It
was a clear mistake.

With
a quick movement, Ethlyn rushed forward, slamming his head into the
man. Taking him to the earth, his palm came down, a razor that left
a baseball sized wound in Nethiun's side.

I
hadn't heard him in pain before, it was something I never wanted to
hear again.

Sobbing
in panic, I arrived as Ethlyn punched him in the jaw, sending him
hard back into the ground. “Stop it, stop! Please!”

I
didn't know what I was going to do. I surprised us all when I shoved
into Ethlyn, trying to knock him off of Nethiun. The man I loved
looked dazed.

Wide-eyed,
Ethlyn scoffed at me and grabbed me by the wrist. I winced, slamming
my foot into his knee, but he didn't seem to feel it.

Nethiun
was flat on his back, stunned by the violent attacks. I hoped he
wasn't too hurt, but my worry shifted when Ethlyn climbed to his
feet.

“
What
do you think you can do?” he asked me; voice soft, menacing.

Tears
made my eyes blurry, but I didn't miss when I slapped him across the
face. “What's wrong with you? Why are you doing this?” I
shouted.

He
stared at me, face tweaking into a sneer, even with the bitter
sadness in his eyes. “I'm showing you what we can do, what we
are. Look at us, at this.” Holding me so tight it hurt, he
pulled me close, gesturing to the awful missing chunk in his
shoulder. Inside, it was a rippling world of blue energy, nothing
human at all.

“
This,”
he hissed, “is what we are. This is what you're falling in
love with, monsters who can't die. We can't
die
,”
he repeated, eyes wild, crazed. “And we can't ever be human,
even when we do whatever it takes to make them happy, to answer
promises.”

I
didn't know what he meant, I thought he might be on the verge of
cracking. Shaking my head, crimson hair flying, I tried to hit him
again. “Just stop, just end this and leave us alone, please!
Fighting like this, it's awful! Even if you can't die, doesn't it
hurt?”

“
Does
it hurt?” He laughed; manic, it set my cells alive with
warning bells. He still held my arm, and easily, to my absolute
terror and disgust, he brought my fingers into the wound. “Of
course it hurts! But what does pain matter, what does anything
matter, when you can't die?” He laughed again, looking me
right in the eye. “When you're immortal, nothing can scare
you. Nothing.”

I
wanted to say more, but I was shaking with absolute anxiety. I was
scared, truly scared, and any words I had vanished.

No,
no, this is all wrong! How did this go so wrong?

His
gash, it felt... warm.

Inside
of me, I felt a flicker of something. It was odd, a hot ball that I
thought meant I would vomit. Instead, it grew, an electric current
that raced through me until it rolled down my limbs.

It
slid down the arm that was buried in Ethlyn, and together, we shared
a look of surprise.

But
then his look quickly changed to that of dire pain.

Screaming,
he fell to his knees, desperately yanking at my arm to get me away.
But I couldn't let go, it was like a magnet was keeping me stuck
inside the revealed world of blue and white energy.

No,
what's happened? What is this!?

Stunned,
I looked on as something in me, something that
was
me
,
sucked hungrily at the power inside of Ethlyn.

I
was pulsing with it, with him, and unable to cut off from it. “No,”
I whispered, helpless as I knew I was doing something impossible.

Somehow,
I was killing him.

Reaching
up, he tried again to push me away. That time, as I stared into the
pure fear boiling in his face, I grit my teeth and ripped away with
another sob. “No,” I heard myself say, though I couldn't
feel my mouth move. “No, no no.”

Ethlyn
shivered, hugging himself hard as he dragged his body across the
ground, away from me. “How,” he asked me, staring with
such horror. I'd never been on the other side of such a look.

I
hated it, I hated it so much.

“
How,
how did you do that?” he asked again, backpedaling until he
was crouched, panting beside an orange tree.

Around
us, the rain that had been threatening for so long finally began to
fall. I felt it hit my cheeks, my shoulders, washing down my limbs
where no hint of blood or blue remained.

Nethiun
was watching us, as he had been for some time. He was holding his
side, saying nothing.