Maybe Fate: A Novel (New Adult Paranormal Romance) (47 page)

Valenforth
took a step, leaning over Ethlyn with a curved sneer. “I'm the
Corpse King, I want
everything
to return to death. I couldn't accomplish that with the twaelin,
with us being so god damn
undying.
But now, with her, I have a solution.”

Looking
my way, he flashed a black smile. “Thanks to Gale Everette, I
can destroy the twaelin. Then, finally, the rest of the world.”

Ethlyn
bared his teeth, his features becoming savage. “You never
wanted to die, did you?”

“
No,”
Valenforth admitted, shrugging casually. “That part was a lie.
I don't care what happens to me, as long as I can bring destruction
to both these worlds first.”

The
servant pulled back his arm, arcs of energy so bright they were
almost white. It lit up his face, his eyes, until his hair floated
behind with his movement.

The
Corpse King lifted a hand, his body flaring with a brief wave of
power. Before my eyes, Ethlyn screamed, the sound cutting off as he
swished away in a sizzle of heat.

He
was simply gone.

Beneath
me, Nethiun gave a shuddering breath. His energy was drifting away
as well. “Gale, you have to do this. Kill him. I promised you
I would keep you safe, this is the only way to do that. Now... you
must swear you'll destroy him. Promise me, Gale.”

Pressing
my lips to his, I said nothing. If I tried, it would only come out
in tears.
I
promise, I promise,
I
thought in silent sadness.

Under
me,
in
me,
I
felt his energy fade away. I didn't know where it had gone, just
that Nethiun was no more.

There
wasn't even a body.

Hard,
chilly, the floor was soothing on my forehead. I heard Valenforth's
footsteps, but I didn't move.

I
need to destroy him, I need to do it.

He
killed Ethlyn, tricked all of us.

It's
because of him, I...

Opening
my eyes, I stared at my reflection in the shiny floor. Watching
myself, I saw the last of my tears streaking my pale skin.

“
I'm
sorry it had to go like this,” Valenforth whispered over me. I
sensed him, knew if I raised my head even a little I would see his
shoes. “It was the only way.”

I
almost asked him 'why' he was doing this. But then, I realized I
didn't care about his reasons.

Sitting
up on my knees, I gazed into his hard face that seemed so far away.
All
I need to do is grab him, and then he's dead.

Gritting
my jaw, I whipped my hand out, digging my fingers into his ankle. I
expected energy to flow, power to buzz inside of me; for any of the
signs that whatever existed in my body was reacting.

I
only felt the texture of his clothing, then heard his crude laugh as
it echoed. Valenforth kicked me, sending me skidding with a cry of
pain.

“
Why
would you even bother trying that?” he asked me, tilting his
head slowly.

Gripping
my side, I forced ragged air into my lungs.
Why
didn't that work?

As
if reading my mind, he spoke gently as he stalked towards me. “Oh,
Gale. You know so little, in the end. Even after you've learned so
much.”

Reaching
down, he grabbed the front of my sweater, lifting me until we were
nose to nose. “I brought you back to
life
,
Gale! Me! You've got some of my energy in you, it's how I messed up
your memories.”

Shaking
his head at me, like I was the saddest thing he'd seen, he put his
other hand around my throat. I felt so vulnerable, I instantly began
kicking at him, tugging at his sleeves. “Gale,” he
hissed into my ear, “putting a bit of me inside of you, it was
my safety net. You believed everything I said, and now, you can't
hurt me because
I
won't let you!
”

Gagging,
my nails digging into his flesh harmlessly, I shut my eyes.
Is this really it? I guess I've died before, maybe it won't be so
bad to experience it again.

Breathing
was hard, my wind pipe making a grisly whistling noise.

He
put part of his energy in me, to bring me back. How could I have
known? How...

Then
I thought about it; that odd, hard ball of sickness that twitched in
me when I tried to remember things. When I'd first woken up, I'd
felt it, too.

It
had been fading over time, since he'd revived me. Surely,
maybe—maybe it meant it couldn't be as strong as he suspected?

I
thought about the power in me, how it would ripple and shine,
letting me sense the twaelin. It was what made the back of my skull
tingle, what made my tongue numb and swollen.

Focusing
inwards, ignoring the sensation of being suffocated, I
reached
inside of myself.

It's
warm, and white, and... and there.
Like
a bit of dirt on a porcelain floor, I reached out for the blight.

My
hand rested on my stomach, clenching, pulling at what was in me. The
heat grew, building to a crescendo.

Opening
my eyes, I saw that Valenforth was staring at me in abject shock. In
my hand between us, I held a small fistful of energy; blue as the
creature I'd seen him become while fighting.

We
both watched as it faded away to white, crawling back into me,
reabsorbed.

In
that split second, I saw fear in his eyes. It was a fear that grew
when my fingers sank into his forearms, energy rippling along my
muscles.

Screaming
at the top of his lungs, he let go of my throat. My desperate gasp
for oxygen was sharp, it hurt deep. Grateful, I breathed in even
harder, filling my chest.

“
Let
go,” he begged, pushing at me weakly. His power, strength, it
was all fading so quick. I felt us fall, his legs giving way.

Kneeling
over him, I stared into his frightened eyes, watched him turn white
as cheese.

“
Please,”
he said, “please, don't kill me. Not now.”

Shaking
my head, I gripped him tighter as the energy pulsed. “I
promised.”

Soon,
he closed his eyes. His head hit the floor, like he wanted nothing
more than to sleep. “So this is what death feels like,”
he whispered. “Why is everyone so afraid of such peace?”

I
bit my tongue, refusing to speak.

“
Gale,”
he said abruptly, struggling to open his eyes. “You're going
to become more powerful than anything, or anyone. Do you understand
that? You have the power of every twaelin inside of you now. All of
the sources.”

Tensing
up, my hair rose on end, nagging like healed scabs. “All of
them? No, I only have two. The Queen, and now you.”

Chuckling,
he shook his head feebly. “No, you have all of us. Creation
was there from the start.”

“
I—no,
how is that...”

“
It's
what pulled us all to you. The combination of Creation, and a
human... so unheard of. It drove is like you were a great magnet. It
made Ethlyn think he loved you, and broke him in the end. It let you
do so much we could never do as just twaelin.” Snorting, he
turned his face away, his smile sad. “Who would have ever
thought it, a human becoming so powerful. Or maybe you're no longer
human, who knows. Who...”

He
said no more, I watched as his body crumpled away, becoming nothing
but swirls of blue energy.

Alone,
I sat there in the throne room. Holding up my hands, I gazed at my
palms in a daze.

What
he said, can it be true? But how, how could I...

Holding
my face, I bent low on the floor. I had no more tears in me, my sobs
were dry. Inside of me, I felt the swirling energy, thought how
pointless it all was.

What
did it mean to be a god, a human, a twaelin? Any of it?

Hanging
my head, my hair fell around me like a curtain. I wanted to get
away, I wanted—I wanted Nethiun back.

“
Give
him to me,” I said softly. Then, clenching my jaw, I began to
shout. “Give him to me! Give him back!” Fists slammed
into the hard ground, splitting my skin, but I felt nothing.

I
want him back... I want him back more than anything.

Behind
my eyelids, I saw spots of color. I assumed they were from the
tension, the stress, until they began to bloom into a white so
intense I couldn't escape it.

Opening
my eyes, lashes fluttering, I found the smokey throne room to be
gone. Instead, I gaped at nothing but glowing energy, everywhere. It
was as if I'd fallen straight into the sun.

Standing
on trembling legs, I turned in a circle. “Where am I?” I
asked, expecting no answer.

“
Inside
of you, of all your energy.”

Spinning,
I found a man I had never seen before. He was as white as everything
else, save for his hair; a long braid of crimson. Grey eyes stared
back at me, an expression of tender familiarity. In my heart, I knew
who it was.

“
You're
the Duke of Creation, aren't you?”

He
smiled sweetly, reaching out for my hands. I let him take them, too
stunned to know what else to do. “I am, Gale. It's wonderful
to finally see you like this, I always wondered how you would turn
out.”

Lifting
my eyebrows, I yanked my arms back. “No, wait. Who
are
you?”

Laughing,
he pushed some loose strands of his hair behind his ears. “In
a way, I guess I'm your father.”

That
was too much for me. “No, that doesn't make any sense.”

The
corners of his eyes crinkled. “I know it doesn't. I never
expected it to happen, either. Let me try to explain it for you.”
Rubbing his chin, he stared off to the side. “Your mother and
I, we began seeing each other about a year before you were born. At
the time, I wasn't sure what I was getting into. But Carolyn, well,
she was far more confident than I. Confident in what we were, in
what we were becoming.”