Page 17 of Ruled By Fate

Maybe I should be, too.

The thought stilled her hand halfway to her mouth, and for a split second, she found herself unable to breathe. The memory of the giant shadowy monster ripping its way into her car flashed back with a rush of adrenaline, and the accompanying wave of nerves made her physically sick.

Cameron set down his glass and reached his hand across the table, pressing two fingers against her pulse and staring with sudden concern. “Are you alright?”

No. Absolutely not. I am absolutely NOT alright.

“I’m fine,” she replied quietly, staring at her plate. She didn’t want to ask. She really didn’t want to ask. She asked anyway. “Are those things that attacked my car going to come back? It happened so quickly before. I couldn’t even…” She looked up at him. “Are they going to find me?”

He sat back in the booth with his jaw set in grim determination. “If they do, I won’t let them get anywhere near you.”

She pushed her plate forward, having lost her appetite. “But how were they able to find me at all?”

He hesitated, clearly reluctant to say.

She looked at him levelly. “I deserve to know.”

He took a deep breath, then nodded. “You’re right.” His eyes flashed briefly around the diner, assessing the other patrons again before he leaned closer and spoke in a softer tone. “Do you remember what I said about where I come from? How it’s sustained by life force energy?”

She nodded quickly, latching onto every piece of information that she could. “Which you definitely do not eat.”

He flashed a glance heavenward before saying rather painfully, “Yes, which I definitely do not eat.”

He hesitated again, choosing his words with great care. “My people, and the beings from the realms above and below, can see this energy. Like ultraviolet light, it’s invisible to you, but it’s as clear as day to us. Most people, Brianna, have a life force energy that might seem as bright as a desk lamp.” He looked straight into her eyes. “Your light is more akin to a star.”

She froze.

“But when you wear that pendant, Brianna, I cannot see it at all.”

Her hand drifted up to her necklace, like someone remembering a dream.

“It was burning me,” she murmured, pushing through the trauma and putting things together for the first time. “I was taking it off. That’s why…”

He nodded slowly, regarding her intently. “It was like cracking the lid off a pot, only to find a supernova inside. It outshone the sun for my kind. And for other kinds as well.”

She leaned back, breathing hard. “But that means if it burns me again, if it ever so much as slips off, anyone can find me. Anything can find me. Except… you found me in the woods. Even after I caught it, even after I put it back on. So even with the necklace, they’ll be able to track me—”

“They won’t be able to track you,” he interrupted swiftly. “Trust me.”

“But… but how could that be?” she insisted, heart racing in panic. “Cameron, I’m telling you, that chain was back around my neck when you got there. If you could find me—”

“I found you because I was already there.” He cut her off, his voice hot with an emotion she couldn’t identify.

The two stared at each other in silence — a silence neither one knew how to break.

“Excuse me, sir?” Pam walked up beside them, plopping the bedraggled teddy bear from the claw machine on the table between them. “I think you forgot this.”

? ? ?

Brie paid the bill while Cameron went to the door to check the parking lot.

For supernatural beings trying to kill me.

Next time I ask the universe for a fresh start, I should remember to be more specific.

A few minutes later, they were back on the road. The teddy bear sat on the dash between them — a reluctant prize neither would acknowledge. She wanted to press him for more answers, but she’d never seen that expression on his face, and she’d certainly never heard him snap.

It was somehow more frightening than the thought of him throwing lightning bolts. Every time she opened her mouth to ask another question, her eyes drifted to the bear.

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