Page 6 of Called By Fate

Finally! Not that the conversation hasn’t been interesting, but I’m dying, soon to be quite literally, to get to Vin. The longer he’s gone, the less I can feel him. I hurry along after Keros, trying to keep up with his steady pace. "Your Circle will need to stay on this side to protect your body. I'm assuming the Goddess has already warned you of the liabilities should anything happen to you or your body?"

“Yes, and I’m willing to take the risk.”

"Impressive, given you will need to give him a piece of your soul, one you can never get back. This shifter must really mean a lot to you."

“I’d give it to him in a heartbeat. Not even death can take him from me.”

“Aww, I totally ship it,” Keros responds, and I gape at him. “What? I do spend days in the human realm from time to time protecting that gate with my brothers. I’ve picked up on a few human sayings.”

“This guy just keeps getting more interesting,” Dante mutters under his breath, making us all chuckle.

Keros watches us in amusement, but there’s also a wistful expression on his face, like he longs for something more before it disappears in a flash, as if it were never there at all.

He comes to a stop before the portal, and I find myself entranced by it. Up close, it’s even more mesmerizing. From far away, the black and blue looks like swirls, but up close you can make out some of the souls' features as they pass by.

"Stay focused on your task, Shadowbringer, and good luck."

Without another word or a warning, Keros pushes me into the portal and off into the land of the dead, simultaneously cutting my soul from my body as he does so. It happens so fast, there’s no time to even process it before I’m being sucked into the In-Between. Before I’m thrust away, I hear the guy’s protest, but there’s no time to waste. I’m off to find my wolf.

This whole endeavor wasn’t on my bingo card either. Man, I really need to start putting “expect the unexpected” on those. Maybe then I’d actually get a bingo.

4

The frigid air is the first thing to greet me on the other side, nipping into my skin and making goosebumps rise. I wrap my arms around my chest to try and hold in my warmth. This dress the Goddess put me in sure as hell isn’t very warm, so I call the shadows to me and wrap them around me like a cloak, keeping the chill off me then I take a deep breath and crack my knuckles.

It's time to find Vin.

But first, I pause a moment to take in my surroundings. Everything looks deserted, cracked, and barren as far as I can see. It’s dark, with barely any moonlight unlike the Goddess’ realm, and everything has a blue hue to it, making the entire landscape seem more like a mirage than anything real.

Except for me. It seems I'm the only thing with any sort of color in sight. Which makes me a target if there’s anything dangerous here, though my intuition isn’t tingling yet. If my shadows weren’t around me, concealing me, then I might as well be wearing a flashing neon sign that says,I’m not from here!

Perfect.

Wasting no more time, I close my eyes and find my center, concentrating on nothing but my mate bonds. Kaos and Dante's cords shine brightly while Reed and Elian's are there, but muted and have no color. Vin's is nowhere in sight and my heart plummets to my toes. Has he already moved on?

Surely not, or Keros wouldn't have let me into the In-Between, right?

Wait!

There it is—the faintest light. It starts to grow beside the others, and I stroke it, trying to imbue it with my energy, coaxing it back from the brink. Once it stops flickering and the energy strengthens, I pull on it and beg my magic to take me to Vin. My body jolts forward, faster than my eyes can track. I jerk to an abrupt stop, and the sight before me almost brings me to my knees.

"What? How? How are you still here?" I choke back tears, barely believing my eyes.

"Oh, kiddo," my dad breathes. "You look… so grown up."

I can’t believe I almost forgot what he looks like when we share the same cheekbones and facial structure. Even his beard is still scruffy, which I remember always prickling me when I hugged him. Seeing him is like a punch straight to my gut because I’ve missed him so damn much.

“That's because I am,” I respond and rush forward, not able to take the distance any longer. My dad was always a hugger. I attempt to wrap my arms around him, but I pass right through him, making him laugh.

"Hey, that totally tickled." When he sees my tears starting to fall, he sobers. "I'd love nothing more than to wrap you in one of our famous bear-hugs, kiddo, but I can't. I've been here too long to have any substance left to me."

"Why are youstillhere, Dad? I figured you would have already moved on…"

He smiles sadly at me and reaches his incorporeal hand up to stroke my cheek. The chilly air his hand feathers across my face brings me a small amount of comfort. “Unfinished business, tiger. Your mom knew you'd have to come here one day.”

Tears sting the back of my eyes, and I open my arms for him again. He gets as close as he can without passing through me, and I pretend to lay my head on his shoulder like I used to when I was little, and he’d pick me up into his arms. "Oh, Dad. I've missed you so much. How could you just leave me like that? Especially with him?" My words surprise me as I thought I’d shoved those feelings deep down in my mental box but seeing him brings them all to the forefront of my mind.

His jaw clenches and he glances away. "Your mom and I suspected danger would follow you and Skylar, which is why we tried so hard to keep you both safe. You two were never supposed to end up with that bastard brother of mine, but he—he killed your mother. After that, I knew I had to do everything in my power to keep you and Skylar safe, but it still wasn’t enough. Your brother filled me in on the details when he passed, and it enraged me. Your uncle wasn’t always this way…"

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