Page 42 of Of Fate & Forbidden Desire

“Just like I do?” I found myself saying, surprising not only myself but everyone else in the car, as I reminded them I’m still here. “I need to learn how to protect myself.”

Ally’s eyes scanned me briefly as Dina puffed out her chest, ready to stab someone by the violent twist to her mouth and how her eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

“Damn right you do.” Ally stated with a sympathetic smile, that made me wonder what is going through her mind when she looks at me. I followed Ally's eyes as they shifted to Dina and her eyes rolled, “what? She needs to learn about herself as much as I do, you won’t always be there to protect her.”

Dina considered Ally’s words before reluctantly agreeing, “Fine!”

Unable to contain the squeal that comes from my mouth, I manage to refrain from taking my seat belt off and hugging her as she agrees that I could train with Ally. Not that I really understood what training would actually look like, but I was still excited to try.

“So how’s this going to work? Where would we even train them both?” Dina’s questions tempered some of my excitement.

“They’d need to be protected, but I don’t think we can afford to wait. What about your…friends?” Jace asked sceptically, meeting Dina’s eyes in the mirror.

“Will He be able to find me again?” Ally suddenly blurts out, confusing the hell out of me as she begins a completely new conversation with Jace.

“No, at least I don’t think so.” Jace mumbles as I look out the window, giving them as much privacy as I can manage, whilst also being in the same car as them.

“What have you done Jace?” Ally asked him, a cautious note to her voice.

He glanced across at her as she stared at him, before returning his eyes back to the road. “Protected you.”

“What if I don’t want protecting from him?” I’m beginning to feel a little awkward as Ally’s voice rises to a shout and I wonder just who they’re discussing.

“Tough, you don’t want him around Ally, he’s not good for you.”

“That’s my decision to make, not yours!” she shouts back at him, her fists clenching.

“No it’s not, you can’t be trusted when it comes to Him!” Jace responds quickly, not missing a beat as I finally find the courage to interrupt.

“Who’s He?” I ask, wanting to diffuse the tension rising between them.

“No one!” They both snarled back.

“Okaaay,” I muttered softly, glancing across at Dina who looked just as confused as I was pretty sure I did.

Chapter Seventeen

How can two hours feel like eternity- Dina

The drive so far had already been exhausting, and we’d only just set off. However, between the Fae arguing and discussing things I wasn’t aware of, as if they were alone, I was ready for it to be over. My phone buzzed in my pocket, drawing my attention away from their conversation. Pulling it out, I glared down at Tilly’s name, “What the hell?” I snapped, drawing everyone but Jace’s attention. Swiping my thumb across the green icon, I gave no preamble as I answered, “What’s going on?”

“I’ve just been informed that the rogue’s surfaced again,” Tilly said quietly, making all the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, “It looks like he’s heading down towards London, from what my scouts can tell me. They’re tracking him as we speak.”

“Ok, we’ll be careful, thank you for letting me know,” I tell her, not wanting to get into a lengthy discussion on the matter, glancing over at Charleene I meet her worried gaze.

“Stay safe Adrina, I don’t know who’s helping him but they must be powerful to have kept him hidden this long,” Tilly reminds me, before I can hang-up.

“I will, bye.” I say curtly, making sure nothing shows on my face as worry sets in. If we can make it to Kirby Hall before he finds us, we might have a chance of evading him. Gladys isn’t stupid, she has every protection spell known to witches placed around the old house she calls home.

“Who was it?” Charleene’s voice interrupted my thoughts. Meeting her wide eyes, I wanted nothing more than for this to all be over. For her to be safe instead of being hunted.

“No one important,” I said quickly, reaching out and cupping her cheek with my hand. Life was so unfair.What did the bastard want with her?I wondered, gazing into her stormy eyes.

“Don’t lie to me Dina, I’m not a child,” Charleene fired back, reading something in my gaze and pushing away from me. I ignored Ally’s sighs, figuring out just how much to tell Charleene. I didn’t want her panicking but she was getting too good at reading me it seemed.

“The Rogue has moved away from York, it looks like he’s stalking you, Charleene.”

“Who?” Jace interrupted as Charleene’s face paled, making her look ill.

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