Page 66 of Understanding Fate

So far, so good.

Laying her down, I arrange the cushions around her before grabbing the first aid kit I’d pulled from under the kitchen sink. With a light hand, I clean the bite mark, removing theblood and excess venom from her skin, watching the punctures for any sign of healing.

Slow clapping behind me makes me stand ready to fight before I realize Ghost is still on the camera phone on the mantle.

“Looked like you’d done it a hundred times,” he says, with no hint of sarcasm in his tone but rather a bit of reverence, which is unlike him.

Ceremony and tradition aren’t his things.

“Thank you for witnessing today. I realize we have asked a lot of you in the last few weeks,” I say, trying to find the words to convey my respect and gratitude.

“It was my honor. She’s a pistol, and I don’t envy you having to put up with her stubbornness for the rest of time, but know she is your strength, your sword. Your job now is to be her shield. Protect her light,” he says.

The severity of the words hangs in the air, and I look back down at her, lying peacefully, almost as if asleep.

She’s always been my light.

“I will,” I say, meaning every promise the words carry. “She will be out for a while. Most Awakenings I’ve seen take at least an hour. Take care of your mission and call back once you're clear, and Ghost, be careful.” The words feel right coming out, despite the fact that they are the last ones I said to him before he gave himself up to save Dante.

“Always am,” he says, and I speak again before he hangs up.

“Why the block code? On the phone, why’d you use that day?” I ask, needing to know why a day that cost so many their lives would be used on her phone.

It’s a moment before he answers.

“I touched him. Dante, I mean. It wasn’t intentional, but we were getting our final gear on, and the truck hit a pothole.I reached out to steady him before I even thought about it,” he says, shrugging as the pieces fall into place in my mind.

He knew.

Before we ever started. He knew what would happen.

Fuck.

“Thank you,” I say, trying to form words. “For saving him. For saving us all.”

“Some things are bigger than all of us,” he says just as movement at my feet pulls my attention.

No.

It’s too soon.

Chapter 26

Bri

The sound of muffled voices slowly pulls me back to awareness. The burning sensation that enveloped me with his bite had me seeing stars before there was only darkness. Every nerve in my body felt singed by the lava that erupted in my veins. Fire consumed me, and at its peak, only pain existed.

Once the darkness took over, there was peace. Silence that felt like renewal as healing followed the burn like a salve.

“Firefly?” Cain’s voice is closer now, and I can almost feel the proximity of his hand before it touches me. His palm connects lightly with my cheek.

My eyes sluggishly peel themselves open, and the first thing I register is the concern etched into his forehead.

Oh no… what’s wrong?

“How long was I down?” I ask, rolling my shoulders to find them not stiff or tight but reactive as I sit up.

Cain’s eyes are examining and dissecting every inch of me. His eyes stop on the flesh of my shoulder where he bit me.

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