Page 78 of My Karmic Destiny

Instinct warns me to be wary.

“I fought her and won,” she admits.

“Fought who?” I ask before the other two can comment.

Kurtis and Dante glance at me and fortunately take my cue.

“Instant Karma was inside me, trying to take over,” she says, but the way she shivers seems overplayed. Or is that the exact right response to being possessed?

Fuck. I like to believe that I’d know if it was my Tessa in control again, but what if I’m wrong? But this doesn’t feel like her.

“What? When?” I suck in a breath, playing stupid. Maybe we can catch her in a lie. I keep talking so Instant doesn’t take off again. “For how long?”

“Not long. This last week.”

“Oh, good.” I sigh with relief. “I thought maybe when we were, you know… intimate. That it might not have been you.”

“You don’t have to worry.” She smiles gently and holds out her hand as an invitation for me to join her on the couch.

Dante abruptly stands and moves toward the exit. He pauses and looks at her. “Tessa, I’m glad you’re okay. But I’m sorry. I’m not strong enough. I can’t be part of this.” He waves his hand at Kurtis and me. “Good luck,” he says sadly, then storms off.

She glowers at the spot where he disappeared from view.

He wants us to retreat. Perhaps we need a better game plan. And Instant seems like she wants us for some reason, so I don’t think she will leave.

“Uh, I need to rest and think about what I need. This is all a lot to process. And I haven’t slept right in days.” I watch for her reaction. “I hope you understand.”

Her jaw flutters with irritation, but she tries to keep her face neutral.

“Fine,” she grumbles.

Kurtis frowns. “I should probably do the same. We all need to assess what’s going on. You said some pretty rude things to me via text.”

The same texts were tampered with by Instant, but I don’t bring that up. It’s a good enough excuse.

“But that wasn’t me,” she snaps.

“Karma advised us to be cautious about starting new relationships, as we were on our healing journey. This drama is triggering me,” Kurtis admits, and damn if he doesn’t sound sincere. I think he is. “I hope we can talk tomorrow when my head is clearer.”

Tessa’s quietly seething as we walk out.

Kurtis glances at me a few times as we climb the stairs, but he doesn’t say a word.

We pop into Dante’s room without knocking. He’s pacing and pulling on his dark locks. “The Club,” he mouths.

Without hesitation, we all transport to just outside of Tessa’s sacred circle and then cross over into the space.

“That wasn’t her.” Dante appears to be losing his mind. “Do you think Tessa… that she’s…”

“We should contact Death,” Kurtis suggests.

“No. Hypnos,” Dante counters. “One of us can try dreaming to call to him.”

“I believe I’m the only one of us who can lucid dream,” I say. “Which we’ll need to use to our advantage.”

“He might not even answer,” Kurtis argues, grabbing my arm like I’m about to jump off a cliff. “What if he isn’t really helping us, but Instant.”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take. If he kills me, so be it,” I say bluntly.

---