Page 80 of My Karmic Destiny

Well, that’s disconcerting. I may never see this image of him again in his godly form, but I’m sure if I survive the battle with Instant that Hypnos will be keeping an eye on me.

If gaining another god’s attention is the price for getting Tessa back, I’ll gladly pay it.

I’d pay with my very life if it means she can live freely again.

If I’m gone, I know Dante and Kurtis will be good to her.

But damn, I want to hold her in my arms and kiss her one more time.

30

NOT ENOUGH

TESSA

I’m losing this battle… again.

Every time I get knocked back, I think of my guys, vulnerable to her evil ways, and I find another wave of energy to attack.

But Instant is a wily sort. Just when I think I have a hold of her, she slips away and beats me back. I’ve been in and out of the darkness. Gathering strength and bubbling to the surface to fight and then plunging into limbo repeatedly. I can tell she’s weakening.

My only fear is that she’ll use my guys to power up. If she destroys them, I will lose my motivation to go on.

We fight on the boardwalk for what feels like hours, but perhaps it’s only minutes in the real world.

Plunged into the darkness, I struggle to reclaim my body again. Then I hear her talking with the guys. She’s pretending to be me. That I’ve won and have returned to them.

Eventually, I can see a fuzzy sight… they don’t seem to be jumping into her arms in joy. They know. They can sense it’s not me running the show.

Or at least, I hope that’s what has them pulling away.

“Tessa, you should have told us right away when you sensed something was wrong.” Kurtis is practically yelling. Part of himisfrustrated that I didn’t come back after those upsetting texts to talk it out.

That was my own insecurity getting the better of me. I expected the worst for my life. I allowed confusion to wear me down, making me vulnerable. And now, here I am. Fucked.

“So you are going to be mad at me forever?” Instant yells back, using me like a puppet.

“You’ve made a mess of things. I don’t think I can forgive you.” Evan chimes in, glaring at me—no, at Instant.

I feel her energy faltering. Their emotional attacks are weakening her. Good.

Then power trickles into me. But how? My attention catches on Dante then. He’s been quiet. When I take a hard look, he appears to be in some sort of trance. Is he sending me energy?

Using that little boost, I pull on her cosmic energy, hoping to finally capture her this time.

Instant snarls at them, “Fuck this.”

She transports me to the rocky, narrow beach below her property. I’m sure it’s the farthest she can go because of how weak she is.

But I don’t have enough strength to fight either. I’m being drained too fast.

Then I feel it… my energy returning, flowing into me. Yet, it seems to be more than that. It feels like raw power. I follow the thread down and sense all three of my guys on the other end, completely focused on me now. My soul.

Are they… praying?Believingin me?

Holy shit.

A glow fills my astral vision. Their ability to channel their devotion is incredible. It makes sense why Instant wants them as her devotees.

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