Page 60 of Veil of Death and Shadow

I was lucky enough to have Amto Amani for the first decade of my life, to feel the power of that kind of love and protection—but Sora had been shuffled through the system longer than her memory could place. Still, she always had such a clear vision of what she wanted, and, even more impressive, the belief that she’d achieve it. For as long as I’d known her, she’d devoted every ounce of her being to chasing after the life that she wanted, the life that she deserved. It was a devotion she extended to those less fearless in cultivating the same kind dreams.

“Is it possible,” Levi said, his words slow and tentative, as his stare found mine, “that maybe you aren’t cursed? That maybe these people you’ve known were always destined to die when they did? That they were lucky to have you in their lives at the end—a final nod of gratitude from the world they were leaving?”

Sora gasped, her eyes wide. “Nowthatis a reading of the situation I can actually get behind.”

Breath lodged in my chest as his words rolled over and then through me. It wasn’t a frame I’d ever considered before.

But at the end of the day, did it even matter?

Curse or not, I still always ended up in the same position every time—alone, with the people I cared about gone.

The three of us sat in silence for a few minutes, until Levi stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants. “I should get going.”

“You sure?” I asked, feeling partially responsible for the turn in conversation. “We didn’t mean to scare you off with Sora’s Ted Talk. If you want, we can officially veto any more fate or curse conversation.” I grimaced. “That would be my preference generally, if I’m being honest.”

“No, you didn’t scare me off. This was—nice, actually. I should get back though. I’ve been out for a while and people will be looking for me. Thank you for inviting me to join you both. I had fun and this was certainly a better turn from where my day started.” He smiled down at us, though there was something almost sad in the downward dip of his eyes as they locked on Sora, and then on me. There was an intensity in his stare that seemed to crawl over my skin. “You won’t remember me or this night, but I hope you both get everything you want out of life. And good luck with your move.”

There was a strange finality in his words, but he was hiking back up towards the trail before either of us had a chance to respond.

10

MAREENA

Present Day

“Hear me out,” Aidan said, blocking my path. I didn’t usually stop by the med center this early, but since I stayed up most of last night experimenting with some baked goods, I figured it was best to clear out some room in the diner. “You and I—dinner and one drink tomorrow. I could use a night out, and I think you could use a meal that you don’t have to cook as well.”

My stomach dropped at the earnest plea on his face. Something about saying no to Aidan felt like finding a dog and dropping it off at the shelter. There was no feeling good about it, no matter what the circumstances were. Even if, odd as it may seem, the shelter was the safest place for the dog, its best chance of reuniting with its family.

“I told you before,” I said, shifting around him to start organizing some of the supplies a few people brought in this morning. I didn’t work here anymore in any sort of official capacity, but old habits were hard to kill, and if I was going to be here, might as well make myself useful. “I don’t think it’s a goodidea. We’re better off as friends and,” I turned around to face him, hoping he could read the sincerity in my face as clearly as I tried to infuse it in my words, “I really don’t want to complicate things. You’re a good guy, a great one, even, but I’m not in the space for dating or anything serious right now.”

It was the truth, for all the reasons I’d originally turned him down the first time he asked, but also because, for the last week, my thoughts had been incessantly circling around Kieran and that whirlwind of an evening at Incendiary.

In fact, memories of that night had been occupying my thoughts so thoroughly that I’d half-convinced myself that I saw him creeping at the window a few minutes ago. It was just a brief flash, there and then not, but enough to prove that Kieran had gone from plaguing my dreams with spicy flashbacks of that night, to haunting my waking reality as well.

Fucking figured.

Best sex of my life, and the guy immediately bailed.

Like, what the hell was that? Feeding me some line about forgetting him and then just dipping before I even got the feeling back in my legs? Who did that?

More than anything, I was annoyed with myself for being so annoyed with him.

Hadn’t he told me that it was a one-time thing?

Hadn’t those always been my rule anyway?

Hell, wasn’t that the exact thing I was trying to outline for Aidan now?

No attachments, casual.

But to go from intense, life-changing sex in one minute, to leaving me alone in a dark alley the next had been more than a little jarring, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that my ego was a little bruised.

Maybe that was just how demons fucked. The whole point of a club like Incendiary.

Not that I knew what kind of demon he even was. The possibilities had been plaguing my thoughts though. There’d been no wristband on his arm signaling he was human.

“I never said I was looking to walk you down the aisle, Mareena,” Aidan said, his entire face lighting up with the kindness baked inside of his smile. “Casual works for me, but so does friendship. I like talking to you. Do you like talking to me?”

---