Page 75 of Conflicted Fate
“Oh, shut up!” I giggled, whacking him.
He growled playfully and snatched me up, kissing me thoroughly enough that the world began to spin from lack of oxygen.
“Phew,” I said as he finally set me back down. “I’m dizzy.”
Then the room was suddenly filled with green light as a figure appeared near the entrance. A woman, vibrant and free.
“Thank you,” Fate said. “Both of you.”
We both nodded.
“There’s not much I can grant you, but if there is, ask it,” she said, spreading her hands wide.
“Nothing for me,” Kiel said. “Being able to undo all the bad I did is enough for me.”
Fate smiled. “Of course. And you?” she asked, turning to me.
I looked away, smiling. “Thereisone thing,” I said, feeling all shy and girlish for the first time in forever.
“Name it.”
“Well,” I said awkwardly, “I neverdidget my Fate Night. And I know those aren’t really things anymore. But, well, everyone always said youknowif someone is your mate. And I was just wondering if, you know …”
I looked over at Kiel, who was doing his best to fight a big smile.
Fate laughed, a light titter that carried over us.
“You don’t need me to confirm what you already know,” she said. Then she was gone, just like that.
Leaving me alone with my mate.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Iprepared myself for the unrelenting downward weight on my shoulders as I approached the stone marker, one of dozens in the fenced-off field. To a neutral observer, there was nothing special, nothing different, about that one compared to the others. It stood near the same height, was of similar color, and had no unique markings on it.
To me, it was the only one that existed. The rest might as well be invisible, objects I was intellectually aware had meaning to others, but to me, they were just pieces of stone. That one,thatwas the one that mattered.
Yet as I reached out, dragging my fingers along the curved top, that brutal, miserable wave of guilt never materialized.
“Hey, sis,” I said, dropping to a squat as I traced the outline of the letters etched into the surface.
Lanna Saunders
I braced myself again for a wave of self-loathing, ofshe would still be here if you hadn’t fucked upthoughts. They always greeted me at Lanna’s grave like a deluge of rain. But not that time.
“Listen,” I said, tapping the stone gently to get her attention. “I miss you. I wish you could be here. I wish you could meet Kiel. I think you would have liked him. He treats me well, makes me laugh. And he’s pretty cute, too.”
Standing nearby, Kiel chuckled at my observation but refrained from speaking. This was a me moment, and he wasn’t about to ruin that.
“There’s something else,” I said, head bowing. “I know I’ve always come here and apologized for what happened. As if that would make a difference, as if it could bring you back. But it can’t. I know that now, Lanna. That’s another thing Kiel’s helped me with. He’s helped me realize it’s not my fault. That I can’t go on blaming myself for what happened to you. I hope you can understand.”
I fell silent, waiting, wondering if there would be a sign, any sort of indication from the universe that Lanna was okay with my self-forgiveness, or if she would hold a grudge.
But nothing happened. No thunder sounded in the distance. No birds sang in raucous chorus. Simply silence.
“Thank you,” I whispered, pressing my head to the gravestone, wishing against all wishes that I could talk to Lanna one more time. Just to say goodbye properly.
But that wasn’t the way it worked. I couldn’t control time any more than I could have controlled Fate. Though, I guess perhaps I’d gotten closer than most.
