Page 26 of Tear of Destiny

“I’m okay,” I begin. “Obviously it’s not easy seeing Ayden at school. But somehow, I get by.”

I feel my heart begin to flutter – the grief beginning to build up, squeezing my chest, and sucking the air out of me. I picture Ayden’s eyes, hear his voice – but I don’t want to. I need to forget about him. It’s so damn hard.

Noah very gently tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. His touch is so tender that I feel another shiver run through me. I look at Noah, at his beautiful eyes in which I can so easily lose myself. I wish everything could be different.

I don’t know why, but I hear myself say, “I talked to him again and explained everything. But sadly that didn’t change his mind.” My voice is trembling, and I hope Noah doesn’t notice.

“He’s an idiot,” he says decisively.

This makes me smirk. “You, insulting Ayden? You’ve always been so careful not say anything bad about him because you know I care about him.”

“Yeah, but in this case, it has to be said. How can a person be so rigid and stubborn? I always felt right from the start that he didn’t deserve you.”

His voice is vehement, in contrast to the affectionate way he’s looking at me and the soothing touch of his fingertips on my skin.

I can’t help smiling, even while thoughts of Ayden slice through my heart. I start babbling, to shake off the feeling and try to redirect the conversation.

“I just came back from visiting Two Trees retirement home with Kate. I’m pretty sure this old lady called Rosie knows something. I’m not sure if it has something to do with the Noctu, but Isuspect there’s one stationed there. I’ll figure it out somehow.”

“Tess, the offer still stands – I can try to find out if any of our people work there.”

I shake my head and glance at Noah’s injured shoulder. “You have other things to worry about right now. And you gave me the impression that it wouldn’t be easy to come by that information.”

“It’s no problem.”

“That’s sweet of you, but you should take care of yourself and the situation at the hospital first. And be careful. I don’t want you looking even worse next time I see you.”

I smile and gently caress his cheek. His skin is soft, warm, and touching it makes me feel good. It’s moments like this that I realize how important Noah is to me.

Chapter 11

On the way back to school, there’s so much going through my mind. Noah, Ayden, the retirement home; my great aunt, whom I don’t want to think about anymore. I wish I could somehow gain some clarity and finally get a handle on my problems. But right now, it looks as if the chaos in my life is only increasing.

My head hurts, and I feel tired and totally drained. But I want to go to the cafeteria and get myself a snack before I crawl into bed.

I hear voices drifting out of the cafeteria, which is hardly surprising. Many students eat there in the evenings. They sit around talking cheerfully or venting their problems. I stop in the doorway and rub my eyes. They’re stinging and tired. Maybe I should go straight to my room after all.

The world around me begins to flicker. Bright spots appear. I suddenly feel hot and dizzy. I take a few deep breaths and look into the cafeteria again – a big mistake. Too many people, too much noise, too many of those dazzling spots of light – and I know exactly what’s causing them. I turn on my heel, hoping to get away from here before it happens.

I stagger along the corridor, fighting to stay upright and notlose my sense of direction. But it’s hard because my senses are fading more and more. Not now, I think. I try to keep my eyes closed in the hope of bypassing my gift and not having to see the destiny threads. I don’t want to know how long they are, don’t want to know how long each person has to live. My head feels like it’s about to explode. I stumble around the next corner in a panic and collide with someone – with such force that I fall backward and land on the floor. The other person doesn’t fare any better. They fall too.

Seconds pass, which seem like minutes. I try to calm my breathing and my heart. I can’t lose control. I cautiously open my eyes a crack, afraid of what I’ll see.

To my surprise, I see two kind brown eyes. But despite their hue, they don’t look dark at all. No, they’re glowing brightly. Harsh points of light flare at me, which can only be because of my gift. It’s still trying to make the destiny threads visible to me. I recognize those eyes, although they contain none of their usual roguishness. Instead, they look at me with concern – caring and compassionate.

“We keep running into each other. Seems to be our destiny,” says Alessandro with a friendly smile, extending his hand to help me up.

I stare at him. The points of light are still flashing across my field of vision. I rub my eyes again. This has to stop!

“You okay?” he asks, gently putting his arm around my shoulders and trying to catch my eye.

I look at him, and for a moment I hold my breath. Damn it, I failed to stop it again, I think when I see the relatively short glowing golden thread extending out of his chest and waving in the air. I stare at it and feel a cold shiver on the back of my neck. He seems to have a much shorter lifespan than I’ve seen in other people our age. But how short, I can’t say.

I’m still horrified at the sight of his destiny thread. I keephaving my nose rubbed in the fact that there’s something wrong with me, that I’m different. I’m receiving knowledge that he doesn’t even have about himself.

“You can see my thread, am I right?” Alessandro probes in a gentle voice, regarding me with a warm smile.

I look at him incredulously and can’t believe my ears. “How… how do you know?” I stammer.

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