Fate's Revenge (Twisted Fate, Book 4)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"Nothing." I shrugged. "Well, I could hear Suzie's thoughts, but I figure that was just because she's human and I'm human, and everyone else is either dead or never born. But then..."

She cocked an eyebrow. "And then what?"

I swallowed hard and took a deep breath and started tracing the rim of my empty cup. "When I went back to Hell's Fire I could hear Tyler speaking in my mind even though he was unconscious. I heard Gabe, too, but..." I let go of the breath I'd been holding and sucked in another. "Gabe and I were goofing around, racing through the halls of Glory Academy. We decided to bet on who could win. It felt great, you know? Running. I was free from all the stupid obligations I didn't ask for and having to constantly think about everything. There was nothing running through my mind but taking the next step."

She nodded like she understood. I held her gaze. Could anyone understand? They all had talents, but nothing like this. They knew their purpose, as well as what they were capable of. I didn't.

"One of the rules to the race was not using our gifts to cheat so that we could win. I thought I couldn't do anything. I'd heard Tyler already, but Gabe's thoughts weren't until later, and even then, I didn't tell him what I heard."

"What did you hear?"

"It doesn't matter," I said. There was no point telling her I knew Gabe had come to see her.

"So, what were the terms?"

"Huh?" I looked up from the tabletop to meet her gaze. "What do you mean?"

"What did you get if you won?"

"Oh. That." I shook my head. "If I won, he would try to take me home, but there was no guarantee he could. He wanted me to talk to Suzie and Mike if he won. Try work things out, I guess."

"Work out?"

"I, uh... I guess they're in love."

"Really?" Both her eyebrows shot up to hide beneath her hairline. "Why would that bother you?"

"Before I left for Hell's Fire, Mike was with me. I woke up and saw them kissing," I told her, shrugging it off even though I felt the burn in my face. Saying it aloud to someone else made it more real, and so much more embarrassing. The images the words provoked were hard to ignore.

Lachesis looked at me thoughtfully and then sighed. "I think you should do as Gabe asked. Hear what they have to say and maybe you'll learn it isn't what you think."

It looked like she wanted to say something else, but she wouldn't meet my gaze for me to figure out what it might be. For any other subject, I would have pushed for more. But this I was okay with avoiding.

I cleared my throat and went back to the subject that I did want to discuss, simply because it was easier and she was acting like she might tell me something I didn't already know. "It felt like I was flying, running with Gabe down the halls. When we stopped, I realized I won. But then he was looking at me funny. It was weird, you know? I was out of breath and exhausted, but I felt good. Amazing. And Gabe looked at me like he didn't even know me.

"It didn't last, though. Just a moment. Then he went back to caring, asking how I was and keeping me on my feet. As it turns out, the feeling like I was flying was really me floating."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"Probably." I shrugged and shifted in my chair. "Floating sounds less supernatural. Plus, I think with flying you have to gain a certain level of speed or something. I don't know." I sighed. "Now, explain it."

"Well," she said, coughing into her hand. "Before you turned eighteen your abilities hadn't developed fully. They were transitioning from experience, but they were separated from each other. The barrier tamed it. When you reached the anniversary of your birth, the barrier dissolved and everything else flourished."