Fate's Revenge (Twisted Fate, Book 4)

Chapter Fifty-Four

A/N: Happy New Year! Here's to a happy and productive 2023 :) :)

"Wanna go check out the gym?" Tyler asked as we walked down the hallway, away from the cafeteria.

After an hour of almost sleeping but never quite succumbing because my mind was too full, Hailey and Tyler had knocked on my door. Eager to clear my head, to find a way to distract myself until Gabe returned, I agreed to go with them for supper. Maybe it would lull me to sleep.

"I'm so full I can't move," I said. "I swear I ate enough to feed my grandchildren. Ugh. Why'd you have to wake me for this? It's like, torture."

"How about the library?" Hailey asked. "You don't have a reason not to go there, do you?"

I stopped walking and Tyler coughed.

"You mean since Suzie won't be there?" I asked, swallowing.

Hailey looked down to the floor. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean... I just thought... You said you were too full to move, so you couldn't go to the gym. You sit and read in the library. I wasn't thinking."

Tyler looked away from Hailey, who appeared close to tears, and widened his eyes at me as though to say, "Say something." She looked broken, like hurting others, whether it was intentional or not, pained her more. If I had any chance of getting past Suzie's death, the people around me couldn't be walking on tip-toes, afraid of saying the wrong thing.

"You don't have to avoid talking about her," I said, "but I'm too tired for the library tonight. How about tomorrow?"

"Really?" She looked up.

I smiled, nodded, and just like that, Hailey was happy again. We started walking and she skipped ahead, humming an unfamiliar tune. Like a lullaby, it soothed. Given a choice, I would trade all the gifts I'd realized for a smidge of her pleasure despite where she was and the fact that she was dead. To be able to compartmentalize like that was the most unbelievable ability I'd seen someone wield.

"You should tell her how you feel," I told Tyler, keeping my voice soft so Hailey couldn't hear.

He glanced up, first at Hailey and then at me. "It's forbidden to have a relationship at Glory Academy."

"Things change."

"Not that much, they don't."

We turned the corner and began walking down the hall where my dorm could be found. Hailey stayed ahead. I hurried to say what I wanted to in case she decided she didn't want to wait and came back to fetch us. Although considerate, it was the last thing I wanted right now.

"Mike was with Suzie and before that he was kissing me."

"Wait. What? I thought you were with Gabe?" His gaze remained on Hailey, an expression like hope spreading, almost reaching his eyes.

"Exactly. Do we look like we're hiding?"

"Well, considering you've been in your room since coming back..." He shrugged.

I slapped him with the back of my hand in his stomach but laughed. "I'm serious!"

"Yeah, but you're all like, important. We're just Pure Souls, and until you helped us, not even that. It's different."

"No, not really."

"They are Brothers, Aly, and you are our leader. Suzie... well, she was different. She wasn't dead." He glanced at me with a silent apology and I waved his blunder away—at least he hadn't said yet. "She had visions, which made her important."

"All of you are important. To me. And since I'm your leader, that's what matters."

I looked up and saw Hailey paused outside the door of my dorm. She seemed paralyzed, frozen, but then that could mean her never-ending supply of energy had finally run its course. There was no guessing about it—she was acting weird.

When we were two doors down, I stopped and put my hand out for Tyler to pause. Hailey didn't notice. It amazed me when things worked out, even if it wasn't for me.

"You never had the chance to meet them, but there is a couple—Pure Souls—that fell in love," I told Tyler, and tried to keep my voice down while speaking fast. "Sera and Keston. They fell in love and planned to keep their relationship hidden, see each other during down time after they graduated."

"So, what? The Brothers punished them and now they're gone?"

"Actually, they are gone. I don't know where, but that's not the point. When they took their placement exam, they didn't qualify the same, and they knew that meant they couldn't see each other at all. Each type of angel has their own domain for which they rule over and thrive within. Only He and the Brothers supersede this rule, so they filed a petition. The Brothers granted them a meeting for their request to be together to be heard. In the end, the Brothers didn't say no. Instead, Sera and Keston have been given an assignment. Pass, and they prove they can be together without their duties being affected. Lose and... Well, I don't know what would happen then."

Tyler stared at me for a moment and then rolled his eyes, chuckling. "That's supposed to be comforting?" He shifted his weight, looking as though he was considering what I was saying, and then looked back to me. "Say I'm willing to try. To tell Hailey how I feel and hope she thinks of me as more than a friend. We must leave to prove ourselves? You can't prove love, Aly. It just is."

"The Brothers know Sera and Keston are in love. They have to prove they can be in love without it compromising their competency within the field they've been deemed suitable."

"So, basically, we'd have to fight to be together."

"I hope not." I looked up to Hailey, who was shaking her head like coming out of a trance but was still transfixed on the door. "Things are changing, Tyler. The Brothers are experiencing love. Pure Souls need different rules to compensate for their time spent as humans. If Sera and Keston succeed, it'll make it easier, pave the path I've been planning once I am truly in charge and not just some figurehead everyone expects too much from."

"Uh, Aly?"

Hailey had turned so she was facing us, but her eyes continued to dart between where we stood and the door. Her behaviour went beyond strange. Had she found a drug lord in Heaven? It looked as though she was detoxing, her body twitchy and her movements jerky. Even her voice was shaky in comparison to her usual cheer.

"Look, Tyler, all I'm saying is that you should think about it," I said and began walking. Quickly, I added, "You'll never know what she feels if you don't. From the way Hailey looks at you when you aren't busy looking at her, I'd say you won't be disappointed. Besides, you never know. Taking a chance and letting it work out doesn't mean it's doomed to fail."

We reached Hailey before Tyler could reply and he automatically went to her side. They both faced the door I had my back to so we could keep talking. She barely acknowledged our approach, her expression unchanging. It appeared contagious. I looked from Hailey to Tyler, shocked to see he'd adopted the very same expression.

What's so special about my door? Had Renalda placed a spell on it?

I narrowed my eyes and sighed. Slowly, drawing and holding a deep breath, I turned around. Again, what was so special about a door? Wood. Door handle. Hinges and frame. It was just like any other I'd seen, different design but same function.

But... it wasn't the door—closed when we left but now wide open—that shocked them into providing their full attention.

My jaw dropped, my mouth went dry, and then a tsunami swelled up through my body to escape from my eyes. Shock? Oh, yeah. Relief? Even more. Drop-to-my-knees-and-exalt-the-Sisters happy? Not even Christmas combined with my birthday and Easter with an unlimited number of boxing matches for which I could participate in would beat the way I felt.

A laugh burst out on the end of my first sob. A rush of cool rushed through my body like I was being hosed down from the inside-out.

A curtain of blonde fanned the air as the person in my room turned around. A smile, hesitant but familiar, curved her lips. Our eyes met, held. My hand covered my mouth, though not enough to keep the taste of tears from entering. I knew there had to be a way.

"You two should go," I said. Without checking to make sure they complied, I ran forward with my arms stretched wide at my side.