Without hesitation, I lift my arms to either side and teeter precariously. Allowing the wind to catch me, render me floaty and weightless as I drift through the ether as light as a raven feather.
A glorious sensation I desperately try to prolong—though the effect is short-lived when Cade grasps the back of my gown and hauls me back to him.
Circling an arm at my waist, he clutches me tightly, and says, “Stop fighting me. Like it or not, this is your destiny. It’s time we finally do this.”
I try to respond, but my voice is on mute.
Try to shirk from his touch, but I’m frozen in place.
Caught in the endless abyss of his gaze, I am helpless, his to command.
Watching as he lifts my hand before me and slides a brilliant blue tourmaline ring onto my finger.
TWO
DACE
I wake to the sound of screaming.
The sound of screaming and someone pounding hard on my chest.
I bolt upright, flip on the bedside lamp, and catch Daire by the wrist before she can wail on me again.
“Daire—” I whisper her name, fight to still her body, her breath. Ease her away from the darkness of nightmares and back to the light of consciousness again.
Her lids snap open, and when she sees me, she starts swinging with renewed ferocity.
“Daire—it’s me! Stop it—you’re safe—you’re okay.”
She rears back, yanks her hands from mine, and flicks on her lamp. Her breath hectic, pulse racing, she pulls her knees to her chin and watches me with a deep wary gaze.
I remain on my side. Try to give her some space. Time to wrestle her way out of whatever twisted dream has left her in such a scared state.
“How can I know for sure it’s you with your hair like that?” She glares, pulls a grim face, causing me to run a self-conscious hand through my newly shorn locks. “How can I be sure you’re not Cade?”
“You serious?” I flinch at her words. Scold myself not to feel hurt. It’s a mistake a lot of people have made since I got my new look. Still, I never expected that from her. Right from the start, she was able to determine what only few could see—it’s the eyes that define the real difference between Cade and me.
I inch toward her slowly, taking great pains not to alarm her, I angle my face toward the light so she can better see my face, my eyes. Allowing a few beats to pass before she heaves a deep sigh and relaxes her stance.
“Care to talk about it?” I risk a quick glance at the clock and stifle a yawn. Noting the small hand on the two, the big on the five. No wonder it’s still dark out.
“No.” She slips down the mattress, props her head on a pillow, and sprawls her bare legs before her. “I mean, maybe. Yeah.” She sneaks a look at me. “You sure you’re not too tired?”
I shake my head, rub a hand over my chin in place of the white lie I choose not to verbalize.
“Well, in a nutshell, I had the dream.” Her shoulders sink when she says it, as though releasing a very great burden.
I nod, having figured as much. No stranger to the dream, I know firsthand how disturbing it is to watch my brother kill Daire while I helplessly look on. That dreadful image has a way of lingering well into the waking state—haunting me for days.
Only in Daire’s dream, she watches me die at Cade’s hand.
Though from everything she’s told me, the effect is the same.
Either way, there’s no denying the overall message screams loud and clear:
Daire and I maybe fated—but we’re fated to end.
Still, no matter how insistent, I refuse to believe it.