Page 5 of Between Imminent Fates

Led by a man named Torrin Scayde, theCitizensnow had the ear of the US military, and with it came a force that was nearly unstoppable. But Key would deal their game a fatal blow—so long as everything fell perfectly into place.

Jax was integral to her plan, and his unyielding devotion to her was essential. If Key failed with him, the plan she’d designed for their ultimate survival would collapse.

The problem was that she had no idea how to approach him. She had never foreseen their meeting, and any attempt she’d make to find out more personal details about him ended with her cursing the fates. Worse still was that she couldn’t ask for help navigating human technology—Jax needed to remain a secret in her back pocket until the proper time.

If she didn’t figure him out soon, the opportunity for his involvement would end.

Her tears mixed with the rain. Seattle weather was notoriously wet, and that was partially the reason she had chosen this spot. It was quiet and secluded, and few hikers made their way up here on any given day.

The other reason was far more selfish. Here, the ley lines were distant, and the stone that surrounded it made her foresight weak. It was a place where she could get a welcome reprieve from the visions that’d hounded her for centuries. Her mind was clearer, and she could form a coherent thought without it being interrupted by a steady stream of foresight.

Few of her race were blessed with the gift, and there was only one other she knew of currently living. Cassandra’s visions, however, were far from reliable.

Occasionally, Cassandra’s dreams were just that: dreams. Prophetic or not, the other foreteller’s imagination tended to run away with her, warping the truth of what’d come with her own interpretation of the event.

Despite that, Cassandra had seen the end as surely as Key had. When the time had come, the other woman had played her part and then swiftly recused herself from further involvement.

Key didn’t fault her. Like Cassandra, she wanted no part in the inevitability of their future, but Key was imperative to their success. All plans required an architect.

Building a suitable team had required hundreds of years of meticulous planning, and they were nearly there. Soon, she’d disclose the nature of their impending doom, alerting the heads of the four immortal societies to what would become of them.

With it, she’d also reveal the sins she had been forced to commit. Each atrocity had been a necessity, but the repercussions of her involvement came at a steep cost. Torture, obsession, pain, and suffering: all of it a direct consequence to the path she had driven them onto.

At times, it became too much to bear. Key had carried responsibility for the survival of the species for centuries. Desperation had become her constant, an emotional and physical tax that ate away at her soul.

Soon, it would all be over.

Tilting her face up toward the soggy clouds, Key cherished the sensation of the chilled water streaking along her cheeks. Living fully in the present was a gift that so few could understand.

The sound of another hiker approaching made her briefly consider teleporting away. She didn’t want to make conversation. Then again, returning home meant facing the joy of her clanmates, and that somehow seemed worse.

Committed to remaining at the summit, transfiguration recolored Key’s fickle eyes to the amber that was her true shade, and not the frosted white associated with her gift. It’s been ages since the unmarred amber had been real. The future never let her go. Not willingly.

The vibrant, royal purple form-fitting top and yoga pants fit her curvy frame like a glove. Key tangled a hand through her pale-blonde hair to complete the appearance of a hiker that had been walking through the rain for a while. These days, her hair was nearly silver, but it hadn’t always been. As the years wore on and her gift held its sway, it’d bleached away the original golden.

The hiker ventured closer, quiet in a way that said they were experienced, but loud enough that her enhanced hearing could easily pick it up. She refrained from turning around to watch as they appeared out of the woodwork. A surprised noise sounded behind her.

“Oh, hey. Sorry to drop in on you,” a male voice announced. “Didn’t think I’d find anybody else up here. Especially not in this weather.”

Key turned to find a face staring back at her that she knew as well as her own: Jax Hunter.

Magnetic hazel eyes, dark brown near the pupil, were set beneath a strong, masculine brow. Rain-slicked dark hair was plastered against his forehead, a stark contrast from the visions that’d always shown him well put together. Though he was flushed with exertion, his olive skin tone gave away his Greek and Hispanic lineage.

His sharp jaw was faintly shaded with stubble today, a dereliction of the dress code he enjoyed while he wasn’t required on base. Key could stare at those lips for hours, and she wondered absently if they were as soft as they looked.

Her fake surprise turned real at his appearance, and she grappled for the right words. “I don’t mind sharing.”

His tentative smile turned blinding. Sitting down on a rock a comfortable distance away, he rooted around in his backpack before catching her staring. “You don’t hike with a backpack?”

“I travel light.”

He set out a water bottle beside him before handing her a second one and tapping the unbroken seal. “Hydration is important.”

“I think I’m soaking it all in through my pores, but thanks.” Reaching out for the bottle, she dipped her chin and took a drink. “What brings you out here in the rain?”

“Needed some fresh air. Plus, it wasn’t raining when I started.”

“Ah, me neither.”

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