Page 75 of Between Imminent Fates

Threads of betrayal ran through each of the new bonds that connected them. Their visceral reaction was vilifying, but hardly surprising.

Shaking his head morosely, Derikles explained, “We met theCitizenson the field of battle tonight. We defeated them, but not without cost. Key Linked Nina and Isaiah’s Reaper abilities, and just before they went on the offense, Isaiah did something to the network.”

He glanced at where the man lay unmoving. “He shifted the sovereignty to me. What should’ve been impossible was not.”

“Is that what he’d been researching? What he’s been turning the world upside down for?”

“I don’t know,” Derikles confessed, “but regardless of what the network says, Isaiah remains our leader. Until the very end.”

No one knew when that hammer would fall. If iteverdid.

Jaeda, finally recovered, met his gaze. At Derikles’ nod, she whispered the words that tore his heart out. “After the recoil, Isaiah’s mind didn’t recover. It’s static.”

Xedrix gasped, staggering backward, while Sia’s hand covered her mouth to withhold a sob. Though the other lieutenants reacted far less visibly, none of them was without despair.

Circe slowly descended the staircase leading to Isaiah’s room. She clutched a piece of white paper in her hand.

“Rukia, he left a note.”

The water Elemental leapt to her feet, reaching for the paper as though everything rode on what it contained. As her tears began falling, Derikles caught sight of the words Isaiah had written on it.

I love you, Rukia. Forgive me.

Chapter Two

Celeste

“Goodnight stars, goodnight air,”Celeste whispered, “goodnight noises everywhere.”

Beside her, the twins’ eyes had closed. Slowly extracting herself from between their beds, she rose soundlessly and clicked off their zoo-themed lamp. A sound machine hummed in the corner by their nightlight.

Padding toward the door, she snuck out and closed it behind her. The house was silent. When she’d stopped by several minutes ago, she had found Zeke asleep with his head on the dining room table. He’d been working through plans for the additions, pencils and drafting paper spread out around him.

After the destruction of the Missouri clan lands, Zeke had moved all of them to Ontario. The Canadian location had never been uncovered by theCitizens, and though the threat was gone, everyone felt safer there.

Since the battle, Zeke had thrown himself into work. Every waking moment, he had busied himself with moving their people and ensuring everyone was faring well in the aftermath. The sole remaining sovereign of their double clan, he had been forced into an unenviable position.

Nina’s sacrifice had changed him. In the days since his mate had collapsed, he had met with every member of their combined clans to ensure they knew what had happened. Zeke had personally ensured no one had felt abandoned—and knew that his mate had saved their lives.

Reinforcing the neural net had come next. Those clan bonds that had been linked primarily with Nina before had needed solidifying, the overlaying structure allowing for Zeke to reinforce the links getting weaker by the day.

He gave and gave of himself to the point that even his immense power became overtaxed. Celeste wasn’t certain how long he could continue down this path—and it worried her.

As she crept down the hallway, she stopped outside the first door on the right, as she always did.

Two weeks had passed since Nina had gone to sleep. In the aftermath, they had abandoned the cursed territory where she’d fallen, ensuring no one would be forced to live with daily reminders and get stuck in grief. Regardless of her environment, Celeste felt was unable to move forward. Her best friend lay stricken with no hope of waking, and she hadn’t even had the chance to say goodbye. Arguably worse was the note Nina had left for her mate.

I’m so sorry, Zeke. It was the only way.

Questions continued to plague her. Nina had felt compelled to give her life with no other way out, and none of them knew whether she’d been strong-armed into sacrificing herself. Even if she hadn’t been, why had it been the only way?

Walking out of the home and into the night, she made her way back toward Tzuriel’s house. With housing scarce until they built more, she’d elected to bunk with Zeke’s cousin. She’d been staying with him and his mate for the last few weeks as she adjusted to life in Ontario.

By the time she got there, so no longer felt like going inside. Out on the porch, she didn’t have to explain the state of melancholy she existed in—and she didn’t have to fake her smiles. Celeste’s hands curled around the painted railing, the wood groaning as she worked through the anger that never seemed to dissipate.

No one had answers. The three people who could’ve shed light on the situation lay comatose, essentially brain dead.

A crack split the silence.

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