Page 107 of Between Imminent Fates

Jaeda exhaled deeply, seemingly appeased by his forgiveness. When Derikles began walking once more, she continued by his side.

“When I sensed her near Isaiah, I panicked,” she said. “I should’ve had more trust in you.”

“We’re all protective—and we will continue to be, until the end.”

And then the healer spoke a truth that reflected deeply with him. “Without Isaiah, I feel—I don’t know—groundless. Like I’ve lost my confidence and who I was, and now I’m pretending to be someone I’m not. Seeing Isaiah suffer such vicious psychic wounds—it’s humbling even to me.” Jaeda dashed at her eyes. “How quickly we can lose our strength and become dependent on others.

“Not that I’m saying anything against you, Derikles,” she quickly added. “You’ve done a marvelous job stepping in when you had no idea what was coming.”

“I appreciate that, Jaeda.” Derikles pulled her into his side, pressing a reverent kiss against her forehead. “I’ve found myself in a similar frame of mind following Isaiah’s … impromptu vacation.”

“And your mate? How is she dealing with your connection?”

“We are enjoying getting to know one another.” A rueful shake of his head. “But with everything that’s happened, matehood is the last thing on our minds.”

“But should it be? Isaiah would’ve loved to see you happy, even if he’s not here to see it.”

“Key told me I had to be strong afterward; she told me my merit would be tested.” He studied Jaeda, reading her response. “What if this is my test? What if remaining strong for the clan is what she meant?”

“But you’ve already remained strong for us, Derikles. You assumed his position with no forewarning and no instructions. Being strong doesn’t have to mean being alone. Finding your mate will only make you more stable.”

“And Rukia? Is she more stable now, having lost hers?”

Tears swam in Jaeda’s eyes. “No.”

He hated to see her cry, knowing he’d uncovered the sorrow. Fighting with himself for having said the words, he apologized and turned for Isaiah’s home. She strode beside him as silence came spanned between them until the healer spoke again.

“Be that as it may, Derikles—sovereign—Isaiah would never tell you to give up on your mate.”

Chapter Thirteen

Celeste

Creating an organization tooversee the clanless was daunting. Zia and Jeremiah—and now Derikles—had come together in Sylth territory to begin drafting its vision.

No one knew the extent of the clanless population, and that was part of the problem. They lived in solitude or in small family groups. There was no communication or alliances between them, and they were largely lawless.

Previously, the only unspoken rule that every immortal complied with was keeping their supernatural nature hidden. While it was rarely broken, there truly was no way to know for certain.

“We’ve no idea how many Raeths there are in the world,” Celeste said. “We can catalog the Raeth clans to put a number to it, but there’s hardly a way to reach all of the people who’ve elected to live off the grid.”

“Then we make it attractive for them,” Jeremiah pitched. “We do something for them, and they register with us. This world isn’t the same as it was even forty years ago. Going under the radar as an immortal is more difficult than ever.”

Zia nodded. “Documentation, IDs, paperwork. It’s done by technopaths or people familiar with skirting governments. No more shady deals to get a driver’s license.”

Fingers busy on her laptop, Celeste grinned. “It wouldn’t just have to be Raeths. It could be any immortal. We make it open to all. It’d help Aidan with his venture, too.”

“Once we know who’s out there, we can form a monitoring body.” Derikles looked over her shoulder at the notes. “Start keeping track of who’s moving where and ensure no one slips beneath the radar.”

“No one is forgotten,” Celeste murmured.

She’d seen the devastation that Remmus’ parents had caused and how much it’d impacted him as their son. Riaz, the alpha in the Colorado Rockies, had been bitten by a rogue werewolf and turned without his consent. With a governing body for immortals, they could better protect the innocent—and criminalize wicked behavior.

As they continued to work through the vision, the four of them aligned on the goal of creating an organization driven to protect its members. The peace accords had only been the start. The immortal nations were stronger as a whole, and this initiative would see to their future.

Through this network, anyone could seek justice or security. Sovereigns could signal when their clan needed assistance—or if they wanted to retire from their position. With the newly rediscovered method of shifting a clan to a new sovereign, leading one would no longer be a life sentence.

Zia was the one who suggested using ambassadors at first. The known vampire Houses, Raeth clans, wolf packs, and Paracel would be the first on their list. With ambassadors reaching out to every known entity, they could begin documenting immortals immediately.

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