Page 54 of Secrets & Curses of Fate

He shook his head no.

“Because I do notfeelanything, Barron. Emotions will not stop me from releasing this wrath I have inside of me. I will not feel guilty about taking your life. In fact, I think I will quite enjoy watching the light drain from your eyes. Although, I do like the thought of ripping them from their sockets and forcing you to swallow them.”

Barron’s face paled. He knew I was not bluffing. He had sealed his fate the moment he thought he could hurt Remy.

His friend made his move, launching himself at my back with his knife in the air. But I turned and grabbed his wrist, twisting the blade in his hand before shoving it into his chest and yanking it up to his throat. His blood drenched my hands. It was warm on this cold, frigid night. Barron’s heavy footsteps alerted me that he was running like a coward. I tossed the dead man to the ground.

“I don’t think so, Barron.” I shot my frost magic at his feet, which instantly froze him to the ground. The sudden stopping made his ankles snap. He wailed out in pain, and it sang to the void monster I was. I took my time getting to him, whistling a little tune on my way.

Barron looked at me, horrified.

I smiled as I said, “You’re a coward, just as I thought you were. You should have never threatened Remy.”

“I’m sorry. You have my word I will never do it again.”

“I believe you, Barron.” I smiled down at him, and he sighed, relieved. “Because you’ll be dead.”

He looked up at me in horror as I held out my palm, and a long icicle formed in my hand. He raised his arms up in defense, but it was no use. I stabbed the ice through his heart, smiling as the light slowly faded from his eyes. When his body sagged against my hand, I jerked it out, making him slump over dead.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Gods, I felt fucking good. I cracked my neck and tried to stifle back my smile. I turned quickly when I heard her soft footsteps.

She smelled like night and heaven—the same. It made my chest ache with longing.

“I know you’re watching me, Storm.” I turned, expecting her not to show herself, but to my surprise, she stood only a few feet away. There was a sadness in her eyes when she stared at me. But then it left and was replaced by curiosity. “Fuck, you’re even prettier than I remember.”

As soon as my void eyes landed on her face, a flood of memories slammed into me. Flash after flash of mental images and the sound of overlapping voices assaulted my brain, and I had to close my eyes briefly. My head pounded as memories of Della and me from a different life assaulted me. I looked at her and had trouble breathing. My heart faltered for a moment. My Storm.

Gods, I had missed her.

Her cheeks flushed. She cocked her head to the side as she watched me. Could she tell I was not the same man she had smiled at in town?

“Haden,” she purred.

She glanced at the dead bodies. My hands were still coated in blood as she looked back at me. I summoned snow to my hands and used it to wash the blood from me. I don’t know what reaction I expected from her, but her smile was not it.

“You know my name, but I do not know yours.” I lied.

“Ardella,” she answered.

She didn’t look like an Ardella.

“Can I call you Della?”

Her pretty eyes shined brightly.

“Yes.”

“You watch me a lot. I don’t always see you, but I can feel you.” She smiled when I took a step toward her. She stepped toward me too, and something about it felt validating. Della should be scared of me, but there was not even a hint of fear from her. She never had been wary of me.

“You’re different than when I first saw you.”

I watched her as she seemed to be studying me. Her gaze drifted over my face before looking over my body. There was a familiarity in her eyes that I longed to see. Did she mean different from town or the life before this one?

“But you are the same, too,” she finally said. “Is this some sort of magic?”

“No.”

“Then what is it?”

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