Page 40 of Fade With Me

The words hit like a thunderclap—loud, surreal, and impossible to process. His posture shifted, shoulders squaring, as though he was bracing for impact. A slowbreath escaped him, and when he spoke again, his voice was steady. Certain.

His eyes squeezed shut for a second. Then: “He kidnapped you.”

It didn’t sound real. The syllables warped, like a nightmare I couldn’t shake off.

“He created a false reality to keep you captive. A world where he’s your husband and you’re his dutiful wife.” His lip curled in disgust. “It’s all fake. He’s no monarch. He doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air as you, let alone share a life with you.”

We were never married.The words echoed in my mind, louder with each pass. A scream in the silence. Every word, every touch—every moment—had been a carefully crafted lie.

It was overwhelming.

But then something shifted, like a film peeling from my skin. I could breathe. I could feel. Lighter. Clearer. It was as if I’d been carrying a weight I never agreed to bear, and now, finally, it was gone.

I grasped for clarity, but the words felt foreign. “He…kidnapped me?” My voice shook. “Are you sure?”

Zeke’s face crumpled with sadness. “Yes,” he whispered, his voice cracking. “He bypassed our wards, wards that should have been unbreakable, and slipped that ring onto your finger.” He motioned toward my hand but refused to look at it, as if the sight of my wedding band physically pained him.

“Before I could stop him, he faded you.I was right there—just a breath away from pulling you back.” His voice quieted, the fight slipping from it as his shoulders slumped. “He couldn’t have pulled any of this off without that ring. It’s the key to everything he’s taken from you.”

I looked down at my supposed symbol of love, seeing it for what it truly was. It had been a simple, familiar weight for as long as I could remember, but now it felt foreign, like something sinister coiled around my finger.

How many lies had it carried?

How much of my life had it stolen?

He shot a quick, fleeting glance at the ring, his expression tightening. “You were taken from me in an instant, and I couldn’t stop it. I should have…I was supposed to protect you.” He exhaled sharply, his voice raw. “But I failed.”

A strange sensation prickled over me as I stared at it, my attention held captive. Something shifted, subtle, yet undeniable. The tiny chip on the stone, left from my earlier fall, was gone. My breath caught. Had I imagined it? I tightened my grip around the band, tracing the delicate halo of intricately wrought vines. The teardrop-shaped ruby gleamed in the dim light, deep, rich, almost alive. Beneath it, a pulse thrummed, a warning that couldn’t be ignored. It felt as if the ring itself was aware—aware that I was starting to wake up.

“Why did he take me?” I asked, my hands trembling slightly as the words slipped out, thick with disbelief. The question felt too heavy, forcing its way through the shock that had settled over me.

“Your power,” he replied, his tone flat, almost detached. “You were standing in the way of what he wanted.”

Of course. I’d been too much of a threat. If I had the power to undo everything he was working toward, it made sense. He had to eliminate me. But killing me? No, that wasn’t his move. Instead, he trapped me here, stripped me of my abilities, and forced me to feel as small and powerless as he was. Typical Reggie, always playing the long game, always thinking a few steps ahead. But there was more. There always was with him.

A fog of confusion clouded my mind as his earlier words sank in. “Wait…you said hefadedme?” The word felt strange, foreign. “What does that even mean?”

“Fading,” he explained, his voice steady, “is the ability to slip between realms. It lets us cover vast distances in the blink of an eye. Even within the same realm, we can move from one place to another without a second thought. Like I did earlier.” A wry smile ghosted across his lips, his mood lifting slightly, the concept clearly less intimidating to him than it was to me.

But then the smile vanished and his features grew serious, as if he were telling me a scary story. “There are limits to this power. We can only fade someonewith us if we’re in direct contact. Even then, the power dynamic matters. Fading a superior being,especiallybetween realms, requires their consent. Without it, it’s impossible.”

I leaned in, my breath catching. “What would happen,” I asked, my heart hammering in my chest, “if they didn’t consent to being faded?” My face was inches from his now, the tension thick in the air.

He cocked his head, amusement flickering across his features as he caught the concern in my gaze. “Let’s just say…it’d be a solo mission,” he said. “No in-flight snacks, no reassuring copilot. Just you, yourself, and your questionable life choices.”

I groaned, sitting up straighter and shaking my head. “Alright, traveling alone. I get it.” I raised my hands in mock surrender and rolled my eyes. “I just didn’t know if spontaneous combustion was on the table or something.”

His grin widened, though he tried to suppress it. “Definitely no combustion. Unless, of course, you consider being in the presence of a handsome warlock…flammable material.” He gave a playful shrug, teasing etched into every line of his face. “In that case, you might be in grave danger.”

I blinked at him, my expression flat but with a hint of playful annoyance, before a sharp laugh escaped me. “I’d sell my soul for afractionof that confidence.”

Zeke took my hand gently, cradling it in both of his as he arched an eyebrow. “Oh, my dear, I think that could be arranged…for a small price, of course.”

I nudged him with my shoulder and laughed softly, but my mind lingered on the thought of fading. For a moment, it still seemed a little terrifying.

As I let it settle, something inside me shifted, like the echo of a dream I couldn’t quite grasp. It wasn’t something I understood logically, but something I recognized deep within. A slow drift. Standing still while the world moved around me.

Warmth spread through my skin, as though my body clung to a memory my mind had long forgotten.

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