Page 30 of The Dragon's Perfect Omega
Yeah, right, it wasn't her... "You're going to tell me it's the Gods' demand, aren't you?" I could only shake my head. I'd always tried to respect my parents' beliefs, but I wasn't going to let some mystic entity rule over my life.
"I saw you in a vision before you were even born," the high priestess informed me.
"Just because you saw yourself break the rules doesn't mean the Gods ordered you to do so." I wasn't going to be convinced so easily. "Even if I were inclined to follow in your footsteps, it's too late now."
The priestess eyed me curiously. "Whatever do you mean by that?"
"I found my mate. My fated mate." I put emphasis on that last part. If she believed in the Gods, surely she believed in fated mates as well. She had to.
"I see. The Gods are trying to tempt you away from your duty to test if you're truly ready to commit yourself to a life in their service."
Yeah, I was pretty sure I was going to fail that test. It would have been impossible to pass even if I'dwantedto. I'd only known Zim for a few days, and already, I couldn't stop thinking about him, wondering what he was doing right this minute as I was talking to the priestess. Had he found the ticket yet? Was he going to come to the island?
Would he finally let me hold him in my arms?
A pleasant shiver ran down my back at the memory of kissing him. When I thought of Zim, everything fell into place. My role in life wasn't to serve as a priest at the shrine of the sun. It was to be by Zim's side. To protect him, to take care of him. Everything else was secondary.
"I won't even attempt to pass that test," I told the high priestess.
"You must reconsider. You're theonlydragon on this island who can follow in my footsteps, Lowen. That's why you had to be born. No one else has the eyes."
I could only assume that bythe eyesshe was referring to my visions. Not that it mattered. My mind was made up. "I'm sorry to hear that, but it doesn't change anything about my feelings, or my decision." I hadn't spent all my life hiding my abilities just to cave now. "I think I should leave now."
"I'm not going to stop you, but you'll be back." There was nothing challenging in her look as she said this. Her entire demeanor was calm, certain. That was the most irritating thing of all, the way she just assumed to know how everything was going to play out. I'd seen visions that had come true later on, but it was small things. Irrelevant things.
Surely she couldn't see my whole future before her eyes?
13
Zim
Convincingmy parents that they didn't have to come to the airport with me was the hardest thing. I hated lying to them.I'm going with my friends, Mom. I'm twenty-one, it'd be embarrassing to have you there.Even the memory of that conversation made me cringe. I'd told her we were going on a trip to Hawai'i. She'd never have let me go if she'd known my destination was an entirely different island.
I looked up at the display above my gate. This plane was departing for the Island of Dragons.
Nervous excitement threatened to close up my throat as one of the airline employees announced that we were about to begin boarding.
Nervous excitement and fear.
I wasnota fan of flying in any way, shape or form. At least, this wasn’t going to be a long flight.
And there might be a reward waiting for me at the end.
I gulped, thinking of all the things I hoped might happen between me and Lowen.
Don’t think of that now. Focus.
Trying to distract myself, I let my eyes roam the area in front of the gate.
There weren't a lot of passengers beside me, and among all the obviously buff dragons, the other lottery winners stuck out like lilies in a field of wild flowers. They sat huddled in a group of four, talking among themselves. I didn't approach, though I saw them throw glances at me every now and then, probably wondering what my deal was. They must be thinking I was stuck-up or something. In reality, I was just fighting to keep breathing normally. What would I have said to them?
Oh, yeah, I made out with the drummer so he created another ticket for me. We're probably gonna do it again. I hope we will, because I can't stop thinking about him, and I don't know how to feel about that, so don't mind me hyperventilating over here.
Yeah, that would go over well.
As I rose from my seat to get in line for boarding, one of the other winners, a guy in a baseball cap, came over to me. Glancing at him, I ran my tongue along the back of my teeth. What did he want?
"You going to seeWings of Fatetoo?" he chatted me up with a slight lilt.
