that’s a good idea? People will question your presence,” I said.
“Nobody can see us. You’re still sitting on the ground.” Fate grinned as I whipped my head back.
Sure enough, it appeared as if I was sleeping next to the falls, completely at peace. What I wouldn’t give to actually feel the way I was seeing myself.
Trusting Fate was right, I followed him down the dirt path. “Have I done something wrong?” I asked.
“Not at all, child. I’m here because we made a mistake and we need to remedy it.”
I knew it. Kali wasn’t really my Meraki. Thank the Fates I hadn’t actually done anything to lead her on. She didn’t deserve that.
“You have it wrong, I’m afraid,” Fate said, interrupting my thoughts.
“What do you mean? What other mistake could you have made?”
“We kept something from you when we shouldn’t have. We thought you would work through it on your own, but we underestimated your loyalty. For that, I am very sorry for the grief we’ve caused you.”
I was very close to cussing out a Fate who could very well end me where I stood. I didn’t understand anything he was saying.
“Sara was never your Meraki. I am deeply regretful we let you believe it for so long, but I need you to know we thought you’d figure it out yourself when you managed to move on with your life without completely losing yourself.”
My head shook. No, they had it wrong. Sara had been mine in every way. She knew me soul deep, and our love…it couldn’t have been fake.
“You’re wrong. Sara was my perfect match in every possible way. Kali is the one who isn’t my Meraki,” I responded with so much hate, my hands shook at my sides.
Fate reached for me, but I backed away.
“Don’t touch me. Don’t take away my memories. Don’t take Sara from me. I won’t let you.”
I knew the Fates were capable of pretty much anything, and I wouldn’t bend to their will and accept Kali just because they deemed it necessary for whatever was going to happen with the dark fae. They needed to figure out another way.
“Ryland, I’m not trying to take anything away from you. I want to show you something we should have shown you long ago, but at the time, we didn’t see it pertinent to interfere.”
He snatched me before I could port away, and I was locked within his grasp. His fingers pressed against my temples as the world around me faded and images began to assault me.
Sara with another man. Them laughing and pointing at pictures of me with my friends. Sara kissing this other man and whispering into his ear.
Then, Sara the day I met her.
She was positively stunning in a white summer dress, sitting peacefully on a swing in the Otherworld all by herself. Her presence had called to me like a siren. A need to go to her had been so strong, I still vividly remembered it even all these years later.
The image skipped forward to our first kiss and the hug that followed it. Her face was scowled when my past self couldn’t see it, as if she was repulsed.
My body flinched at the image, and I tried to jerk away, but Fate wouldn’t let me.
The last thing I saw was so real, I felt like it was playing out right in front of me. Sara was back with the man in the first glimpse.
“He’s fallen hard and fast. It was almost too easy. I’ve even won the admiration of the Queen and King. It’s disgusting, really. Why couldn’t we have postponed this until she was pregnant? Being nice is so draining,” Sara complained.
The man cradled her face. “I know, love, but we need there to be no doubt of your loyalty to them. If you can’t get me that child, I won’t be able to get the vengeance my ancestors deserve. I was made for this, and you were made for me. Together, we will make them pay.”
Sara pouted. “It could be years before that happens. You’re going to let another man touch me for years?”
He snarled, then captured her mouth with his before Fate cut the image and released me from hell.
“We really are sorry. We spent months trying to avoid you meeting her, but there was only so much we could interfere without repercussion. Our hope was that you’d heal and move on when Kaliah came home, but Alaryk’s spell had been stronger than we thought.”
My eyes narrowed. “Alaryk? What does