Fate's Return (Twisted Fate, Book 2)

Chapter Eleven

The ground was soft beneath the bare soles of my feet, like I was walking on top of the stuffing that made teddy bears cuddly for children. It was amazing, exhilarating, and so out of this world, I knew I was dreaming.

When was the last time I'd felt this carefree?

Jumping, dancing and twirling, I threw my arms out to my sides, tipped my head to the sky, and closed my eyes. Without opening them, I started to run as fast as possible. Air whipped my hair around to tickle my cheek, soft and swift. My heart raced, not with exertion, but exhilaration. I pushed myself faster, the warmth of the light cooled by the breeze of movement.

If leaving meant I had to stop, I didn't ever want to wake.

But if I kept going, the rarity of the moment would no longer exist, and the enjoyment would fade. Forcing myself to slow, I bent at the waist and rested my hands on my knees and lifted my head. When I opened my eyes, I wasn't at all out of breath. My body was zinging with electricity instead of exhaustion, like I could run forever—almost. I supposed everyone had their limit, even in their dreams.

The mist in front of me began to clear, falling like a wall of rain dissipating into mist to coat the ground, and I could see a building that shone like pearls under the sun rising in the distance. It was so bright, almost too beautiful to look at. At the same time, it was welcoming, warm... heavenly.

Standing, I dropped my hands to my side and stepped forward and checked over my shoulder to make sure I was still alone. Not that it mattered. I was so consumed with reaching the building, somehow knowing that if I could make it there, I would find answers to questions I hadn't figured out to ask. Minutes passed, maybe even hours, and it didn't feel like I was getting any closer to where I wanted to be. I didn't even notice the boy who appeared out of the mist until I ran into him, face against chest.

"Excuse me," I said without looking up, and tried to step around him.

"You aren't ready to go there."

The voice of the boy blocking my path was like music, the most melodic tune I'd ever heard, and the building dropped from the forefront of my mind. I looked up, needing to see him. Who was he? How did I know that the building drawing me in wouldn't compare? I squinted, trying to see clearly, but the light that shone from every side except below, making the building so enchanted, blocked him from me.

Disappointment threaded through my body. I let the breath out of my lungs, sighed, and looked back to the clouds at my feet. "I have to go."

He reached out for my arm, his hand glowing. "Not yet."

"But I have to—"

The air shifted, and the cool breeze that tickled my skin became hot, burning. It pressed against me until I felt like a weight had been placed on my chest and it was hard to breathe. The rhythm of my heart grew rapid and out of sync. Survival became a marathon too long to finish, and I felt fatigued.

The brilliance disappeared, replaced with shadows, and the glorified building darkened, its soft edges hardening into sharp, jutting angles. Still, it was beautiful, grotesque, but captivating.

"This isn't right," I heard myself say as though from a distance.

I stepped back and realized the ground had burned through the soft fluff I'd been running through until rock and lava remained. It scorched against my feet, but I felt no pain. I stepped forward again and again, once more drawn to the building in the distance.

"You're not ready to go there," a gruff, booming voice said.

This time when I looked up, the brilliant light was gone. Nothing blocked me from seeing the face of the boy in front of me, different than the one before. My jaw fell, and my eyes widened. I gasped.