Fate's Journey

With Rheagan circulating in the shadows and Abaddon raising the stakes in the war against the Scourge, the Talon and the citizens of Haven are on high-alert. With everything on the line, the battles and betrayal get personal.

Zophia, Keeper of the Lives In Progress, has spent her life recording the events of the Realm of the Fair. When betrayal turns her world on its axis, she must find her way in the world she's only experienced from the periphery. Panicked over the safety of her family, it is through the support of two very different men that she remains in control. Kobi offers her strength and wild look at what her new life can be, while Aust's sweet and supportive nature shows her a security she never knew she wanted. Things are certainly heating up within the grounds of Haven and lives will forever be changed.

I materialized before the cluttered desk and empty
leather chair of Julian, adopted son of Reign. Brought to the mountain as a
teen, he became the last added and second oldest child in Jade’s family.
Everyone spoke of his gifted intellect, yet the security of Lia’s hearing had
been left to him, and people had been hurt.

“Fuck you, brother,” a man said, rounding the corner
from the corridor. “Rude. You kiss your mate with that—Ahhh.”

Julian almost collided with me and stopped short. A
tidal wave of mocha liquid splashed off the side of his oversized mug and down
the front of my dress.

“Shit.” Julian set down his coffee and grabbed
paper towels. “Bruin, I gotta bounce, I just spilled hot java all over a Fate.”

The coffee burned my waist and scalded my right leg.

After tossing his phone to his desk chair, he ripped a
wad of white squares off a roll and handed them to me. “The door sensor
notifies me when people come into my space. If you’d used the door like
everyone else, you wouldn’t be wearing my mid-morning fix.”

I dabbed the towelettes at the caramel mark and tented
the fabric away from my skin. “When I venture to Haven, I come with a purpose.
Delaying to use a door, as if I were a mortal of the realm, serves no one.”

Julian shook his head, jogged out of the control room,
and returned a moment later with a wet hand towel. He scrubbed at the coffee,
and I noticed that the stain mirrored the same rich mocha color of his skin. By
the time he drew back, the fabric was not only stained but now drenched.

“Fuck. I’m making things worse.”

I let the fabric fall back into place and ignored how
it suctioned to my skin, cold and wet. “Forget the dress. It’s only an heirloom
my mother made with her own hands, but I—”

“You’re kidding, right?”

I exhaled and forced a smile. “Of course I am. It is a
dress like any other. It was an attempt to lighten the mood.”

He frowned. “After the clusterfuck at the hearing, no
chance of that. Besides, you can poof the stain away, right?”

I glanced at the wall of monitors above his desk. Images
of Haven grounds flashed up in timed circuits. “I didn’t inherit Fae ‘poofing’
powers, but the Brownie who tends to Palace laundry is quite talented.”

His frown grew more pronounced, his mint green eyes
accented by his dark brow. “Sorry. I’m known to make an ass of myself when I’m
focused on a problem. Can we start again?”

I set the towel and balled-up paper wad on one of the
guest chairs and tossed my braid behind my shoulder. Stepping toward him, I
held out my hand. “Hello, Julian. I apologize that I interrupted your morning
unannounced. Do you have a moment to speak with me?”

He squeezed my fingers in greeting. “You are a welcome
distraction from brooding. Though, I guess I don’t have to warn you, I’m not
fit company at the moment.” He gestured to a small seating area at the back of
the room. “Let’s sit.”

I propped myself on the edge of a wide club chair, and
he sat deep in the leather sofa set perpendicular to it. My knees almost
brushed his slacks, so I eased back a few inches. “This morning, I noticed
something in the tapestries of my station. I wondered if you might be able to
help me sort it out.”

“What did you find?”

“I cannot say, precisely. Instead, I would like to ask
you a few questions without you asking any yourself.”

He wetted his lips and chuckled. “I’m more of a quid
pro quo kinda guy.”

“This is not a point of negotiation. I seek answers
and am unable to provide private insights to members of the realm.”

He laughed again, but his tone held no amusement.
“Doesn’t that get old?”

“What?”

He sat forward, elbows on knees, and laced his
fingers. “I watched the footage of the attack a hundred times and you Fates
knew exactly what was about to happen. Does it ever get old watching us mere
mortals twisting in the wind while you four laugh from your perches on high?”

I shifted, sitting fully on the chair. “I assure you,
I did not know of Abaddon’s plans.”

“Bullshit. The split-second things went south, your
sisters up and vanished. No look of surprise. No moment to gather their
thoughts before scurrying away. Just poof. Gone.”

“Yet I remained. Surely, I wore a look of
surprise.”

“Honestly, no. You seemed fascinated.”

“And you stand as judge to how I should have responded
to the situation? Tell me, how did I look after my ribs were crushed beneath
Savage as explosions detonated all around us?”

Julian pursed his lips into a hard line.

“Believe it or not, I worry about my family here in
the Realm of the Fair. I care what happens to them. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t
have asked for your help.”

Julian sat back and rubbed a hand over his mouth.
“Fine. Ask your question.”

“The warrior, Savage, what do you know of him?”