Gates of Fire And Gold

Chapter 46

I whip around. There he is, in all his half-naked glory.

The Son.

                    The Prince.

                                                Ashley.

Wearing nothing but a pair of swim shorts.

I move away, instinctively.

"No, wait," he pleads. He just stands there, like he's waiting for permission to approach. "Please. I want to talk."

"I... about what?" He remains where he is.

"About you. And me," he says. "About the accident... and the Gala. Everything. I want to talk about everything. If that's okay," he adds with a little smile.

I bite my lip. "Okay, let's talk."

"May I...?" he motions to the pool. I nod.

He steps in and sits down beside me. My heart is beating so hard, he can probably see it trying to escape from my chest. But he's not even looking at me. He's staring at the water.

"I just want to know," he says quietly, "how you learned to do that."

"Do what?"

Now he looks at me.

"You know what."

We just look at each other for a second, before I suddenly break away and move deeper into the water.

"I don't know," I tell him, turning around to face him. "I didn't mean to. It just happened." My voice fades to a whisper on that last word. Now, I'm staring at the water, thinking about the gala. About the knife flying to me. How it felt to look down and see it in my hand.

He moves towards me. I swim to the wall, wading against the edge of the pool. He follows, keeping a respectful distance.

I tell him about the reading that Devesh Mataeyah gave me. How she'd told me my psychic abilities would get stronger as I got closer to being with 'The One'.

Ashley moves closer and closer as I'm talking, until he's treading water right beside me.

"I've been told what to expect, as well" he says with a serious face. "People said when I met the one meant for me that, together, we would open many doors. They said that she would be new to her power, but that she would have enormous power. That she would just need to learn how to use it."

I have goosebumps all over. My heart is beating fast and hard. But I don't want to run this time. This time, I stay. I stay as he moves even closer. So close, I can feel his breath on my skin.

Our eyes are locked.

"They told me you would be like me."

I exhale sharply, staring at him. There's a moment - just a moment -

And then he makes his move.