Destiny Jackson

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Luke came running after me. Of course. Saw that coming. Give a speech about love, and all of the boys will run with you. And didn’t I know it...

“Destiny.”

I ignored him, walking on, moving to my room, slowly but surely. I knew he would be the only one to follow me. After Dad’s little suggestion for the gods when he was sixteen, they took others more seriously. Insult the gods and they would consider you instead of killing you...at least for a little while.

“Destiny.”

What was I to do now? I could cry, but I wouldn’t. That was the old me. New Destiny was going to take the world by storm. She was going to save the world, make them smile, help them fall in love. But she wasn’t going to control it. Oh, no, she would absolutely not. Because humans could work it out on their own, couldn’t they? It’s no fun to have a life that’s already written out for you. I would know.

“Destiny.” He caught up to me, a hand on my shoulder.

I could hear his heart beat. I could read his mind. I could send him anywhere. I could turn him into anything. I could do whatever I wanted. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t do anything.

I stopped in my tracks.

Maybe Rachel had some sense, in her speech to me. This was my destiny. But not like this. I wasn’t meant to be up here, playing in the clouds while my best friends fought battles. Died. Lived. Loved. I wanted to be with them. I needed to be with them.

“Luke,” I whispered. “Take my hand.”

He obliged, and I smiled as a sharp wind pulled us away, filling my body with hope but likely making his cold and uncomfortable. Isn’t it funny how things work?

When we reached our destination, I turned my gaze to Luke and found his eyes shut. But he wasn’t gagging. He didn’t look sick.

“Luke,” I smiled thinly. “Most people get sick from doing that.”

“Most people don’t know you,” he grinned, almost drunkenly.

“They say I’m bad at it, Luke. I am new at this, you know.”

“It felt,” his cheeks turned the color of a rose. “Like kissing you.”

Pausing a second, Luke added, “Calm, yet terrifying. An ocean storm inside one word. A brilliant light in the dark. A destiny for a no one.”

My head turned at the word that had followed me all of my life. “A destiny for no one,” I repeated, sighing.

“Destiny,” Luke’s blond head turned toward mine, our faces almost touching in the dark.

“Luke?” I brought my face even nearer, pressing my lips to his. They tasted like the wind, the sound of a trumpet. I could hear the stones aligning, a wax seal being pressed on an official envelope. Because, for once, this was the exact thing I was supposed to be doing.

“Luke Castellan,” I breathed.

“Destiny Jackson,” He smiled.

"You're amazing." I told him, because he truly was.

My head stopped reeling, and I thought about our situation a minute.

“You know, Luke,” I smiled quizzingly. “You’ve never even asked where we are.”

“Well, then, Destiny,” he bit his lip, pink lips pursing. “Where are we? It’s...peaceful, yet...slightly terrifying at the same time.”

I smiled to myself. “You probably don’t want to know, Luke. We’re somewhere special.”

“And that’s...where, exactly?” Luke ran his fingers through his curly blonde hair. There was a dim light, but aside from that, the two of us were standing in pure, black, nothing.

“It’s no place at all. It’s nothing. Everyone has a place like this, everyone can go there. Not everyone can do it physically, though. But yes, it’s nowhere, darling. Nowhere at all. Yet, it’s anywhere. Anything you could possibly want, whatever you’d like it to be, it’s there for you. Just say the word. Ask the nothingness to become something. Just like me. I was nothing, and now I’m something. I’m going to have to do something someday. I can feel it in my bones. It may not be someday soon, but I’m going to make a hard decision. Not like that stupid prophecy. It will be something I choose, Luke. Because I am Destiny Jackson.”

“And I am Luke Castellan,” he pushed my hair behind my ear. “And together,” Luke murmured, “we can rule this world.”

I pushed him away. He didn’t understand. “No, Luke. That’s what I’m saying. We can’t rule the world. We can guide it, and we can live in it, but we’re never going to control it. We never can. That’s me. That’s why I was born. I’m not supposed to lead the world. I’m supposed to guide it. And I can’t do it without you, but I can’t do it with you. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Luke stared at me, a look of confusion and hurt in his eyes. In a hushed voice, he asked, “Does this mean that we can’t continue...this?”

“No, no. Not at all. I’m just saying...everything comes with a price, Luke. Everything. And I don’t want you to have to pay one for me.”

“Destiny,” Luke stared into my eyes, so fierce I almost wanted to look away. But I didn’t. “You are going to be the only one, forever, that I will want to pay the price for. If the two of us being together brings danger into something, it will be me. I’ll go down with the ship. I’ll steal the goods, wreck the car, do whatever deed I need to, good or bad. Just promise me this,” he said, short on breath.

“Yes?”

“Never, ever, die for me.”

I only stared away. Because I already knew. And somehow, he did too.

“Luke,” I whispered. “I may be the goddess of destiny now, but that doesn’t mean that I know the-”

“No, Destiny,” he cut me off. “I know you do. I knew before you did. When you went to talk to Rachel, I could see it in her face. She’s not the Oracle anymore. You are, Destiny. And I know because you already had a prophecy, didn’t you?”

I kept quiet.

“Didn’t you?!” His voice rose, shaking. “Look, Destiny, if you know everything that’s going to happen in the future now, that’s fine. You don’t have to tell me. Don’t tell me when I die, don’t tell me when Nico and Rachel die, don’t tell me anything! But answer me this: why is it you? Why are the only people to have been the Oracle before you never immortals? How are you the only one?!”

“It’s too much,” I whispered softly. “We can see too much. But that’s okay, for me. Because I’m the only one who knows that you can't change Destiny, no matter how hard you try. And no one can change me.”

“Should we go back?” He asked, suddenly.

“Yes,” I conclude. “We should, probably. But we’re just going to stay here a little longer,” I smiled, sliding a little closer.

Do you guys all ship Duke? Were any of you disappointed that Nestiny didn't last? I kind of was. They were nice. Should I try to send Eros after Destiny? Should I focus on Dest/Lukie? Favorite parts of the chapter? My favorite comment will get the next dedication, starting now! :)