Fate's Exchange (Twisted Fate, Book 1)

Chapter 6

THE BROTHERS

THE MORTAL REALM

Since we were charged with protecting the girl, I was there when she was first plucked out of transition. I'd never witnessed such a thing before, the delay into the afterlife. It was too rare, and even now, I didn't know why it happened with her.

Passing souls were judged by the Brother who ferried them between worlds, not by all the Brothers together. Who was she to warrant such an honor? What made her special?

I turned to the First Brother, measuring my voice as impatience prickled in my chest. "So, who is she?"

"She hasn't arrived yet."

He motioned to a bench where the humans huddled in the frigid morning air for the bus to arrive with friends. It didn't matter where we went. We could sit in the same spot as another, and it wouldn't be detected. It wasn't magic. We didn't exist here, untouched by nature, time, or human afflictions. Things were better this way. Easier.

"I don't want to do this. There are lower beings who can handle it," I muttered, though I sat down as directed, always dutiful. Leaning forward, elbows on my knees, I scanned the crowd of students with distaste. Nothing about humans appealed to me. They were ignorant, selfish, a burden that marred the perfection my kind had been created with.

"There was one of our kind ordered to watch her," the First replied. "He disappeared."

I froze. "We do not disappear."

"Then do you know where the boy is? Have you found him?" His tone was abrupt, but not unkind.

All Brothers were direct, blunt to the edge of crassness. We wasted no time on niceties, yet even in anger, our voices carried the resonance of the Glory within us. Our duties, growing in numbers and importance as the human population sprouted out of control, didn't leave time for it. Feelings were a human burden.

"No," I said. "I don't, and I haven't."

The First dragged his hand down his face. When he turned, resignation dimmed the blue of his eyes. "If the boy hasn't disappeared, he has died. Or worse, he could have turned."

Leaning back, I crossed my arms, eyes still on the shifting crowd. "Death is less likely than disappearance."

"It doesn't matter now."

The First was unmoved, his beauty carved into stone, as flawless and impassive as the statues mortals had made of us throughout time. Honey-blonde hair, deep unchanging tan, the pure white robe, all a mask for his unyielding will.

"We all agreed you are best suited for this task while we search for the boy."

"I agreed to no such thing."

"You are one of seven. A single voice of dissent. Majority rules, Brother."

"And still, we don't know why the task was given."

"We don't have to."

"Because we never question orders?" I stood, brushing my hands against the unfamiliar denim. The mortal clothing felt alien after centuries of robes. "They aren't His orders, they are the Sisters of Fate. They do not have any domain over our kind."

"Perhaps not. But Fate has His ear, and we treat their command as if it were His," the First said with a careless shrug. For him, it was that simple.

I narrowed my eyes. "Do you know why?"

If anyone knew, I thought it would be the First, but he wasn't elaborating. As the Second, I had duties tailored to my gifts, unique abilities none of my brothers could replicate.

"Your tasks will be handled," he said. "I will see to them in your absence."

The weight of that sacrifice confirmed how serious this assignment was, though he effectively avoided a direct answer. Did he know the answer, or was he following orders without asking?

The First nodded toward the crowd. "Do you see her now?"

I followed his gaze.

There she was.

My new charge. My first charge. In the millennia since Creation, I had never taken one for myself. That duty I always delegated to lesser beings. They were fearful, obedient, and eager to serve our authority. My brothers had taken charges before, but never without consequence. For me, this was uncharted.

"Do you—"

"I see her." The words slipped out softly.

How could I not? Even muted, her light radiated. Warm, brilliant, breaking through an invisible barrier of protection that only time could dissolve. I had seen countless humans, but her beauty rivaled Heaven's in direct contradiction to her lowly existence.

"She needs your help."

My head snapped towards the First. "Don't you see it?"

"I do," he answered calmly. Too calmly. He, who so often preached the importance of humans, was composed to the point of indifference. For him, she was a task, and nothing could ever penetrate his resolve to gain favorable results. For me, she was a beacon.

"She's made of goodness," he said. "This is why you have been appointed. Your gifts will help her to realize her strength. Her purpose. If not, she will be vulnerable. Corruption is everywhere."

I turned back to her, watching her glide into the school with a grace that pulled me forward like a tide.

"Do you know what makes her special?" the First asked.

I couldn't answer. My gift was helping humans discover their truth, not predicting it, and I did not learn what they were meant to discover before they became aware of it. Too much proximity could be bad, like sending an artist a muse and watching as they went crazy. Yet everything in me ached to know her. To stand close enough to hear her voice, to learn her smallest dislikes.

"Brother?"

"I... just know that she is special." The confession burned on my tongue. "I don't know why, but I should."

His hand pressed my shoulder, stilling me as I leaned to follow. "We only know this: her life was taken in error. The Sisters cannot intervene without breaking Death's law. So, the task falls to us. To you. He has sanctioned this, and we are to follow the direction of the Sisters of Fate."

I barely heard him. My every sense was pulled to her. Her light was a lure for the Darkness that would surely swarm her. I couldn't stand still.

"I must go now."

The First released me. "Manifest yourself. Show them the boy, or suspicion will grow. She must not know who you are. Nobody can."

I nodded, closing my eyes, and stepped forward.

Power rose within me, a familiar surge that dimmed as I buried it beneath the mortal shell. My form shifted, ebony hair and skin giving way to tanned flesh, stature reduced from six-five to a less conspicuous six-one.

My borrowed identity solidified before my second step landed on the pavement separating the school from the benches we'd been sitting on.

With my third step, props shimmered into being: schoolbooks, forged transcripts.

High school had never been on my list of tasks, but this task demanded immersion. To protect her, I would have to walk among them. To learn their ways.

And so I stepped forward, angel no longer.

A/N: I'm low key in love with the Second Brother by the end of this series, though Calin from Unbound still holds a special spot with me. I can't wait to rewrite the entire series and make it darker :) :) :) 

Any song choices for this chapter?

Updated 02/2026!