Fate's Revenge (Twisted Fate, Book 4)

Chapter Ten

It was hard not to laugh, but somehow, I managed as I waved my hand through the air. Hailey looked away from Tyler, but not to me. Instead, she followed my gestures back and forth, back and forth. I stopped in the center so that my hand was in front of her and wiggled my fingers. She couldn't look down at it without looking at me, and I smiled.

Just do it, Aly. Grab her hand and do it.

I refused to do anything against anyone's free will. Damn the Brothers for showing me the way I didn't want to rule.

Stupid Pure Soul.

"Come on, Hailey," I said, trying to appeal to her by just being honest. "If you don't do this, I'll have to ask you to leave so I can talk to Tyler. If you want me to trust you... Well, you'll have to do the same for me."

"Ugh. Fine." She sighed and took my hand.

There was no sizzle upon touch. No steam, no sulphur, no overwhelming tingling that made my astral form feel like I was having an out-of-body experience. My energy felt static. In fact, I felt rejuvenated, warm.

It was like we were sharing our light, which I knew came from our souls.

Hailey was pure, even more than many I had met at Glory Academy.

I mean, I had touched Sera and this—whatever this was—didn't happen. Was it because when I grasped Hailey's hand, I intended to help her, and I hadn't had those thoughts whenever I touched a Pure Soul at Glory Academy? My gut feeling told me no. Hailey had gotten the short end when she hadn't made her choice quick enough for whichever Brother had gone to help her with her transition, and that made me angrier about that situation. It was a good thing that I hadn't promised her anything regarding her request not to dig into what had happened—which Brother wasn't giving souls enough time to comprehend the choice they had upon dying—or I would have become a liar.

Hailey was tainted only by her proximity to the Dark Souls.

The realization that Hailey was as good as she was annoying made me determined to remove any Darkness that had encroached upon her soul because of her time spent in Hell's Fire. I removed the barrier on my memories and thought of the love I wanted to deny. I closed my eyes. David's face burst to life behind my eyelids and warmth rushed through me, and then out. I smiled. It was more than just the heat flowing through my veins and into Hailey, it was feeling perfectly content.

"Holy."

I opened my eyes and looked up to find Tyler watching us in awe, almost surprised that I wasn't alone. "What?" I asked, my voice thready and hoarse.

"I know, right?" Hailey smiled.

"What?" I asked again, darting my eyes between them, and they both looked at me.

"Can't you see?" Tyler looked at me like we had just met, and he was trying to figure out an abnormal feature—a third eye placed in my forehead, a missing nose, whatever.

"What? A glow?" I shrugged. "I can't see those."

I dropped Hailey's hand and sighed. Whatever feelings I'd just experienced were good, but they didn't trump feeling like a freak on display. Like a balloon being popped, the sensation of finding my way home deflated as quickly as it had arrived, making me feel dejected. Was it too much to ask for something good to last longer than a minute? Geez. It wasn't my fault that I couldn't see what they could.

"Why?"

"That was... wow." Hailey said before I could answer Tyler, and we both turned to her. "I feel amazing."

"Oh, my!" I screamed, covering my mouth with my hands. I looked over my shoulder to the door, hoping that the sound hadn't carried into the hall. Not that anyone would be there given the abandoned classrooms and Hell's Fire penchant for not organizing learning opportunities. But I had no clue when the next person was coming to relieve Hailey of her duty. I swallowed, shoving the worry out and focusing on Hailey.