“That’s not strictly true,” Tara said. “We’re fated. We’ve been together all throughout history.” She took up his hand.
“Like reincarnation?” Selene asked, thinking about how she’d felt around Scott. How she’d known from the first moment she’d seen him that he was hers. That they were meant to be in some way.
“Something like that,” Tara replied. “Whatever it is, we’re meant to do this together.”
“And the others?” Selene asked.
“Yes, but it’s complicated. Some of them have families. We don’t want to jeopardize that.”
Selene was quiet for a moment. She’d remembered seeing others of power in the mist before. Not in real life, but she’d felt them. Another gift of hers was that she could hunt them out in her mind. At least the ones that were using their powers when she looked. “I’ve seen them before. I’ve spent a lifetime looking…”—she shook her head—“for a sliver of normalcy. For anyone who might understand what I was going through.”
“You don’t have to be alone anymore,” Tara assured Selene. “I’m here.”
She hated feeling vulnerable. Hated that her emotions were so raw. She needed time to get herself under control.
“Thanks.” Selene avoided their eyes. “I left in such a hurry when I got your call. I drove straight here.”
“My call?” Tara asked.
“A burst of power that showed me exactly where you were. A few days ago,” Selene answered.
“Where did you come from, exactly? How far away from Hidden Creek?” Tara asked.
Selene shrugged. “Atlanta. I was… visiting a friend.” She had been in Atlanta, but the real truth of it seemed too dark. She’d headed there to see Scott one last time before the end of everything. She hadn’t wanted it all to end without at least telling him how she’d felt about him, but then she’d walked in on Scott and the blonde. Selene needed time to think. Time to rest before what was coming. Reaching for the door, she said, “Goodnight.”
Instead of going back to her room, she stepped behind the hotel and flew off to get her car.
She stopped at the small grocery store that was still open and grabbed some basics. She was starved, so it was mainly junk food.
When she finally climbed into bed later, she shot Scott a text message. There was so much she wanted to tell him, but the last year being away from him made her realize that she should keep her conversations brief. After all, he had a normal life and deserved to be happy up until the very end.
“The blonde girl is my sister.” She read it several times before finally hitting send.
Then she shut down for the night.
The next morning, she sat in a diner with Tara, Cole, and a bunch of other people she didn’t know. Some of them she recognized from the field the night before.
The fact that no one was looking at her strangely was a plus.
At first, they asked her questions about where she’d come from and her life. She kept her answers vague. But then Jessica walked over and flipped off the open sign on the shop. The moment the group was alone, the questions changed.
“We don’t mean to pry, but every new member has to go through a little trust test,” the shop owner, Jess, said.
Then Xtina, a raven-haired woman, held out her hands towards Selene. “Do you mind?”
Selene’s looked at her in question then warned, “Things don’t go well when people touch me.”
“Yeah, I forgot to ask you about that last night,” Colt said. “Tara didn’t seem to be affected.”
Selene looked down at her hands. “I guess she’s an exception.”
“What happens?” Jess asked.
“The best I can tell is that people see their worst nightmares when they touch me,” Selene answered. “Sort of a glimpse into their own madness.”
She remembered the first time it had happened to someone. She’d been four. One of the foster moms had wanted her to sit on her lap while they watched cartoons. The woman had screamed and thrown her to the ground. The next week she’d been placed into a different home.
From then on, any time someone got close to her, they screamed in fear and usually ran away in one form or another.