Forgotten Destiny 2

by Odette C. Bell

  Max was here to explain everything, wasn’t he? From the book to why he’d showed up on my doorstep several weeks ago and asked me to find my future husband.

  I brought up a hand, locked it on my face, curled my fingers in, and dragged them down my skin.

  “Are you trying to pull your face off? It won’t work, you know,” Josh said as he locked his hands behind his head, turned, and walked forward. “Even if you change your appearance, your problems are going to follow you. Trust me.”

  “Trust you?” I asked as I walked alongside him. “Just how long have you been trying to hide from your problems, Mr. McIntosh?” Perhaps it was too much of a pointed question – and perhaps I was changing the mood when I shouldn’t be, and yet the question needed to be asked.

  Josh’s shoulders tensed. “Approximately two years, three months, and 10 days. I can’t tell you down to the hour, though,” he said.

  His precise answer threw me, and I blinked hard. “What—” I began.

  I stopped as I saw the specific look in his eyes. The gut-wrenching sorrow.

  His sister.

  It must’ve been precisely that long since she’d been murdered.

  I swallowed.

  What had been intended as nothing more than a prying question had opened up a door into Mr. McIntosh that I hadn’t been prepared to go through. But now it was opened, I paused on the landing, hand on the stair rail that would take me down to Max in the kitchen. I looked right at Josh. “You know… I can help you.” I didn’t tell him what I could help him with.

  He didn’t need me to explain. He looked away sharply, and I could see emotion welling in his eyes. He cleared his throat. “Maybe one day I’ll take you up on that offer. But right now, you’ve got much bigger problems of your own.” Mr. Josh McIntosh did something strange. He reached forward, locked a hand gently on my back, and patted me. “It’ll be okay. I know I told you to be wary of Max – and I stand by that warning. He’s a freaking complicated guy. But at the end of the day, he’s still good. And he’s better…” Josh trailed off, not bothering to finish the thought.

  I knew what he was talking about. He was about to say that Max was better than Jason.

  My stomach grumbled and tightened at the mere thought.

  My feelings were still warring within me, claiming new ground every day. You see, a part of me still wanted to convince me that Jason was my soulmate, but a small grain of resistance was holding out in the center of my heart. It told me I hadn’t found my soulmate at all, that there’d been some mistake. But most of all, it told me that I didn’t need to find my soulmate – that I could get to decide who it would be.

  “Go on,” Josh said. “You can’t keep a busy man like Max waiting. He charges by the hour, you know,” he added.

  This made me snort. “And who’s to say I don’t charge by the hour now? I am a complete finder, after all.”

  We shared a smile. It didn’t last as I turned and finally walked down the stairs.

  I made my way into the kitchen to find Max seated in one of the chairs, a porcelain cup in his hand as he drummed his thumb against it. It took him several seconds to tilt his head up and stare at me as I stood quietly in the doorway.

  Our eyes met. I swear everything passed between us. Every question I’d ever wanted to ask and every word I couldn’t say.

  I took a breath. “How did you know….” My voice started out strong, but became weak as I realized I couldn’t put the question into words.

  I didn’t want to ask Max how he knew that my future husband would appear soon, because I still couldn’t believe that Jason was my freaking soulmate. The whole thing was just too surreal.

  Max gave me a pitiful smile as he stopped tapping his cup and instead took a sip. I caught sight of his gaze over the edge of the white, gold-rimmed porcelain, and it was dead. The dead-eyed stare of a man who thought there was no point in trying anymore, because he’d already lost.

  “There’s a prophecy, Bethany,” he said out of the blue, not looking at me again.

  My stomach tightened with recognition. “And what exactly does this prophecy say?”

  “That one day a complete finder would come along, marry a sorcerer, and bring peace to the world.”

  I blinked dramatically. “Firstly, why does everybody think this complete finder is me? Sure, I’m a complete finder, but there must be others. And secondly—”

  “If you’re about to ask why I’m sure that Jason is the sorcerer mentioned in the prophecy, it’s because you found him.”

  I shook my head. “But that supposes I’m the complete finder talked about in the first place,” I said with some exasperation.

  Max looked at me with exactly the kind of look that told me there was no question in his mind. “It’s you, Bethany. Trust me.”

  “I don’t want to trust you. It doesn’t make any sense, anyhow. The world is hardly in trouble. Granted, there are still plenty of countries that go to war with each other, but there hasn’t been any global disputes for decades. And though there are violence and troubles – even in Madison City – it’s hardly large enough that you’d need some grand old prophecy to bring you hope.” With every word I said, my exasperation became louder and more powerful. This wasn’t just me trying to convince Max. No. This was now me trying to convince myself. Because with one look at his controlled expression, it told me he wasn’t being moved by a single one of my arguments.

  “There are things hidden that ordinary people do not see,” he said quietly.

  Adrenaline pumped through me with all the sudden force of a bullet slamming into my skull. I even shook back. “What is that supposed to mean?” My voice was so quiet, it was nothing more than a breath.

  Max now stared at me steadily. “Use your powers to figure out if I’m lying, Bethany. Am I lying?”

  I opened my mouth, but before I could shake my head, my powers started to assess the veracity of his statement. Finding the truth of somebody’s words was a new concept to me, and though I was only just getting a hold of this limited form of magic, this situation was different. And the reason it was different was Max. The tether connecting me with him was back, and I swore it was stronger than ever. It told me with perfect certainty that he wasn’t lying.

  My shoulders caved even further. I shook my head reflexively. “Are you trying to tell me that there’s some kind of secret war going on between the magical races of the world? One that could erupt at any moment and take the rest of humanity down with it?”

  He stared at me steadily. There was no force behind his gaze, however – just defeat. “That is precisely what I am telling you.”

  My mouth was suddenly so dry, I struggled to breathe. “But that’s insane. Why wouldn’t more people know? I mean witches—”

  “Because the average, everyday witch doesn’t have the power to make a difference. Nor do they have the strength to fight for the hidden grimoires.”

  My back arched on the term hidden grimoires. My eyes widened, too.

  Max obviously watched my reaction. “You can feel it, can’t you?” he said quietly.

  I swallowed. “So you’re telling me that… that I’m this complete finder from your prophecy. That I’m meant to marry Jason,” I clenched my teeth, “and that together we’re meant to save the world?” My voice rose steadily higher, rising like a warning alarm.

  On the promise that I would marry Jason, I swore Max twitched as if he’d been slapped, but he quickly hid his reaction as he nodded evenly. “I understand it sounds crazy, but unfortunately it isn’t. That’s what the prophecy promised.”

  “So why didn’t you tell me a word of this several weeks ago when you asked me to find my future husband?” There was accusation behind my tone now, and I felt it was fully justified. If Max had known – or even suspected – that I was the witch talked about in this prophecy, he could have given me a heads up.

  Max wouldn’t look at me now. He switched his gaze back to his cup as he tipped it this way and that, apparen
tly fascinated by the slosh of the tea within. “I wasn’t sure it was you at the time—”

  “Even if you’d suspected, you should have said. You’re holding something back,” I snapped.

  This elicited a small chuckle from Max as he tipped his head back, a flash of a wry smile crumpling his lips. It didn’t last. His sorrow, disappointment, and defeated expression flooded back in once more. “Congratulations, Bethany,” I could barely hear his voice; it was so quiet, “I was lying. Your powers are obviously growing already to keep up with the prophecy.”

  I snorted hard. “These aren’t my powers – just my deductive skills. You taught me that lesson, remember? My tone was choked now. “Finding magic is patchy, but doing your research never fails. I might have really only just met you,” I said, controlling my tone, “but I can tell when you’re lying. So what are you holding back? How did you know it would be me?”

  “Because you are a locator, and locators are extremely rare. Unlike us opportunity finders, you are better placed to learn all types of finding magic. You also appeared at the right time,” he conceded.

  “So you have no actual proof, do you?” I couldn’t keep the hope out of my voice.

  It took a long time for Max to turn his attention to me. A confused, crumpled smile tugged his lips down into his chin. “You can’t fight this one, Beth. Believe you me – I’ve tried,” he said in such a quiet voice, I could only just pick it up. “You’re the finder talked about in the prophecy. You’ve already found one of the hidden grimoires, proving that point.”

  I shook my head wildly. “I wasn’t the one to find it – Jason was.”

  Max looked up at me slowly, and he didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to. Because that was a lie, wasn’t it? Jason hadn’t found those books – I had. He’d obtained them, sure – but I told him where to look.

  I went back to shaking my head. “Even if this could possibly be true,” I said through clenched teeth as if I were trying to chew through the concept, “why the hell do I have to marry Jason? I don’t even like him! What the heck is meant to force us together? It’s not fair. It’s not legal, either,” I added with a blast of passion.

  Max looked at me with the oddest expression. I swore there was hope glistening behind his gaze, but if it was hope, it didn’t last. He smiled, but the feel of it was the exact opposite of a smile. It gave me the impression that if he’d had his way, he would’ve buried his head in his hands. “You will grow to love him,” he said with utter confidence, if not defeat. “No one will force you to marry him; you will choose to.”

  I looked at him in total surprise. I tipped my head back, and I laughed. I probably sound deranged, but it was the only way I could react to that statement. “Grow to love him? You’re out of your mind. I know he’s your brother, but he’s a selfish bastard who is only out for himself. There’s no way—”

  Max looked right at me. “It will happen, Beth,” he said, using my nickname. “And it will happen sooner rather than later. Jason will have to learn location magic from you. It will bring you closer together. And you will both need to work alongside each other to find the other grimoires.”

  I snorted again, but it was admittedly halfhearted. I knew what I felt, and yet it was obvious that Max didn’t think that mattered. He had so much blind confidence in this prophecy that he clearly didn’t care that I currently hated his brother.

  I shook my head one final time, really putting my attention into it as if I was shaking my head at the very situation and the absurdity of it all. “I don’t care what you say. I don’t care what this prophecy says, either. There’s no way I’m going to marry your damn brother. He’s not the man I like, anyway,” I blurted before I could stop myself.

  Max looked up at me as I began to blush.

  His expression was unreadable.

  This was where I should wave my hands about, try to distract him, and pretend I hadn’t just said that.

  I’d only known Max for about four weeks now, and, for heaven’s sake, that wasn’t enough for me to profess my love for him.

  But blame it on the fact my destiny had apparently promised me to someone else – I took a step forward.

  I didn’t know what I was going to do. All I knew was that the sensations rushing through me promised that there was an opportunity here – if only I could take it.

  Just as Max’s eyes widened in anticipation, there was a loud knock at the front door. I swore it rolled through me like thunder directly overhead.

  I stopped.

  Max turned his head toward the door and rose from his chair warily as if he were a deer trying to avoid a wolf.

  I looked right at him. I tried to feel the tether between us. More than anything, I tried to hold onto it.

  But it slipped away as someone let themselves in the front door.

  Jason.

  “Knock, knock,” he said. “Are you in, Beth? Because we really, really have to talk.”

  I stared at Max.

  I tried to hold onto his gaze.

  I’d all but blurted out that I liked him. So the next move was his, right?

  I waited.

  And Max?

  He hesitated, then turned and walked from the kitchen as Jason pushed past.

  Jason stopped in front of me and smiled. “Are you ready for this?”

  My stomach twisted. No. No, I was not ready for this.

  The end of Forgotten Destiny Book Two. Forgotten Destiny Book Three is currently available.

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