Read Brightest Kind of Darkness Online
Authors: P. T. Michelle,Patrice Michelle
Tags: #Young Adult, #Fantasy, #Romance, #Mystery
Brightest Kind of Darkness (27 page)
The deep grooves around his mouth smoothed into a quick smile as he slid his fingers into my hair. “Did it work?”
I frowned, surprised by his question. “You didn’t see my dream?”
His brows drew together. “I saw you talking to your mom in the kitchen about the text your aunt sent, then everything went blank.”
“My aunt’s having trouble finding my dad.”
“Maybe he’s out of town. Don’t worry. She’ll get in touch with him.” He ran his thumb along my cheek, concern in his gaze. “Do you think it worked?”
I rubbed my hands across the covers, then ruffled my hair for good measure. “No more static.”
Ethan stared at me pensively. “How was Fate?”
Why didn’t he see me talking to Fate? Maybe only I could see myself talking to
my
Fate. Clasping his hand, I threaded our fingers together. “He’s nasty and manipulative. You were right. He showed himself when I made up a story about Aunt Sage’s text to keep Mom from freaking.”
His fingers tightened around mine. “Why are you hoarse?”
“I told him he was cheating, which pissed him off. I think screaming at him that I had free will and he needed to stop messing with my fate did the trick.”
Ethan exhaled a sigh of relief and wrapped his arm around my waist. “Thank God! I’m glad it worked,” he said, burying his nose in my hair.
There’d been no recognition on Ethan’s face. He didn’t have a clue that he’d helped me with Fate.
How was that possible?
Burying my nose against his sleep-warmed chest, I murmured, “Me, too.” Yet, I couldn’t help but wonder about Fate’s parting words. They’d been purposeful and mocking—he’d said just enough to leave me wondering what my future held.
Fate had seemed annoyed by the ravens’ appearance in my dream, but he didn’t see them as a threat, at least not until they’d tipped the scales by keeping him away from me. Why
had
the ravens sacrificed themselves to save me? Were they responsible for Ethan’s presence in my dream as well? Is that why Ethan didn’t remember helping me?
There was only one fact I was certain, the feather on Ethan’s back
was
a raven’s feather.
I trailed my fingers over his tattoo, worried how he would react when he learned it had changed again in a
big
way.
He touched my cheek, his blue eyes on alert. “What is it?”
I loved him so much.
“Come with me.” Clasping his hand, I pulled him over to the mirror above my dresser.
When he saw the new tattoo on his back, the color drained from his face. “What the hell is that—”
“It’s a sword.” I turned his face toward me. He felt tense under my palms and his eyes were glazed over in disbelieving fury. As he gripped his forearm, rubbing his fingers hard along the dragon, I’d never seen him look so angry and scared.
“Ethan!” When he focused, I cupped his jaw. “I love you. I love
every
part of you.”
Emotion flitted across his face as he pulled me close. Resting his lips against my hair, he exhaled a ragged, desperate whisper, “How can you love me? From one day to the next, I don’t know what’s going on with me.”
“You’re still
you
, Ethan.” I pressed my face into his warm neck and wrapped my arms around his back to show him I wasn’t going anywhere. “I think part of the answer to what’s going on with you was in my dream.”
“I was in your dream?”
“You weren’t in my dream about my day, but when Fate zapped me into the woods to talk, you were there in the background, surrounded by a circle of flying ravens.”
“Ravens?”
“Your eyes were closed and you looked relaxed, almost peaceful among them. I believe the feather on your back is a raven’s feather. Don’t forget, the ravens helped when Fate was going all vigilante on me.” My eyes misted as I continued, “Many of them gave their lives to save me from him in my dream.”
Ethan tensed once more. “Fate attacked you?”
“He tried to choke me, but a swarm of ravens threw him back.”
Lifting my chin, Ethan rubbed his fingers along my throat, worry and guilt creasing his forehead. “I didn’t think he could hurt you in a dream.”
“The ravens protected me. But you were the one who told me what to say to make Fate back off.”
Shock rolled across his features. “
I
told you what to say?”
“Yeah, in Latin.”
He frowned. “I don’t know Latin.” Raking his hand through his hair, he blew out a breath of frustration. “God, I wish I could’ve seen your dream.”
“It was you, but different.”
Shaking his head, he sighed. “Maybe there’s some connection with the ravens. I can’t explain their sudden appearance in our lives any other way.” His expression of wonder turned grim. “But a sword’s not very peaceful, Nara.”
“A sword can be defensive as well as offensive.” Turning him around so his back faced the mirror, I pointed to the circular symbol above the feather near the hilt. “Can you see what this is?”
Ethan moved closer to see. “Is that a raven?”
I nodded. “The black raven is one half of the curve and the other half is the same, but in silver. They fit together like a puzzle. It reminds me of a Yin Yang symbol; a symbol of balance.”
When he didn’t respond, I continued, “I think the tattoo on your back is somehow connected to
your
dreams. I saw this symbol that night I wore the necklace and shared your dreams and then again last night.”
Surprise flickered across his face. “You did? Why haven’t I ever seen it?”
“I don’t know, but whatever’s happening with your tattoo…with you, we’ll face it together.”
He looked at me, his gaze swirling with love and turmoil. “Promise?”
Even though some parts of Ethan were still a dark mystery, I felt closer to him now more than ever. Pressing my chest to his, I drew a diagonal line from his left shoulder blade to his right hip. Moving my fingers to his right shoulder blade, I trailed them to his left hip, touching his entire tattoo. “Cross my heart. Together, ‘til the wheels fall off.”
Acknowledgements
A tremendous “thank you” goes out to the following people who read
Brightest Kind of Darkness
in various stages and gave helpful critiques and feedback.
Cassandra Bird
Rinda Elliott
Stacey Jay
Marcy Posner
Charlene Teglia
To my critique partners, Jeri Smith Ready and J.A. Templeton, I can’t thank you enough for your invaluable input (the first, second and third time!) during the writing of this book. I couldn’t have done it without you.
To my husband, I appreciate you patiently listening to me talk about this story non-stop for three years with the same supportive response, “Get it out there!”
And to my children, you kept me going by always asking the moment you walked in the door from school, “Have you written another chapter yet? What happens next?”
About the Author
P.T. Michelle is the young adult pseudonym of Patrice Michelle, author of fifteen paranormal and contemporary romances and novellas. To learn more about P.T.’s fiction, visit her at the following places:
Website
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/PTMichelleAuthor
Twitter
Trademark Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of the following mentioned in this work of fiction:
Starbucks Corporation: Starbucks
Ford Motor Company: Mustang
Walmart Stores, Inc: Walmart
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