Free Dissever (Unbinding Fate Book One) by Colee Firman

last few years. She figured it didn’t
really matter, but at the same time she was disappointed. She never got a
chance to ask him if she could tell Fate about the healing power. Just going
off the fact he never talked to her about it again, she figured he’d say no
anyway.
     
    Like most evenings, Addy ate dinner with Kim and then
went over to her place to hang out. On their way back to Kim’s villa after
eating, they spotted a group of the guys at a table by the pool.
    Matt, his Uncle Josh, Gage, and the Akori guard Malcolm
were gathered with a few others playing poker and drinking.
    “No one invited us to play,” Kim said as they passed
the guys.
    Matt laughed and tipped his head back to look at her.
“You can play— if you bring lots of money.”
    Kim was terrible at any game requiring cards and Addy
always kept her away from poker with the guys.
    Addy walked up behind Matt and leaned over his
shoulder. “You should fold.”
    “Thanks, high roller.” Matt smiled. “What am I gonna
do in a hundred years when you’re not around to give me poker tips?”
    “Lose,” Addy said, grabbing a beer from the cooler by
the table.
    Malcolm smirked at Matt. “Yeah, and every time we take
your money we’ll ask if you wish Addy was there to bail you out.”
    Matt reached up and poked her in the ribs. “And I’ll
just be like, ‘ Addy who? ’”
    “You don’t have to pretend, Mattie,” she said, putting
her arms around his shoulders. “I know you’ll miss me when I’m gone.”
     Kim let out an annoyed sigh and crossed her arms. “You
guys shouldn’t talk like that.”
    “She’s right, it’s messed up,” Gage said, not looking
up from his cards.
    “Oh relax, Captain Way Too Serious ,” Matt said
to Gage, folding his hand and making a shooing motion to the girls. “And you
two move along, you’re distracting me.”
     
    Kim hadn’t come to understand how the Akori and human
relationships worked like Addy had. Being raised around Akori, Addy knew her
lifetime was like the blink of an eye to Akori. They were immortal—they’d
probably had countless human friends they’d lost to death from old age.
    Fate said it was usually harder for the younger Akori
to understand than the ones who’d been through it many times over the course of
their lives. Addy knew eventually she’d just be a memory to the Akori friends
she’d grown up with, but she didn’t dwell on it or pretend like it wasn’t gonna
happen.
    An hour later, Matt showed up at Kim’s place after
losing his money. Addy decided to head home rather than sit there and listen to
him whine about it. The guys were still playing cards by the pool when she
passed them on her way back to her villa, but she noticed Gage was already gone.
    According to Kim, Gage not speaking to her was making
her melancholy. How she came to that conclusion was a mystery to Addy because
she hadn’t mentioned Gage to Kim in days. Addy sat at the same table as Gage in
the dining room a couple of times, but just like at the poker game, he didn’t
even look at her. Realistically, that’s how he always was. He wasn’t acting any
different than he had in the past. It’s just after he healed her, she thought
he would act different, or at least wanna talk about it.
    Pulling her screen door open, a note fell at her feet.
She picked it up and unfolded it; pretty sure she already knew who it was from.
     
    I’ll be around the bar next-door tonight—swing by.
    -T
     
    That answered her question—Tanner was still
lurking around. She was surprisingly apprehensive about meeting him and she
wasn’t really sure whether to go or not. After making her way into her villa
and feeling bummed about spending another night sitting around with her video
game, she began to get ready. Addy decided to wear a light yellow skirt with a
thin white button down top—she also made sure to slip on her sandals. After a
quick check in the mirror, she headed out the door to find Tanner.
     
    Addy took