Free Three Hot Wishes (Fantasy Come to Life - Magic in the Real World Novel) by Elodie Chase

    Did he ask questions? Did he complain about his surroundings? No. He trusted in me, and instead spent his time preparing himself to follow whatever vision he thought I was about to have. Loving him would be easy, if it were me he was meant to love.

 
    But it wasn't.

 
    He was meant for Lacey. I'd crafted him for her, and her for him. To step into her role for however short a time was to make of their love something obscene. It would be like tricking a trusting child, and the stink of that betrayal would haunt me for the rest of my life. Maybe Keller didn't truly exist, but even a figment of my imagination didn't deserve to fall in love under false pretenses, and pretending that he was right for me was about as false as I could imagine.

 
    "Keller?" I called as I left the bathroom.

 
    "Yes?"

 
    "Just making sure you're still here," I said lamely. I'd more than half expected for him to vanish from my life the same way Logan had, once I had my revelation about how our lives wouldn't interweave. It hadn't happened though, and I was glad of that. He deserved better than simply winking out of existence like that, with no explanation.

 
    "Is everything okay?" he asked.

 
    I came around the corner and sat next to him on the bed, taking his big hands into my own. They were rough too, and I wondered if in the back of my hands I had a thing for guys with callouses. Not a lot of romances about accountants you know, Beth, I reminded myself.

 
    "Keller," I said, "I've had a vision."

 
    His bright blue eyes lit up, and for a moment he was so ruggedly handsome that my heartstrings tried to rally together and tug me in the other direction, away from the decision I'd already made.

 
    I dug my heels in and pressed on. "You may not like it, though."

 
    He made a face that said it wasn't his job to judge me or my visions, and I smiled. "Go on," he said.

 
    "You need to return to your cave. The woman you're waiting for isn't me, but I can show her how to find you. I'm her guide," I said, realizing that the words couldn't have been truer if I'd tried. "It's my job to show her the way to you through the frost, to light her path with the Northern Lights above and the crunch of fresh snowfall on the ground. I need you to go back there and make her feel safe when she arrives, because you aren't the end of her journey. Once she makes it to you, you'll both find that the thing you seek can only be found in the company of the other."

 
    I waited, holding my breath, hoping he wouldn't argue or ask questions. It had been hard enough to push him away like this. If he wanted to know why, if he tried to use logic against that which wasn't governed by the rules of the mind, I didn't know what I'd tell him.

 
    Worse, I could already feel my resolve crumbling. If he asked to stay by my side, there was every chance I'd give in and let him. It wouldn't be the right thing to do, but it would feel so good right now that I may just falter and let it happen.

 
    "I understand," he said at last, leaning in to wrap his great big arms around me and pull me to his barrel chest. There was a strength about him that made my eyes water, and the safety I felt in his embrace was something I feared I'd never feel so close to again. "Thank you for showing me the way."

 
    I nodded, hugging him back and then looking up at him when he let go and stood up.

 
    "One more thing," he said. I could hear the winds of the North coming for him, and somewhere in the darkness one wolf howled to another, a lonely song that made my heart skip a beat in empathy.

 
    "Anything," I answered.

 
    "When you show her the way, take care of her for me. I know she'll arrive beaten and broken, but leave me enough to put her together stronger than she was. I think she and I will both need her strength, and if you rob her of it, all will be lost."

 
    "Of course," I said, giving him a wink. "I know how to craft a good story. Now get going."

 
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