Soul Kissed (30 page)

       I whirled around, gazing at every corner of the room.  It wasn’t here.  My panicked eyes met Ahmose’s.

       “What?” he demanded.  “What is wrong?”

       “My bloodstone,” I whispered.  “It’s not here.  Annen must have taken it with him.  Which means..”

       “Which means that you are trapped here,” Ahmose confirmed, staring harshly at me.

       “I’m sorry,” I stammered.  “I had no idea that he would take it…”

       But Ahmose was already shaking his head. 

       “I cannot be angry with you for that, Charmian,” he muttered.  “Annen stole your bloodstone from my safe-keeping.  So how could I be angry with you for the same thing?”

       He turned and stared out the windows at the sparkling sea, his back rigid and ramrod straight.  He stayed silent and unmoving for so long that I was getting ready to prompt him when he turned to me again.

       “Charmian, whatever his motives are, he is trying to force your hand.  He has trapped you here for a reason.  Perhaps he wants you to change things to an outcome that better suits him.  I know not.  But you
must not
change anything.  Do you understand the seriousness of our situation?  We’re treading a very treacherous line.”

       I nodded, even as I remembered Annen’s words.  He absolutely wanted me to change things.  But not to suit him. The outcome was meaningless to him.  Annen wanted to prove to me that my whole existence had been a lie. 

       “But Hasani…” I whispered painfully. 

       “Hasani died as he was meant to,” Ahmose said firmly.  “His death was not your fault.”

       “But I could save him now,” I replied, sticking my chin out. “I don’t see what saving one Egyptian soldier would hurt.”

       “You can’t,” Ahmose reiterated.  “You must carry out your mission.”

       He stared at me with steely black eyes and I felt like crumpling to the floor in a heap. 

       I knew my place in the world.  I had been a Keeper for centuries.  What I was supposed to do was obvious. I should find Annen, retrieve my bloodstone and leave this place… letting destiny unroll as it was meant. But the attachment I felt to Hasani was absolute.   I couldn’t allow him to suffer a horrific fate. 

       Hasani was the only thing that mattered.

       “Ahmose?” I whispered.  “I don’t think I can.”

       “Of course you can,” he replied firmly.  “You don’t have a choice, Charmian.  Hasani will die no matter what.  Even if you intercede and stop his fate, he will die eventually.  Everyone does.  But if you change the fate that is meant for him, the ripple effects from that action could be devastating.   You cannot.”

       The confusion muddling my thoughts was sickening.  Was he right?  Deep down, I figured he probably was. Fate was what it was.  I didn’t write it- I just carried it out.  But that didn’t make the knowledge that my own actions would lead to Hasani’s death any less crippling.  The very thing that I had been born to protect and uphold was now ripping my heart out
. 

To read more of
Every Last Kiss
by Courtney Cole,

You can find it on
Amazon
or
Barnes and Noble.

About Courtney:

Courtney Cole is a novelist who loves Lake Michigan but is terrified of buoys and sea gulls.  That makes for some interesting days at the beach.   Her
Bloodstone Saga
(
Every Last Kiss
,
Fated, With My Last Breath
and
My Tattered Bonds
) is featured on several Amazon bestseller lists.  Courtney enjoyed writing about Mythology so much that she is writing a spin-off series,
The Moonstone Saga.
  To learn more about Courtney Cole and other books by this author, you can visit her at
www.courtneycolewrites.com