N. Walters - Threads of Destiny

Kathryn, Logan and Tienan were all waiting for him. He marched through the long hall with them at his side. He looked neither to the right nor to the left. And he never looked back.

He climbed the stairs for the very last time and led them to the room where they’d first appeared. Walking to the window, he stared out over the land for one final time, imprinting the picture on his heart and soul.

The door closed and he turned to face the group behind him. “I’m going with you.” Kathryn couldn’t believe her ears. “What are you talking about?” Surely he didn’t mean what she thought.

His eyes narrowed and he stared at her, resolve written on every line of his face. “I am returning to Earth with you when you go.”

“That’s ridiculous,” she sputtered. “What’s going on there is not your fight. Your life is here. Your family is here.”

He strode to her, grabbed her shoulders in his big hands and shook her lightly.

“Not my fight?” The tension from his hands radiated down her torso and legs until it enveloped her.

He was so much larger than her but she wasn’t the slightest bit afraid of him. “No, it’s not.” There was no way she would let him leave his wonderful home and loving family. What he had here was everything she’d ever wanted. She bit her lip to keep from begging him to go with her. She loved him enough to want the best for him.

Marc lowered his face until their noses were almost touching, anger glowing in his eyes. “You are my life.” He said each word slowly, spacing them apart. “You are the very air I breathe, the reason my heart beats. I will be by your side.” Her heart pounded so hard she feared it might explode from her chest. His words vibrated in her very soul. Never had anyone said such things to her. She’d wanted this kind of love her entire life, had longed for it, craved it. But now that it was being offered to her, she had to turn away from it.

“No. I won’t let you do it.”

He straightened slowly. “You cannot stop me.”

Tears of anger and worry pricked her eyes and she swiped at them as she turned to the men standing silently behind her. “Talk to him. I’m going to get changed.” Stalking off, she headed to the bathing room, slamming the door behind her.

Christina had told her earlier that her original clothing was all cleaned and waiting for her. Neither woman was sure if the clothing from Javara would make it through the transfer. Marc had arrived fully clothed but he wasn’t from Earth and she wasn’t about to take any chances.

Stripping off her pants and boots, she tossed them aside. She yanked the tunic over her head and added it to the pile. Had it only been two days since she’d been plucked from her bedroom and brought here? It seemed impossible, yet it had happened.

She tugged on her clean underwear and pulled on her pants, tugging up the zipper and doing up the single button. Her socks and shoes were next. She had no blouse, as that had been sacrificed as a bandage for Tienan. Christina had left a waist-length tunic for her to wear. It was better than nothing and hopefully she wouldn’t lose it in the transition back home.

Even her purse was there, so she dug into the bag and pulled out her brush, then yanked it through her hair. When she was done, she quickly plaited the mass and tied the end off with an elastic from her bag. She tossed the brush back inside and looked around. There was nothing else left for her to do. She was ready.

She’d taken her tweezers downstairs earlier and given them to Mara, who would make sure her brother, the blacksmith, got them. Kathryn wished she’d be around to see how the man did with copying them and the other medical implements she’d drawn. Everything else she’d brought with her, including the leather journal, was tucked safely in her purse.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. There was no escaping her destiny, no matter what she wanted.

Are you certain you know what your destiny is?

The voice seemed to echo inside her brain, yet it wasn’t hers. “Of course I’m certain? I have to go back.” Great, now she was talking to herself. She had to get a grip.

Your destiny is not the same as Tienan’s and Logan’s. They have their path to walk and you have yours. Remember, child, the tapestry always knows what it is doing. It takes women who are out of place in their own time and brings them here, where they have the ability to thrive and make a difference.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and goose bumps raced down her arms. She knew that voice. It was Sarainta, the sorceress. “I don’t understand. It’s logical for me to go back. This is not my time and place. Besides, I owe it to my people to go back and fight my father and the General.” She turned in a circle, searching for the other woman. Her voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere in particular.

Sometimes you must push logic aside. Sometimes you must think with your heart.

“But logic is all I’ve ever known. It’s how I’ve lived my entire life.” Kathryn rubbed her hands over her arms, trying to drive back the chill that was slowly creeping through her.

Maybe it is time for your life to change. Maybe it is time for you to face your fears and claim your destiny.

“What fears? I’m trying to go back and face my father and General Caruthers. I’m trying to face my fears.”

Are you really? The voice questioned kindly. Or are you running from your biggest fear? The fear that you aren’t really lovable, the fear that no one could truly love you for who you are.

A lone tear seeped from the corner of her eye to trail down her face. “That’s not fair,” she whispered.

Life is seldom fair. But there are times when the scales can be balanced. This is one of those times. The choice is ultimately yours. Believe, Kathryn. Believe in yourself. The world you’ve known will get along, or not, without you. It doesn’t need you. But this world…

A soft wind touched her face, drying her tear and then it was gone and she was left alone, Sarainta’s final words left hanging in the air around her. Her thoughts tumbled over one another in her confusion. She had to go back. Didn’t she? Was the voice right?

Was she really running, out of fear, from her one chance at love?

The men all shouted her name at once and she raced back to the bedroom. She barely noticed that Tienan and Logan were dressed in their original clothing. Her attention was riveted on the bed. The tapestry sat on the end of the mattress, the threads glowing as the pattern swirled and changed.

The time had come.

Marc stalked to the bed and grabbed the tapestry. “I am going with you if the tapestry will take me.” His voice was low and even.

She realized then that for him there was no other choice. He believed in love and was willing to do whatever it took for them to be together. He would sacrifice his home, his family and his friends to be with her, even knowing they were walking into certain death at the hands of her father and their government.

And what was she giving up? A chance to have a home and a family of her own. A place where she was accepted and her skills valued. A chance to spend the rest of her days beside a man who loved her more than life itself.

And what was she going back to? A world where she didn’t belong. Where people belittled her and berated her. A lonely place with only two friends and no one to truly love her the way she needed them to.

“No.” She whispered the word and Marc glared at her. She knew he’d misinterpreted what she meant.

Tienan strode to Marc’s side and pulled the tapestry from his grip. “Logan and I are returning to fight.” He turned to Kathryn. “There are rumors that some of the other alphas escaped termination. If that is so, we can start building an army, a resistance force outside the Gate to fight the government. Maybe band together with the people living there.”