Dr. Wynn stood in the middle of his office. His heart was pounding harder than ever. Deidre’s tears burned through his shirt to his skin, and he couldn’t dismiss the expression on her face from his thoughts. She’d made a decision in front of him, one that warned him this might be his last chance to reveal his secret. He’d wanted to tell her not to go to the beach with Logan, to spend the weekend with him instead of some stupid human that had no idea how to appreciate a woman like her. He walked away, because it was the right thing to do.
Wynn didn’t do what was right in this life or the last, unless it benefited him directly. He wanted her. It didn’t matter if she felt the same or if she had someone else.
One minute, Dr. Wynn was headed back towards Deidre’s exam room. The next, his foot sank into sand. Fluorescent lighting overhead morphed to an expansive blue sky and brilliant sunlight that made him squint. The air-conditioned hospital corridor gave way to the balmy heat of the Caribbean island on which he stood. He glanced down at the expensive loafers that now contained tiny grains of sand he’d never be able to flush out of the seams.
“Where might you be going?” a warm voice asked from behind him.
Wynn was still for a long moment. It was not every day he was summoned by a deity. Reincarnation left his power stunted and him far less brash in how he used what remained.
“You do not normally demean yourself by talking to someone as lowly as I am,” he replied, turning.
Barefooted and relaxed, Fate flashed a wide smile. His brown hair was tousled from the ocean breeze, and he was dressed in jeans and a loose shirt fastened across the golden skin of his chest by one button.
“A doctor this time around?”
“It’s an honorable trade,” Wynn replied.
“An honorable trade for a man with no honor,” Fate said.
“Better than preying on the free will of humans.”
“Speaking of preying on those weaker than you, I have an interest in your … patient.”
“You and many others.” Wynn removed his shoes and sat nearby, uneasy but unwilling to show it. Deities did not summon formerly dead-dead Immortals to them without a compelling reason.
“Vengeance is a strong motivator, even for me,” Fate began. “I am curious, doctor, did you know she would come to you or did you stumble upon her?”
“You know the answer,” Wynn said. “Let’s not play games with one another today. I cannot possibly have anything you want.”
“I monitor and balance potential outcomes and free will. There’s room for curiosity about the motivations of others,” Fate said.
Wynn met the deity’s gaze, which flickered between all the colors in the universe. He’d met Fate once. It was impossible to forget Fate or Death or any other deity once one crossed their paths or to deny that such creatures not only existed, but played a game no one else understood or had a chance of winning. Wynn didn’t like being out of control, at the mercy of one he couldn’t predict or manipulate.
“For example, before you ran into her in the mortal world, there was a ninety seven percent chance you would’ve killed her the first time you met. Now, there’s less than a one percent chance,” Fate continued. “You’ve gone so far as to eliminate some of the enemies who likewise stumbled across her.”
“I do not need to explain my actions to you.” Wynn looked away. “What do you want from me?”
“You are close to crossing the line where you mess with the Future. You have been for awhile.”
“You have a preferred outcome,” Wynn said, suddenly comprehending why he’d been involuntarily summoned. “You don’t want me to influence it.”
“Some laws from the time-before-time cannot be broken,” Fate replied.
“Those rules are very few.”
“You will have to trust me when I say this is one of them.”
“Will you tell me one thing?” Wynn asked. “What is your motivation to interfere now?”
“I have no motivation.” Fate smiled. “Ask what you mean to ask, Wynn. I may answer it.”
Wynn’s jaw clenched. No, he didn’t miss this aspect of his past life. Dealing with deities was a nightmare. He hated the idea of being vulnerable, and concern for another was vulnerability.
“Are you going to save her?” He forced the words out.
“From what?” Fate asked with faux innocence.
“I made a mistake. I cannot fix it.”
“It’s not so bad to admit you were wrong, is it?”
“How do you think it feels to live with the regret that stems from having done something beyond reparation to someone as beautiful as she is in this life?” Wynn asked in barely controlled anger.
“No idea. I’ll never have that problem,” Fate said with a shrug.
“If you are finished with me, I have work to do.” Wynn rose, fed up.
“Her destiny lies with Death.”
Wynn debated the meaning behind the words. There was more than one interpretation, and he admitted at last he wasn’t certain what Fate was telling him.
“She brought me back for a reason,” Wynn said. “I’d like to think there’s greater meaning to both of us being reincarnated.”
“It’s not lost on me that you repay her for that favor by killing her,” Fate said. “Slowly, while you hold her hand and lower her into eternal rest. Beautiful, Wynn. I’ve been watching the events unfold with no small amount of entertainment.”
“It was a kinder revenge than she deserved,” he replied. “I know you agree with me.”
“Very much so, especially when you consider she stole your heart not once but twice.”
“She has a way about her.”
“She will never be yours.”
Wynn’s breath caught at the stark pronouncement from the enigmatic deity. His body was tense, his memories flowing unabated. He hadn’t expected anything different when he met the reincarnated Deidre a few years ago and started down this path. When his mind changed from vengeance to compassion, he wasn’t certain. Perhaps the day he realized what he’d done was irreparable, and he was going to lose her twice.
Fate knew what Wynn intended to do, had he left his office to find Deidre before she left the hospital. The deity dragged Wynn here to warn him against altering his plan for revenge. Wynn lost this round.
“I understand,” he managed. “I will not interfere in that regard. Anything else?”
“No.”
Wynn nodded once. He took a step and was back in the hallway. Fate dropped him in front of the door to Deidre’s exam room, a twisting of the knife in his heart. With a deep breath, Wynn turned away and retreated to his office.