Defying Destiny (Afterword Academy #3) - Katie May Page 0,3

flashing her pink gums at Caius. “Why? Want to join us, big boy?” Caius glowers and floats to the back of the room. “Okay, fine. Adam, we will finish this later.” Aggie, Eve, pecks Buttox, Adam, on the cheek, then steps forward. “Back at the beginning of time, Claire, or Hadley as you all know her, was my best friend. We did everything together. Ever since Claire’s untimely demise and Caius’s banishment, I’ve suspected Lilith was at fault. But I had no proof. So I’ve been spying on her all of these years.”

Aggie walks over to the statue and grabs stone Braxton’s ass. “It’s revenge she was after initially, wanting vengeance for Lucifer’s death. But it morphed into something much more sinister. She seeks to take all of our powers for her own. And she almost succeeded.”

Aggie makes her way over to Hadley, looking down upon her fallen friend with sorrow. “Hadley is the key to it all. She is more powerful than any of us know.” She looks up to us again, a desperate look on her old and wrinkled face. “It’s up to you now. Not just the fate of Hadley, but the fates of everyone. If you don’t get her back, then Lilith wins. If you don’t get her back, then the world as you know it will change forever.”

“The voice said the same thing,” I whisper to Karston next to me, who nods in agreement.

“Any suggestions on what to do with her body?” he asks, taking one step closer. “We can’t take her with us into Hell.” Sorrow flits across his face as he gazes tenderly down at our girl before he washes clean the expression and adopts an impassive front.

“On the contrary,” Aggie says with a grin. “There is a way to reanimate your Fated until you can return her essence to her soul.”

“That’s right,” Caius says as if recollecting something. “I remember something like this happening before.”

Aggie nods. “Animentara. It can only be done once. After that, you’re on your own.”

Preston looks like a scared little boy, though his eyes flash with hope—hope we all feel desperately while simultaneously being terrified of it. “H-How do we do it?”

Aggie saunters back over to Buttox, who eyes her disgusting body with hunger. “There is power in having Fated. Even more so since Hadley has five Fated at her disposal. But since Caius doesn’t have any essence of his own to share, it will come down to you four brothers.”

“There are rules though,” Caius adds, nodding his head vigorously while his shadowy eyes flash with newfound animation. Apparently, he remembers this spell Aggie is talking about, and the strength of his hope permeates the air. “Because the essences you give her are not technically hers, her own soul will burn through them, trying to dispel them from inside of herself. And we won’t know how long she’ll have. She could animate for days or for minutes. We just don’t know.”

“She can have any part of me she needs to get through this,” Brax says resolutely, stepping forward and glancing from Aggie to Caius. “Just tell us what to do.”

Aggie points at me and my brothers. “The four of you, kneel around her.” We do as she requests, dropping to the ground next to our girl. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that any of us wouldn’t do for her. “Each of you, reach out with your right hand and place it on the brother to your right.” We move to follow her instructions. Karston grabs my left shoulder, I reach out and place my hand on Braxton’s. Brax holds on to Preston, and Pres is gripping Karston. “Good. Now, place your free hand on Hadley. Anywhere on her.”

The four of us rest our left hands on Hadley. I place mine on her heart, Braxton her stomach. Preston holds her arm, and Karston rests his hand on her forehead. “Now close your eyes and concentrate,” Aggie orders. “Empty your minds of anything but the connection you have to her. Think about what being a Fated means, the importance of it, the rarity of such a gift. Look deep inside yourself, and see the ball of light flickering inside of you where your essence lives. Within that ball are all the things that make you, you. Grasp onto a strong emotion you feel towards Hadley and something you like about yourself, then offer that part of yourself to her. Give it freely, and a piece of you will