Arise (Awakened Fate Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

through the cracks around the old window frame, I could catch whiffs of evergreen on the night air.
    My hand curled into a fist and my arm rested above my head on the wall, bracing me beside the window. I’d needed to go out there. I’d needed to talk to her and know for certain what was between her and that guy. I mean, I’d been pretty sure. It was practically written all over them.
    But I’d still needed to hear it from her.
    And now…
    My arm trembled with the urge to hit the wall.
    Truthfully, it wasn’t this guy that bothered me. Not really. Or, maybe just not entirely . I hated the sight of him, yes, and would happily chuck him into the nearest body of water and leave him there to rot, but that wasn’t the point. He’d been there. He’d probably comforted her, and talked to her, and made her feel safe. And I hadn’t. Instead, I’d been the one to hurt her. To drive her away. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t had much of a choice at the time. Or that my cousins would have killed her. Or that there hadn’t been any opportunity to explain.
    It didn’t change what I’d done.
    So it made sense she’d looked elsewhere after what happened. I got that. I hated it, but I got it. I just didn’t want to leave things that way. I wanted a chance to fix this. To make it up to her and get back to what we’d started to have before those dehaian bastards drugged her and she’d been forced to leave.
    And punching Zeke wouldn’t do that. Probably not, anyway.
    Grimacing, I scrubbed my other hand over my face, ordering myself to stay awake and focus. I’d figure something out – something that didn’t involve breaking the face of that dehaian. I’d get her back, and I’d do my damnedest never to hurt her again.
    I wasn’t going to let things between me and Chloe end like this.
     
     

Chapter Four
     
    Chloe
     
    It was strange how, even when you’d been watching the darkness all night, sunrise could still take you by surprise. One minute, the sky was dark, and the next, you realized the world was easier to see.
    Though maybe I was just distracted. I had, after all, spent the entire night torn between the desire to pace furiously and the impulse to cry about the stupid, complicated mess my life had become.
    Drawing a shaky breath, I attempted to focus back on the street. Nothing had happened all night long, barring a few stray cats wandering through the darkness and the occasional cry of some wild animal. Within the past several minutes, curtains had started to pull back on the windows of houses along the street, the early risers letting the barest hints of morning light into their homes while they got ready for the day. But that was all.
    The front door opened, breaking the stillness. Baylie stuck her head outside.
    She paused at the sight of me. “Hey.”
    “Hey.”
    “You’re still up,” she said, awkwardly stating the obvious.
    I nodded.
    “You doing alright?”
    “Uh-huh.”
    Baylie hesitated and then came the rest of the way onto the porch. Wordlessly, she crossed to the swing and sat down.
    A moment passed.
    “Noah told me you don’t… you don’t need to sleep anymore.”
    I tried not to fidget uncomfortably. I wasn’t sure what to say.
    “But you used to, right? I mean…” She looked uneasy.
    “Yeah.”
    At the tension in my tone, she grimaced. “I’m sorry. It’s just–”
    “Weird.”
    “Freaky.”
    I couldn’t stop myself from shifting on the seat this time.
    Out of nowhere, she gave a scoffing chuckle. I glanced to her, confused.
    “Sorry,” she explained. “Noah… when I found out about him, he said that, and then I answered sort of the same way and I just…” The chuckle came again, the sound a bit more strained. “Yeah.”
    I wasn’t sure how to respond.
    Running a hand through her blonde hair, she let out a breath. “So what’s it like?” she asked, a lighter note in her voice. “Underwater, I mean.”
    I studied her warily. “It’s alright.”
    Her face took