Page 133 of Once Upon a Fable

Down.

Down.

Trees whacked me, rocks pummelled me, air carried me to the end.

Twisting, turning, a rag doll with no direction.

I didn’t fight it. I stayed limp, accepting, ready.

I let pain explode and bruises bloom.

I closed my eyes on the falling blur.

Three things I thought of before the ground caught me.

One, I’d honored my promise and kept my Fable family safe.

Two, I was glad,gladI no longer had to fight.

And three...

Well, three was the only wince in my entire death experience.

It was about her.

Gemma.

Brave, tenacious, beautiful, and strong.

She was the reason my end had come.

She’d cursed me, and now she was free.

Hatred existed between us, lust and need, confusion and fear.

But the simple fact was if life had been kinder, if I had been less of what I was and more of what she deserved, things might have worked out differently.

If I was braver.

If I was saner.

If I hadn’t trapped her or used her or thought I could own her like I’d been owned by others, she might have stayed.

She might have cared.

And I might’ve fallen hopelessly in love with her.

CHAPTER TWO

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I FELL TO MY KNEES.

Blank shock numbed me. My mind couldn’t decipher what’d just happened. An awful kind of hissing erupted in my ears. A static white noise that trickled into my bloodstream and made every bone twitch.

He’s...gone.

I shook my head. My mouth parted. My heart raced.