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  The woman lifted a creamy shoulder, tipping her head back, eyes closed to the sun. She wore a long, gilded gown with flashing diamonds. “I did not require an invite.”

  Janie took in the woman’s dark hair and creamy complexion. This didn’t make any sense. “You wouldn’t be Fate, would you?”

  The woman sighed and lowered her chin, pushing off from the rock, dark eyes sparkling. “How did you know?”

  “Lily described you.” Cool water washed over Janie’s feet. “But I thought Prophet Guiles made you up in the nightmares he forced on Lily and Caleb.”

  Fate glanced at Janie’s cropped jeans and then down at her own flowing skirt. With a snap of her fingers, the gown disappeared, leaving in its place a lightweight linen top and cropped pants. “Prophet Guiles used this form to describe me, so I thought to use the same one today.”

  “What do you really look like?” Janie asked.

  Fate shrugged. “Anything I want.” Her very white, bare feet barely left a dent in the sand as she began to walk. “I thought we should meet.”

  “Because everything changes during my twenty-fifth year?” Janie asked, her mind whirling as she started to walk again.

  “Everything changes every year,” Fate said. “Change is normal.”

  Janie exhaled slowly. It figured Fate was going to be philosophical when answers were needed. “So you’re here to finally explain my destiny?” For years, she’d wondered. Why had all the immortal species prophesied her birth? What in the world did she need to do? What if she failed?

  “Your destiny is a series of choices you make. I do not know which choices you will make, so I do not know your destiny.” Fate splashed a foot in the water. “I really like it here.”

  Irritation competed with the peace around Janie. “You’re Fate. Please tell me my future and why it matters.”

  “I cannot, because I do not know.” Fate stopped and turned to face Janie. “Every soul in this world has free choice and a million possible fates. Sure, I get involved and nudge once in a while.”

  “Nudge?” Janie’s feet sank into the sand when she stopped moving. “How so?”

  Fate gestured to the ocean. “There is a whole world out there all by itself. Maybe I plant a rock, and a fish swims along a reef instead of under it. Free will, and that is how he gets eaten.”

  Janie shook her head. “I’m a fish now?”

  “We are all fish.” Fate eyed the cloudless sky. “Your father rescued your mother and you because he is the brother the king sent . . . that may have been my idea in a vision. But all I did was suggest it . . . their falling in love and giving you a safe life was up to them.”

  “So nudge me now.” Janie could really use some help.

  “I am here, and I am nudging.” Fate glanced down at her toes scrunching the sand. “I cannot tell you what to do, but I am here to tell you to trust your training and your heart. Even when it seems to get dark, you will find the light.”

  Janie narrowed her gaze, trying to understand. “This is the year that I finally meet Zane in person, right?”

  Zane was her childhood friend whom she’d only met in dream worlds. But she’d always known the fate of the world would come down to Zane, Kalin the Kurjan, and herself. But she’d never had a vision about the outcome.

  “Yes. You will meet Zane.”

  “What is he?” Janie asked. She’d known he was part vampire from the beginning, but when his vampire father had died, he’d gone to live with his mother’s people, and Janie had never understood who they were. “I think he’s part-shifter. Something strong.”

  Fate shrugged again. “He is what he is.”

  “Will he align himself with us?” Janie whispered.

  “I do not know. Like you, he has choices to make.” Fate drew in a deep breath. “Zane is ... unique. You will see.”

  Janie already knew Zane was special. How? And why did she have a foreboding feeling about her immediate future? “I have to know. Is it my life . . . or my death that will bring the most change for good?” She ran her hands down her arms.

  Fate glanced at her, eyes darkening even more. She smiled. “That’s entirely up to you, Janet Isabella Kayrs. The choice always has been, and always will be, yours. Good luck.”

  Watch for Janie’s story, Marked,

  available from eKensington December 2014.

  USA Today bestselling author REBECCA ZANETTI has worked as an art curator, Senate aide, lawyer, college professor, and a hearing examiner—only to culminate it all in stories about alpha males and the women who claim them. She is a member of RWA, has won awards for her works throughout the industry, and has a journalism degree with a poli-sci emphasis from Pepperdine University, as well as a Juris Doctor from the University of Idaho.

  Growing up amid the glorious backdrops and winter wonderlands of the Pacific Northwest has given Rebecca fantastic scenery and adventures to weave into her stories. She resides in the wild north with her husband, children, and extended family who inspire her every day—or at the very least give her plenty of characters to write about.

  Please visit Rebecca at www.rebeccazanetti.com.

  eKENSINGTON BOOKS are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

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  New York, NY 10018

  Copyright © 2014 Rebecca Zanetti

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

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  ISBN: 978-1-6018-3153-8

  First electronic edition: May 2014