All Chapters of Shifted Fate: Chapter 281 - Chapter 290

I opened the letter in my hands, and a wave of raw pain hit me in the chest. Carl’s neat handwriting met me. Amy, I know right this minute I am laying on the cold earth after doing everything to save my little girl. I know you just spent an hour taking care of her, and for that, I am eternally grateful. But if you allow her to stay awake, she will hurt herself. I’ve seen it. So I beg you to put her to sleep. Use your magic, and put her to sleep every night for the next few months. She is a child, but she is my child, and I know her. She is an old soul in a tiny body and she sees more than you think she does. But she doesn’t see the entire picture yet, and if you allow her to, she will put herself in danger. And with it, the world. I looked up from the letter to see Toya standing close. “What’s wrong?” She came closer.“He wants me to put her to sleep. For the next few months.”Toya took the letter and read it. “He’s seen it.” She handed me back the letter. “I can’t blame the child

I was out there for over an hour before someone came out and checked on me. I had zoned out, sinking deep into the rage I had pushed away as I dug into the soft dirt. Every time I blinked, my mind flashed to Carl’s last breath, me looking up to seek my friends, my people and having my eyes fall on Rowan. “So fucking stupid.” I mumbled to myself.I gave a soft sigh. “I should have figured you were out here, brooding.” Toya sat at the edge of my hole. I kept digging, ignoring her words. I wasn’t brooding. I was digging a grave. I must have mumbled exactly that, because Toya chuckled. “Two things can be true at the same time.”I snapped my head up and I pointed at her. “Shut up.” She raised her hands in surrender, and I had to close my eyes and clench my jaw. “Sorry.” But I turned back to digging. She sighed again. “Amy…”“No.” I wouldn’t let her finish.“Just listen to me.” She huffed out and I slammed my shovel into the ground.“Fine. Say what you came out to say and be done with it.”

I dumped everything into a bowl on the counter. What the hell was he talking about? I checked his other pockets to be safe before I hopped up. I grabbed the shovel, turning back to the man and the grave, but before I could fill it in. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and looked, and there was my grandma, sadness etched her face. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”“I know, love, that’s why I’m here.” She leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Grab a handful of dirt.” She nodded toward the mound. I dropped the shovel and grabbed a handful before I turned to look at her expectantly. “Carl, or better known as Carlithaen, the Shaman of old. We lay you to rest to join the Moon Goddess. May her fields be bright and cool. May your wolf and you run together for eternity.” She nodded to me and I went to drop the dirt, but something stopped me.My grandmother turned to me, and I could see her confusion. “I-” I tried to explain, but she just gestured to me. “Follow your instinct.” I took a

“What is what?” I looked around, trying to see what she was pointing at. I turned to look behind me, but there was nothing. I turned back and all of their faces, lit by the glow of the flames, were full of disbelief.Micca came over and pulled out her phone. “Don’t move.” She took a photo and then turned it around. The screen was dark except for the fire to my right and…I touched my forehead where new marking were glowing in the dark on my forehead. It lit the top of my face; the glow was so strong you could just make out my eyes in the darkness. A soft blue, white light emanated from the design carved by the goddesses. I traced the design, awe filled my chest, and a soft tingle hit my fingertips. Before there was just a crescent moon, but now, the crescent moon shifted to a full moon in the center, and two crescent moons on the sides. Vines wrapped around the crescent moons, trailing up into my hair and trailing down the sides of my face. I brushed it again and I felt a stronger vib

The silence was only broken by the crackling of the fire. Hanna watched as everyone took in her words. She walked over to the pile of wood that Rowan left and chucked a few more pieces into the fire. The sound jolted everyone out of their thoughts. Wendy took in a deep breath, and then she gagged. “What the fuck?” She wretched again, and then the smell hit the rest of us. “What the fuck is that?” Micca gagged too. It was only Toya, Hanna, and I that didn’t gag. We looked at each other and then back to the other two. “That…” Hanna started, but stopped.“That’s what is smells like when you burn bodies.” I finished for her. Micca groaned and rushed away, puking closer to the house, while Wendy looked at me with wide eyes. “Why are you three okay?”“Because this isn’t the first time we had to do this.” Toya walked over to Wendy, pulling her away from the fire. Hanna went to grab Micca, and we walked to Carl’s grave, creating space. “The first time is always the worst.” I offered with