Then it was gone. Luc blinked.
They were standing on Karen’s houseboat.
The ground beneath their feet was now polished wood. Music was thumping from the deck, and he was surrounded by all of his friends. There was a keg on one portion of the deck and paper lanterns strung from the railings.
What the hell?
“Dude, that last play was sick,” Ty said. He clapped Luc on the back and handed him a beer. The bottle was cold. “The Duke pulled it out of the air again.”
“Now let’s hope you bring it for SoCal.” That was Jake.
Luc stared at Corinthe. She looked as confused as he was. This couldn’t be real—must not be real—but he could even feel the mist from the bay.
When a drunk Cindy Strong bumped into him, he felt it, and when he brought the bottle of beer to his lips, he tasted it, too.
He reached out and poked Tyler in the shoulder. He felt real.
“What the hell, man?” Ty laughed, pushing him back good-naturedly.
Had they gone back in time somehow?
They were on Karen’s houseboat, and celebrating a win. Was this … some kind of different reality? Another chance?
“What is this place?” he asked Corinthe. “Did we go back in time?”
Corinthe looked troubled. “Not even the Unseen Ones can control time.” She bit her bottom lip, hesitating. “Miranda told me a story once about a Radical who was so powerful that he turned back time to be with his true love. So he could save her.” Corinthe looked troubled. “But it was just a story.”
A sense of uneasiness slithered down Luc’s spine. If she didn’t know where they were, what kind of world they were in, how would they ever get out?
Corinthe slipped away from him suddenly, into the thick crowd. Luc tried to follow her, but he kept getting held up—classmates, people he knew, stopped him to congratulate him on the big win.
“This party’s sweet, man,” Ricky Semola said. He was holding hands with a girl who had a pale, heart-shaped face and long bangs. She smiled up at Luc.
It was the drunk freshman. Who wasn’t drunk anymore.
“Thanks,” Luc said distractedly. Everything was just a little different, like a familiar picture tilted slightly on an angle. It made his head spin.
“Yeah. Your girl really knows how to throw a rager.” Ricky reached out and clinked bottles with Luc. Luc was about to correct him—she’s not my girl, she broke up with me, she cheated on me, didn’t you hear?—but he swallowed the words.
Karen hadn’t cheated on him yet. She had cheated on him here, at this very party.
Ricky and the freshman had wandered off into the crowd, arms around each other. Luc noticed that her skirt hung perfectly down to her mid-thighs.
By the time Luc got to the doorway that led downstairs to the galley, Corinthe was nowhere to be seen. He continued downstairs, into the kitchen. From across the room, he saw the sign hanging on the golden rope.
A sick feeling worked his way into his stomach. Not again.
“Hey, Luc, Karen is looking for you.” He swung around and saw Lily leaning on the bar. “She said she had a surprise for you tonight.” She raised her champagne glass and grinned.
Luc couldn’t even respond. This was getting weirder by the second—Lily hated him. Winning he could take. But Lily being nice really freaked him out.
He needed to find Corinthe. He ducked under the cord. The door to Karen’s room was open. He hesitated, reluctant to relive that painful memory. But what was the worst that could happen? He’d already see Karen and Mike going at it, and at least this time he knew what to expect.
Luc sucked in a breath and stepped into the room. Corinthe stood in the middle of the room, staring at the bed. It was empty. She turned slowly to look at him.
“They’re not here,” she said.
He didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until he exhaled. “Are there … I don’t know … alternate realities?”
Corinthe stared at him as though he’d just solved a riddle.
“What?” he said.
“There were rumors in Pyralis,” she said slowly, “of a world of possibilities, of missed chances. I didn’t believe it. Everything is destiny; there are no chances.” Corinthe reached out to touch one of the walls. Her hand shook. “But we’re here. How can this be real?”
Different worlds. It still seemed too fantastical to believe. But Luc couldn’t deny what was happening.
Jas had always believed there was more to the universe than they could see. He remembered when they were sitting on the fire escape and looking up at the stars, and she’d ask him about it. Think there’s life out there somewhere?
Not really sure, he finally answered. You?
She had smiled. It’s everywhere.
The thought of Jas made him feel sick.
“So …” Luc was having a hard time wrapping his head around what Corinthe had just told him. “If it’s a world of missed chances … that means we really didn’t win the game, right? This is just some … chance that never happened?”
Corinthe nodded. “But I don’t understand. …” She stopped in front of the gilded mirror, staring at her reflection with an expression of pain.
“Understand what?” Luc asked.
Corinthe hesitated, took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “How this world can even exist at all. The universe only works one way. It must only work one way.” She spun around to look at him. “How can other possibilities exist? How can there be more than one outcome if everything that happens was destined to occur?”
“Yeah, it does kinda blow a hole in your fate theory, doesn’t it?” Luc said. He stood up. This was all kind of blowing a hole in his mind, too.
“You don’t get it.” She glared at him. “If things are random—if choice exists—then everything I know, everything I am, would be wrong. My entire existence would mean nothing.” Corinthe was practically shaking. “We shouldn’t be here,” she said, with sudden ferocity. “We have to find a way out.”
“And how do you know this wasn’t supposed to happen? If you believe in fate, maybe this is it. The way it should be.” He said it to provoke her, but as soon as the words were out of his mouth, they seemed to take on new meaning. They were standing so close together he could make out individual threads of color in her eyes.
If you believe in fate, maybe this is it.
They stared at each other for a moment more, their bodies leaning ever so slightly toward one another.
“We should …” He let his voice trail off.
“Go?” she finished, but she sounded as if she was having a hard time breathing, too.
Her eyes were on his lips again. His pulse stuttered. He wanted to kiss her desperately, just once. He slid his arm around her waist, and when she didn’t protest or try to stop him, he brought her closer against him.
Her fingers rested on his shoulders and she looked up at him from under her eyelashes. Her eyes turned violet around the edge of her irises. He slid his hand up her back, along the curve of her neck, to cradle her head. Only an inch apart. Those lips.
She trailed her fingers along his collarbone and he forgot how to exhale. This was crazy. Insane.
Right.
“Luc,” Corinthe whispered.
And then, suddenly, he felt a whoosh of air at his back and swung around.
“Mike said you were in here with some girl,” Karen spat from the doorway.
Luc backed away from Corinthe instinctively. Karen’s cheeks were splotchy and red. Behind her, lounging in the doorway with his arms crossed, was Mike. He shrugged when he met Luc’s gaze.