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The fate stood very still.
Xavier leaped to his feet, his weapon appearing in his hand. I had felt Roccurem’s arrival, but Xavier had not, and he was none too happy about it. Xavier flanked me on my left, ready to defend his king. Papers settled as the air rectified itself.
“You will not find your queen in articles or by questioning mortals with poor eyesight.”
My hand flexed on the handle of my blade. “Where is she?”
“She plans to siege the city.”
“The city?” I took a deep breath. “Why?”
“She will take it if…”
“If what, Roccurem?” I pressed the tip of my blade a fraction harder against his throat. The storm that roared through the sky this time was mine. A million particles of my power crowded the air, disrupting the atmosphere. Shelves shook, the room resonating from the force of the thunder. I had told myself I was slipping, and here was proof. “You have been right there with her, yet you cannot stop her.”
“I cannot. You know how this works. As a fate, I am not to interfere.”
I actually laughed, and Xavier shot me a concerned look. “Not to intervene? That’s all you have done since the beginning. Isn’t that why you were locked up? Wasn’t it your brethren’s inability to not interfere that caused your downfall? You are supposed to be neutral, a whisper upon winds to spin mortals’ destiny, a vessel, a tool for the old gods and the next. Yet you are not by my side.”
“She is starved for affection.”
Blood raged in my ears at even the mere mention. “I am telling you now to watch the next words that pour from your lips, for they may well be your last.”
“You are the problem.”
My lip curled as I damn near drove the blade through his throat.
Roccurem did not flinch as it pressed into the flesh between his collarbones. “She fell in love with you as you did her. That is the problem for so many.”
I felt something in me break, my chest physically aching at those words. Fates, while annoying, were not capable of lying.
Roccurem’s hand flicked up, a cloud of stars and mist springing from his fingertips. It floated overhead, forming images. My gut tightened when I recognized Dianna and me at the festival, playing a memory of us. Her laughter as she walked, even distorted, damn near dropped me to my knees. Gods, how long had it been since I’d heard that sound? I wanted to run, to chase it.
I watched, desperate for even this sight of her. Her hand wrapped around the cone of that damn fluffy treat. She turned and smiled at me, whole, bright, and radiating life, the jacket I’d given her slipping off her shoulder. The scene shifted, and we were back in the garden at Drake’s. I handed her that yellow flower. Her eyes widened, taken aback by the gesture, her lips curving in a gentle smile. Emotion flared in her eyes, the spark of something soft and infinitely special. Why hadn’t I picked up on it until now?
“It is also a problem for her.” He moved his hand, twisting his wrist, and the image changed. “The memories resonate with guilt.”
Dianna screamed and blew the building to pieces. I jerked. The anguish filling that scream haunted my memories and fueled my nightmares.
“She feels her emotions were the driving force of her sister’s demise, that caring for you, even for a moment, was weakness.”
The room returned to normal, and he clasped his hands in front of himself. Xavier lowered his weapons, the room falling into a quiet, somber silence. My hands shook. I was struggling with despair and not only my pain but hers.
“What’s your plan, Roccurem?”
“When she comes for the city. Let her in. You must stay on this path for it all to work.”
“For what to work?” I growled.
“Everything,” he said. His eyes opened, two above and two below where the natural ones sat. They were all white and opaque. “You are running out of time.” He looked at Xavier behind me. “You all are.”
Those damn words! I wondered if fate had been whispering in my ear this whole time.
My fist clenched on the blade I held angled at his throat. “I have neither the time nor patience for riddles and games. Not now and never about her. Where is she?”
The room vibrated with unkempt power, demanding a way out. Coils of energy snapped and bent against my skin.
“Kaden spoke to her. It created another fracture in an already damaged psyche.”
