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There is a choice
Follow the light
Descend into the dark
The harrowing pass decides it all”
In an elegant script, he wrote his wife’s words, intent on his duty. Her voice dropped away, filling the room with silence, but she remained locked in the vision. His heart galloped in his chest, pounding against his ribcage when she remained motionless for another minute without speaking. The ink dripped over the edge of the parchment as he sat poised and waiting for more words.
She had been silent for too long,he thought.
Carefully, he set his work aside, then crawled toward her, easing her from her kneeling position and into his arms. He stroked between her brows and caressed her soft, pink lips, hoping to give her enough sensation to guide her back to the land of the living.
Minutes passed, and with each subsequent one, his breath flowed less and less. Panic sent a shiver down his spine, settling low in his belly. He was about to call for help when she began to stir. She blinked rapidly, her eyes returning to the deep, crystalline blue he had fallen in love with. She sucked in a jagged breath, bolting upright, only to be gently stopped by the male holding her.
In a panic, she attempted to rise again, but he only tightened his arms around her, smoothing her hair while he made soothing noises. Tears slipped down her face, one by one, as she let her grief overwhelm her. She felt like she was drowning, and the wetness dripping on her chest and into her ears didn’t help the sensation.
“What did you see?” he asked, melodic voice tentative and curious.
Through sobs, she managed to say, “War.”
“My love, war is already around us.” He scooted backward, still holding her, until he braced himself on the wooden chest that sat at the foot of their bed.
She shook her head forcefully. “My vision was not of a war here, in Keleti, but in Északi, thousands of years from now.”
“Then why has it upset you so? You know better than anyone that the Fates like to toy and play with the outcome of our lives. The Goddess gifts you these visions for insight into possibilities,” he reminded her.
“Because Isawyou,” she whimpered, turning to her knees to face her husband. Her waist-length white hair cascaded over her shoulders as she reached up to cup his face. “You wrote down the prophecy, yes?”
He nodded warily, his icy blue eyes holding true fear in them.
“Please, can you retrieve it?” she pleaded, dropping her hands and scooting back.
He rose, crossing quickly to where he had discarded it. Returning to her side, he snaked an arm around her waist and hoisted her to her feet. Once she was secured at his side, he guided her to their bed. It sank as they settled on the edge, and he handed her the parchment.
She scanned the page, lips forming silently over the words. “This isn’t about Keleti,” she murmured, fingers dusting across the page.
The male rubbed his palms over his thighs, anxiously waiting for his wife to reveal the secrets the Goddess had gifted to her. She’d already said as much, so there had to be more.
“You will play a role in making this come to pass. For itwillcome to pass,” she insisted. “Zuriel, your cousin is the one with the white light. She will change the course of history in Északi – in our world.”
“How is that possible?” he asked, brows dipping together.
“I feel it in my bones. It will be millennia from now, but all the same, it will happen. And youmustbe there when it does.” A sudden wave of bone-deep weariness swept through her, and sheleaned her head on his shoulder, taking what comfort she could from her husband.
“But if the bringer of the white light is my cousin, that means she will be Ithuriel’s daughter. And how will we end up in Északi?” The concern in his lyrical voice grew as he processed his wife’s words.
“You cannot tell him,” she pressed, lifting her head from his shoulder and turning his face to her.
The Angel shook his head out of her hold. “I can’t keep this from him.”
“I know he is like a father to you, but you must. You cannot tell anyone about this, otherwise what needs to come to pass will change. You must ensure the war happens.” Her voice reached a feverish pitch as she grew frantic, trembling from head to toe.
Wrapping her in a loving embrace, he tried to calm her. He knew she hadn't told him the whole truth, and if he was going to keep this secret, he wanted to know every bit of it. “I promise to keep this to myself, if you tell me everything.”
The sigh she released sent rocks plummeting into his gut, and the words she spoke after caused him to bleed a river of tears. Their shared grief did not relent, not when the following day, the Angel king’s officers came knocking, and the pair were forced to join the war against the Demons after all.
V
