Page 35 of The Stars

He nodded in agreement as he settled into one of the old wooden chairs, his gaze fixed on the horizon. He could feel Amy’s presence beside him, quiet, contemplative. It had been hours since they returned from the Fates’ temple, and still, their words echoed in his mind.

“You okay?” he asked softly, glancing sideways at her.

She leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees as she stared at the dark waves far below them. “I don’t know,” she admitted after a long pause. “It feels like no matter what we do, we’re just… stuck. Like everything is out of our hands.”

“Fate,” Dante said sarcastically, the frustration simmering beneath his calm exterior. “Yeah, I get that. It’s like they already have everything planned out. We’re just the pieces moving along the gods’ damn game board.”

Amy looked at him then, her eyes searching his. “What if they’re right? What if this is supposed to happen—Pandora waking, Moros… all of it?”

Dante clenched his jaw, the thought of it twisting like a knife in his chest. “I’m not ready to accept that. I can’t just… sit here and let it happen. There has to be something we can do.”

“They said it’s already happened,” Amy reminded him, her voice soft but insistent. “That it always happens, no matter what.”

He exhaled slowly, running a hand over his face. “Maybe. But I can’t believe that our only purpose is to be pawns in some ancient prophecy. We’re not just here to watch everything burn. There has to be another way.”

Amy shifted, her gaze turning back to the sea. “I hope you’re right. But what if the Fates are right, and we can’t stop it? What if no matter what we do, it’s already set in stone?” She was silent for a moment. “What if… waking Pandora means the end of everything that makes me, me?”

He reached over and took her hand in his. “I’ll do everything in my power not to let that happen.”

She sighed. “You’re supposed to already be Epimetheus. Do you feel any different?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“They didn’t say Epimetheus had to wake, so that means you’re already him. Which means, you’re still you.”

He nodded and agreed with her. “So maybe it’s just as simple as believing you’re Pandora?” he wondered out loud.

“I don’t think so. They mentioned that Epimetheus had to wake Pandora.” She glanced at him.

“I don’t care what the Fates said,” he said finally, his voice low but determined. “We make our own choices.”

Amy smiled faintly, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “You’re stubborn.”

“Damn right,” he said, his lips twitching into a grin. “And I plan on fighting this thing until there’s no fight left.”

“What if…”—she bit her bottom lip, sucked it into her mouth—“we’re supposed to…”

“There you go again, bringing up sex,” he joked when she didn’t finish her obvious thought.

“Whatever.” She threw her hands up in frustration and stood against the railing. “What do you want with us?” she screamed into the night air.

He chuckled and stood beside her. “Well, from all the tales, the gods did sleep around a lot. Right?”

He placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s not like we haven’t been dancing around it for years.”

“Years?” she teased as she looked up at him.

“For me, yes, years,” he admitted, running his eyes over her face. The moonlight made her soft skin glow. She was a goddess. The most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. There was no doubt of that.

“Okay, years,” she admitted as she moved slightly closer to him. “After prom, you… never called.” She tilted her head slightly.

“Things got… complicated.”

“Right.” She nodded. “Laura Stein complicated,” she said with a slight frown.

He rolled his eyes. “She was a distraction from the scary feelings I had about you.”

Her eyebrows rose slightly. “That is the lamest excuse for dumping a girl that I’ve ever heard.”