Page 25 of An Archer's Reckoning

She took to wing and settled again on the table.

Ayden turned toward me once again. His face was ashen, and his eyes were wide. I was fairly certain a stiff breeze would’ve bowled him over had we stood on the mountainside.

“This is . . . it is just . . . so much.” He staggered back to the table and sat. “Iwantto understand, truly I do, and . . . I am not running, but . . .”

“Illusion! Of course. You just gave me a great idea.”

“Oh, no. It worries me when you think.”

I ignored her jab and refilled our glasses. “Have some more wine. I have an idea that might make this easier to explain. I’ll show you.”

His brow rose as he drank.

“Can I show him the Keeper’s trial without breaking my promise?”

Órla clicked her beak.“As long as you do not betray the Keeper or the Well, I see no harm in it.”

“All right,” I said to Ayden. “When I was . . . away . . . I was shown possible futures. Think of these as paths the future might take if certain things happen or if other things don’t happen.”

“Declan, you are making my head hurt. What in the ocean’s heart are you talking about?”

I stood up and paced before the table, excited by my idea but unsure how to explain it.

“Just show him,”Órla said.

Right. Explain after.

I locked eyes with Ayden and grasped my Light. As my Illusion filled his mind, his eyes turned milky white and his body went rigid.

I run through the woods, into a clearing where Atikus, Keelan, and Sil stand.

Arrows fly.

Atikus is hit. He falls.

A moment later, Sil calls from the distance.

Keelan lies dying.

Everything shifts.

Saltstone burns.

Soldiers are everywhere.

The stench of death fills the air.

Bodies, bloodied and broken. So many bodies.

My vision shifts again.

Ayden’s hair floats in a pool of blood beneath his head.

I lie a few paces away, my eyes open yet unseeing.

The world goes black.

Ayden blinked rapidly as the clouds cleared from his eyes.

---