Page 139 of Shadows of Ruin

“Tea?” I asked her.

She swatted my hand. “No time, dear. No time. Fate draws near.”

I pulled a chair up for Lana before taking the farthest one. The same spots we sat in the last time we were with Cassandra.

“We went to my parents’ grave in Brookmere,” Lana said. Cassandra’s gaze flicked toward her. “I am going to assume you know what I’m about to say, but stop me if you do not.”

Cassandra nodded once.

Fuck. I understood Lana’s loathing for seers. A flash of anger welled in me, knowing Cassandra could help Lana and me keep our kingdoms safe but instead chose to remain silent.

She jerked her head up at me. “Do not throw your rage my way. I am telling you what I can. Fate cannot be changed. Too much has been sacrificed. I will not risk everything because you feel afraid to face what comes next.”

I leaned back, not daring to look away until Cassandra saw whatever it was she needed to.

“Continue, child,” she said less sharply to Lana.

“My mother’s journal supposedly contains answers, but it was missing,” Lana said. “However, we found this.” She pulled the white dagger from her thigh and Cassandra smiled.

Not just a smile—the seer beamed. “I knew it was you who was worthy.”

Lana blanched, but when she met my gaze, I desperately tried to convey the truth of Cassandra’s words. They were the same words I’d said to her. The world would fall to their knees once this woman believed in herself.

“Do not ever let that go,” Cassandra instructed.

“I used it on a dark one back in Brookmere, and the darkness erupted out of him. Like the dagger itself destroyed it.”

Cassandra cocked an eyebrow. “A funny thing, darkness. Willingly accepted or not, it does not do well when brought into the light.”

“Please,” Lana said, touching Cassandra’s hand. The woman did not shy away from the touch. Something I would have surely been smacked for. “There was a note, a riddle with the journal?—”

“As much fun as it would be to discuss the riddle and your journey, I fear there are truths you must hear now. I can feel your questions swirling around the room, and I do not have long.”

“Long for what?” I asked.

“Never you mind that,” Cassandra said. She stood, throwing a hand toward her fireplace and lighting it.

My jaw dropped. She healed. She prophesized. There was no way Cassandra should possess another power. It wasn’t possible. Two had seemed beyond belief. But three? Impossible.

She glanced back at me and winked, but the teasing look faded from her expression as a frown crept along her brow. Her face fell, and for the first time I realized how haggard Cassandra appeared. More so than any other time I could recall.

“I’m relieved to finally be able to speak these words,” she started. “I have been trapped here for a thousand years. Without my family, waiting to find the light of fate capable of ending our eternal night.”

I frowned, staring at her. “I don’t understand.” A statement, not a question. I clenched my jaw, barely masking my frustration.

She smiled at me sadly. “More than a millennium ago, an evil walked this land, threatening to destroy it.” The fire flaredas she spoke, and she turned away, her eyes closed. She gripped the back of the chair she stood behind, knuckles whitening. “I was blind to the atrocities he committed because he was—he is…” She stopped, opening her eyes. “My mate.”

“What?” I leaned forward, not comprehending what she said. “That’s not— It doesn’t?—”

She cocked a single eyebrow at me. “You of all people know better than that,” she scolded.

I pursed my lips, touching my chest to feel the bond I had noticed. The bond connecting me to Lana.

“How?” I asked.

Lana glanced between the two of us, a crease forming between her brows.

“So much of this story is not mine to tell, but there are things I believe you need to know that will not influence your fate.” She walked around the chair, falling into it.

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