Page 112 of A Vow of Wrath and Ruin

“Everything I have ever done has been to protect you,” our mother said, taking my sister’s dainty hand in hers.

“So, you knew I had the gift and kept it from me?” Baylis’s eyes filled with tears.

“I never wanted to hurt you. You have to believe me. It was for your own good. I am a servant to fate. But fate can be changed.”

“Enough,” I said. “We can discuss this later. What did you see in my future?”

Baylis crossed her arms over her chest with a little pout.

My mother narrowed her eyes on me.

“Two loves. One a storm of turmoil. One the giver of life. Your heart is tied to both, but you will have to choose between them.”

A dull horror settled over me. I had already chosen Tharan. Caiden didn’t even remember me anymore. That twisted knot in my chest tightened that much more. What was she playing at? There had to be more to this vision than just a choice. Hiding my horror, I blew out the smoke from my lungs.

“Great. Anything else?”

“Someone close to you will betray you before your journey is over. Not everyone is who they say they are.”

“I thought you were the Fate of the Future? I’ve already been betrayed by someone I trusted.”

She looked at Clotho, who shrugged.

“Sometimes our threads get crossed. We have not woven a fate in some time.”

I shook my head. “Anything else?”

My mother closed her eyes.

“I see a quest in your future. From the Court of Screams to the Bog of Eternal Suffering to the Great White North. Through the Rasa Desert… and even into the world beyond.”

“Do I kill Gideon?”

“That part is hazy,” my mother replied, her voice faint and far away.

“So, you never see a full scene, or is this a new development?”

Decuma chimed in, “We see what the Trinity wants us to see. Nothing more, nothing less. They are the Divine Fate. They decide the past, present, and future, you see.”

I nodded as if I understood. The Morrigan’s words echoed through my mind:They twist fate to suit their needs.

I breathed deeply.

“You have been incredibly helpful.”

Decuma cleared her throat. “We don’t work for free.”

Rolling my eyes, I reached into my cloak pocket.

“Like you have anything to spend it on. You can’t even leave this island.”

She held up her hand.

“Do not give it to us here. Put it in the offering bowls in temples across the continent. If people think others believe they will come back.”

Were their visions spottier because of a lack of belief? Had the magic died before my mother left, and that’s how she was able to escape? So many questions swirled through my head. It was hard to keep them from slipping out of my mouth. I didn’t want to say too much in front of the sisters. My mother could probably keep a secret. She fled all those years ago for a reason. She knew what these women were. They were beautiful on the outside but rotten to the core.

The sky darkened above, shading the once-bright room.

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