Page 252 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

This one is solitary. A deep blue seeps into my skin as it continues to vine over my shoulder and around my neck.

Suddenly, it tightens, cutting my air flow.

I grip it with both hands in an attempt to wrench it away from me, but it only grows tighter and tighter.

I cough and wheeze as my breath slowly leaves me. With all the energy I can muster, I focus it around the thread, freezing it.

With a small pull, it shatters all around me, falling to the ground in a myriad of icicles that dissolve into dust.

I’m lightheaded. My throat aches from the pressure. But as I note the ticking clock by my side, the sobering realization that I have mere minutes before the rune runs its course springs me into action.

I flash myself back to the hallway.

Lord Groyo is still on the ground, unmoving.

His eyes widen when he sees me.

“You will forget that I went through that door and interfered with the fates. You will only remember that I came to bring you food as gratitude. You ate the food and enjoyed it and then I was on my way. You will not remember that I did anything forbidden.”

“Yes,” he answers, his eyes blanking.

As the time elapses, he regains mobility of his body and he stands up. He blinks as he looks at me.

“Thank you for the food, Lady Minerva. I enjoyed it.”

“I am happy to hear that, Lord Groyo,” I add with a smile. “I will be on my way now. Good day.”

“Good day to you too.”

I turn my back and leave, doing my best to stay calm even though my heart is racing in my chest.

Only once I am safely out of the House of Moirai can I let my guard down and let out a sigh of relief.

I did it.

I cut the thread.

I…

The enormity of what I did hits me with a staggering intensity. Doubts crawl inside my mind as I ask myself if I did the right thing.

I took the words of a stranger as gospel and in my desperation to rid myself of this unwanted fate, I did the unthinkable, the forbidden.

If word gets out about this, I will not only be imprisoned but most definitely sentenced to death.

Did I just gamble away my future? Or did I free myself of the past?

Yet even as these thoughts plague me, the reality is that what is done is done. I cannot undo it.

If I’ll be punished for it…then so be it. As long as I can be with Mine for the rest of his days—and beyond—this is a risk I am willing to take.

A while ago, I agonized over a small rule break. Now look at me, disregarding all rules. And though I’m afraid of the consequences, I cannot bring myself to regret my decisions.

Ultimately, they all led me closer to him.

Mentally and physically exhausted, I return to my room at the palace, surprised to see my brother waiting for me.

He’s with his back to me, staring out the window, his hands at his back.

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