Page 101 of I Ran Away to Evil 3
I’d forgone the pirate battle and checked in on Rebecca. It was rare for Rebecca to appear in my visions, since she wasn’t a very active chosen, but she was following a distress signal from her sister and got caught battling a stoneskin wombat on her way out of the Dark Enchanted Forest.
The vision with Julia had only shown the Paladin of Light pulling Chloe out of the way when the lady in pink lit Tully on fire.
“I shouldn’t worry, since Slake said he would keep an eye on Amy while she was here …” I sighed. The grimalcat was also nowhere to be seen.
Just then, I was distracted by a blinking notification.
[Passive Perk:Sense Fatehas activated. Duke Julian von Slyke will be shot through the heart on the eve.]
[You have crossed paths with a fate that can be changed. Area of effect radius: Level 65 x Perception 43 x Foretelling 4 = 11,180 sq/ft. Fate herself will guide you.]
[“A battle rages within, but slips the weak hand to the bow. Love strives, but a heart shaken is a heart still determined to quest. Her breath a choice has delayed the point but soft spoken are empty words against action at best.”]
“Gerda?” The gentle breath on my ear sent a shiver down my spine and pulled me from the perk. Julian was close enough that if it were anyone else, I might have panicked. His silver eyes were so striking, but this was not the time to be distracted from my distraction.
“A new prophecy,” I said, waving at the notification only I could see. “You’re going to be shot.”
“When?” Julian pulled me closer and stepped away from the table. Suddenly, we were engulfed in a clear magical shield. People looked our way, but only in passing interest; backstabbing or hidden attacks were a staple of any good ball.
I shook my head. “I didn’t get a vision of your imminent death, only a passive perk telling me someone is going to shoot you in the heart tonight.”
Erik’s friends were whispering among themselves.
“Amazing.”
“Did we just get to see a prophecy firsthand?”
“Melvin is going to beso jealousthat he missed this year.”
“Hedecided his research was more important than his debut.” The catkin who said this smirked.
The shield disappeared, and Julian let go of my arm. He took a step back. “Then, it would be better if we parted ways here.”
“No need. I won’t let you die,” I said, matter of fact.
“Death is only a slight inconvenience.” Julian glanced near the front of the hall, where his mother stood. “Though I would hate to ruin my sister’s reception. Julia would never let me live it down if Chloe had to revive me tonight.”
“True,” I agreed.
“If you get the chance, wouldyourevive me instead?” Julian asked.
“Of course.”
“Shouldn’t we, I don’t know, inform the guards?” Shiro cut into our back-and-forth, concerned.
“The sooner the better,” Erik agreed, picking up his drink and downing the entire glass. “I’ll get to it.”
“Wait.” I stopped him, closing my eyes and going through my visions. I didn’t see Julian in his sister’s vision. Which meant that he wasn’t on that side of the ballroom during the errant fireball.
He was standing onthis sideof the hall.
When I opened my eyes, everyone was staring at me—including a few masked individuals from outside the group.
“You should probably raise that shield again …” I told Julian.
“I’ll do more than that.” Putting his glass down on the table, he reached out to poke my forehead.
My mouth opened a bit in shock, snapping shut before I asked, “What did you do?”
