Page 72 of Veiled Fate
Two. Six. Ten. Fifteen.
All clad in armor. All wielding swords.
If you want it. Make it so.
My fingers uncurled. And I called for the sword, chunks of ceiling raining down.
If you want it. Make it so.
I wanted it. I would make it so. The shard of fate within me would obey me one more time. I wanted it.
The soldiers fanned out at orders, most of them encircling Kiel. Several inched their way to me.
I would make it so.
I wanted it. I would make it so.
“Kill him!” one of the soldiers barked.
With a snarl, I bent Fate to my will.
The hilt of the sword trembled.
Chapter Thirty-Six
The room glowed emerald. Soldiers raised their weapons against Kiel. He grabbed the Nehringi by the hair and tossed the assassin into their midst, scattering soldiers as he made a beeline for my side. A figure stepped in his way. I gasped as Lycaonus made his appearance.
Make. It. So!
My fingers closed around the sword's handle as it shot into my palm. Lightning surged up the blade and impacted the ceiling, sending Lycaonus ducking for cover.
Screwing my eyes shut, I ordered Fate to appear in my mind, to come forth.
Show me how to do this! How do I bind you to the sword and get you out of my body?
The glowing avatar of Fate appeared in my mind, brighter and more opaque than normal, though she still fluttered in a nonexistent wind.
“Tell me!”I mentally screamed. “Hurry! We don’t have much time. Your power is literally tearing my body apart. Kiel needs my help. Lycaonus is here. If we don’t do this, he’ll steal the power.”
“Like everything else, child,” the woman said, gently chiding me. “If you want it, you must make it so.Control your own fate.”
“Control Fate?” I asked. “Isn’t that an oxymoron? A paradox, whatever? Like, Fate is supposed to control me. That’swhatFate is.”
“Then how have you done what you’ve done so far?” the shard of a goddess challenged. “Besides controlling your own fate?”
“I’ve been using your power, not you. Is that the same thing? Do I justwillyour power into the sword, and then you’re bound to it? That seems far too easy.”
A shout of some sort filtered into my dream. How fast was time passing outside of this moment? Was it all in real-time, or was this like any dream where time was fluid?
“You must control it,” Fate said. “You aren’t unleashing my power at someone. You’re transferring it to another object. You must provide that link.”
“A link?”
“The power isn’t in your hand,” Fate said. “Now, go!”
She gave me a backhanded wave that knocked me out of the dream and back into the chamber. Only a few seconds had passed at most. Lycaonus was just getting to his feet, roaring his anger at Kiel while the soldiers were still disentangling themselves from the Nehringi.
Clenching my jaw, ignoring the pain in my throat, I focused on Fate’s last words.
