Page 9 of Conflicted Fate
“Yes. We knew they had to be special,” I said. “Which is why the sword I bound you to exploded soon after it was created, right?”
“True,” Fate agreed. “But that is the problem.”
I frowned.
Fate sighed. “Although the other pieces of me are locked away, we are still one of the whole. I cannot control them, but that doesn’t mean we can’t …communicate, in a way. Lycaonus is linked to his. I have seen his mind, his plans.”
A shiver ran down my spine, lifting goosebumps across my flesh. The ominous feeling didn’t dissipate. Instead, it grew.
“Lycaonus will return to Nycitum,” Fate said. “And there, he will forge a new vessel for his shard.”
Realization hit like a horse. “He’s going to make swords instead,” I whispered. “Swords that aremeantto hold you.”
The ghostly goddess apparition nodded slowly, fear clouding her sunken eye sockets. “Yes. That is his plan.”
“My god,” Kiel whispered. “He’ll be unstoppable. They all will be. Weapons of Fate.”
The image shudderedviolently, prompting us to take a half step back.
“Youmust not let this happen,” Fate said. “Look what happened to me after mere seconds as a weapon. If they do this, I will become something twisted, something dark. I will become wicked in every sense, and the fallout will be unstoppable. Youmuststop him. Please.”
It was beyond unsettling to have a goddess beg for our help. My stomach churned violently, to the point I worried I would be sick in front of her. I didn’t want to find out how a god would take me vomiting all over the very temple that saw their creation. There was no way it would be good.
Kiel glanced at me. I licked my lips. He was waiting for my decision.
“Of course,” I said. “We’ll try.”
What else were we supposed to do? If a goddess needed help to stop a madman from destroying all that was good, how could anyone say no? Even if I was so scared that I wanted to pee myself.
“We’re not much good down here,” Kiel muttered. “How do we get back to the surface?”
Emerald light poured from Fate in a blinding display. “Here at the heart of my creation, I hold more power. Go. Stop him before he brings darkness to all.”
The goddess wrapped us in a globe of light that shone with the brightness of the sun.
I tried to shield myself from it, but it was useless. The light was blinding. And it wasn’t fading.
Because itwassunlight.
Chapter Six
Iglanced around. At some point, Fate had transported us out of her underground cave to the surface.
“Now, where are we?” I asked, staring at the mountains on the far side of the river. “I don’t recognize this land. You’re more traveled than I. Where the hell did she send us?”
The flat land extended away from us, a wind-blasted wasteland to the east and north and forests to the southeast. River and mountains were to the west of us. Lots of land. No signs of civilization. No boat traffic or nearby towns. Just emptiness.
“Not sure,” Kiel muttered.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, going to his side. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he said, pulling his hand out of my grip, avoiding my touch entirely.
I searched his face, wanting to reach out, to touch him, to hold his hand, perhaps become enfolded in a hug, but the stony hardness of his features warned me off.
“Why?” I asked, chewing on the inside my cheek. He was trying to push me away again. But hadn’t we worked through that? I’d told him it didn’t matter, that I knew better. So, why was he suddenly acting distant again?
“I’m sorry,” he said gruffly, shaking his head and staring out into the wastelands at something only he could see. “I just can’t, Jada.”
