Page 125 of The Masks and the Dancer (Their Obsession 2)

She will fight against it, and there is a point in Christy’s future that I can’t see beyond, but I’m hoping that with your help it won’t be the end of her journey, just the beginning. That is why you must deliver these letters. It’s imperative that you do.

Then there is the not so small matter of the debt you need to repay. Your paths will cross with the Deana-dhe again on the night where everyone wears a mask. On this night, you must help Christy to convince everyone that The Masks are dead.

“The Brònach Masquerade Ball,” I say when my eyes lift to meet hers. She doesn’t need to say anything to confirm my guess, we both know I’m right.

I have every faith in your abilities to pull this off. You are gifted in the art of alchemy, just like your mother had been before you. You know what you must do.

Give The Masks the chance to prove themselves worthy of my daughter. Love can only blossom when it’s given the space to do so.

They need time.

But time is something they do not have. Grim loves Christy, and she will not rest until The Masks are dead. Neither will the Deana-dhe.

So find a way to make this happen.

Do this, and you will help two families finally lay their pasts to rest.

Which leads me to your future…

I flip over the page, only to find it blank. “Where’s the rest?” I ask, looking up at Thirteen who’s staring off into the distance, lost to her thoughts.

“I have it, but that part is about me and doesn’t concern you,” she replies softly with a gentle smile.

“Thirteen…Cynthia.”

“No, Christy. I can’t. Please don’t ask me to explain. All you need to know is that I’m okay with it. If you can do what you have for The Masks, then I can do what’s asked of me, too.”

“Okay,” I nod, folding the letter up and passing it back to her, knowing all too well what kind of predicament she’s in. Taking it from me, she tucks the letter back into her skirt pocket.

“When you said what you did the other night I thought perhaps your mother had got it wrong, that you would kill The Masks in vengeance. It only just dawned on me that you saw something in your future and interpreted it the wrong way, because whilst it might be me who makes the poison to stage their deaths, it’s you that administers it. Am I right?”

“Can you do it?” I ask in response, refusing to answer her question but acknowledging her assumption.

“Yes. Leave it with me.”

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