Page 16 of Blood and Fate

Kezia waved a finger at him. “But you knew. You know. Why are you here? You don’t need me. All your questions have answers in your blood.”

The word blood struck him like a nearly physical blow. It was as though Kezia had known what he’d been thinking the previous night.

“It’s not possible. It’s a myth.”

“Myths are grounded in fact, sweet Kais. Don’t you know that?” She offered a sympathetic tilt of her head. “Rare. So very rare. I haven’t seen it ever in my lifetime. I’m honored to know you during this time.”

During this time? What time? His mental breakdown?

He threw his shoulders into a helpless shrug. “What am I going to do? That woman hates me.”

“Yes.”

He blinked at the bluntness of Kezia’s response. “Well, then, you know.”

“She does hate you. But she feels the pull as well. Nothing like this could go unnoticed.” Kezia reached across the table and placed a hand on Kais’. “She cannot be ignorant of this.”

He heard her words, but believing them was another thing entirely.

Then, without warning or preamble, Kezia’s fingers closed around his hand, her grip like a vise, her fingers surprisingly strong, crushing the bones in his hand. Her eyes snapped open wide, staring at him, or through him, or into him. She was looking at him, but it didn’t feel like she was seeing him.

“Kezia? Kezia, are you alright?”

“She will come to you. She will need you. She will fear you. You will strike terror into her core until she is sick. You will bleed, and she will bleed.”

Kais’ heart kicked up as he stared wide-eyed at Kezia. The words she spoke struck fear directly into his chest, as though they were carved into the edge of a blade.

Kezia continued her blind statements, “She will know you. She will see you. She will love you. She will rest in your arms and be safe. You will die.”

Kais blinked at the final statement, pulling his hand from the painful grip of the seer.

She blinked, pulling in a stuttering breath, puffing out the air with shock. “Kais.”

He stood, backing away from where she still sat. “What was that?”

Kezia climbed to her feet. “I’m sorry, sometimes I can’t control what I see.” She moved swiftly to his side and he flinched when she grasped his hand again. “Kais, the future can be changed. It doesn’t have to be set. Don’t give it that ground. Let the girl get to know you. Let her love you and end the prophecy there. Don’t allow it to complete.”

“How in Helias am I supposed to do that?” he said, angrily snatching his hand back.

Her face fell. “I don’t know. I only know what I see. But, Kais, you can’t allow it to come to fruition. Petition Shala, petition Miram. They know. The gods, they have the bond. They have given it to you.”

Kais shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Shala and Miram. Right. Wasn’t it their stupid, unique bond that landed him in this place?

“I have to go.”

He didn’t wait for Kezia to say anything further as he turned and all but fled from the building, the door crashing closed behind him. He was in such a hurry to put her and her visions behind him he, didn’t even bother with the hood.

He pushed his horse to meet up with his men. They had packed up the camp and left before dawn, quite some time before he had gone to see Kezia.

CHAPTER SEVEN

SATORI

Satori woke to darkness and a throbbing head. She groaned and nearly choked. Something was shoved in her mouth and she couldn’t spit it out or dislodge it. She tried to lift her arm to rip the material from between her teeth but she met resistance. Then she realized something else: her eyes were open, yet it was still dark. Had she gone blind?

She twisted her head from side to side, noticing the soft material of the blindfold shift with her movements. Panic seized her. She was gagged, blindfolded, and chained to the chair in which she sat. She pulled at the metal clamped around her wrist, sending pain shooting up her arm. She paused. Where was she?

She stilled further, listening. Her ears registered a creaking sound just as another jostle hit, and she realized she was still in the wagon.

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