Chapter Twenty-Four #2
Eimear relaxed her hand. “I do.” Arianna finally took in the female.
No iron, though that was apparent from the magic spilling out over the balcony.
Her feet were bare, a curiosity that Arianna resisted inquiring about.
Maybe it was a direct result of something Niall had done, or maybe it just let her be more in tune with her magic.
“How bleak is our future?”
Eimear fed life back into the vine she’d crushed and returned it to the balcony. “That depends.”
“On what?”
The ghost of a smile. “How destiny unwinds.”
“Is—is there more than one path?”
“There always is.” Eimear turned to face her. “Did you really think glimpsing into the future would simply show one straightforward route?”
“I kind of hoped it would.”
Eimear chuckled again and leaned against the railing.
She appeared so carefree, as if a burden had been lifted from her soul.
“It’s like multiple translucent strands suspended in a singular space.
Any one of them could take root and solidify at a moment’s notice.
When it does, the other strands vanish. Sometimes, those strands are more solid if destiny is leaning toward that outcome, but nothing is set in stone. ”
“Is there anything that’s certain?”
Eimear’s smile faded. “One thing, though speaking about it too much could result in it fading. It might be our only chance.”
Arianna stood straighter. “Is there anything you can tell me?”
Eimear’s brows furrowed. “There’s … a necessary sacrifice.”
Arianna’s heart jolted. “Whose?”
“That depends entirely on you.”
“How?”
“There’s a choice. One could lead to our salvation, though the chance is slim. The other will result in our absolute ruin.”
“That is very … vague.”
Eimear smiled again. “If I tell you more, I’m afraid we’re destined for destruction anyway.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“I won’t lie, the future is bleak no matter what path is chosen. Many, many lives will be lost.”
“Is there anything we can do to prevent it?”
Eimear tilted her head back to stare at the heavens. “What do you think I’ve been doing?”
“Is that why you can’t sleep, either?”
“Partly.” Her eyes flickered toward Arianna’s wrists.
“The rest, well, I’m certain you have your own demons to face.
” Arianna was sure they all did at this point.
“So,” Lady Eimear continued, unwilling to expand on her own darkness.
“I’m certain Lord Avalon put you through just as much schooling as I required of my own younglings. Tell me, what is our next move?”
“To prepare.”
“And how does one go about preparing?”
“I—” Arianna had seen a village prepare for a battle they could never have hoped to win. She’d prepared to face Niall and his warriors. She’d even prepared to face Vairik when she’d gone after her sister. But how did one prepare to face off against an entire horde of monstrous creatures?
“I’m not asking you to plan the entire war.”
“I don’t know.”
“We study our enemy, Arianna. We learn everything we can, then make a counter strike.”
“But the scouts don’t come back. No one ever comes back.”
“You did. Your companions did, which means there are others who have done the same.”
“How do we find them?”
“We read the words they left behind.”
Books? “But Vairik changed everything.”
“Not everything,” Eimear said, pushing off from the railing. “Have you so quickly forgotten the information Connall bestowed on you? If you recall, they started their organization right here in this city.”
Arianna tried to filter through Connall’s words. She wasn’t even sure, until now, whether the conversations had been real.
“He mentioned a library.” Tension tightened her features, the headache rising again. “Something … underground?” Arianna grabbed the side of her head as piercing pain spurred through her.
“We’ll have to fix those.”
“What?” Arianna asked, her vision slightly blurred.
“The pain. I’ll talk to Sive in the morning.”
Arianna stood straighter. “Sive? She’s here? They’re all right?”
“No one told you? They met up with your father in Levea. They were part of the reason so many made it out of the city alive. And not to worry, her child is absolutely delightful. It’ll be nice to have a little one in these halls again.”
Tears of happiness sprang to life behind Arianna’s eyes. The Weavers. The Weavers had helped them escape. “So you’ve spoken to them.”
“Yes, Sive helped me quite a bit. I’m certain she is the only reason I’m able to speak to you right now.” Eimear looked down at her wrist. “She did a lot to alleviate the shackles Niall still had over my mind.”
“But how does an entire library exist? How did Vairik miss it?”
“He didn’t. He just couldn’t access it.”
“Why not?”
“It’s reserved for The Divine and her mate. Only those with the necessary magic can open the lock.”
Arianna tried not to let her disappointment show. “I suppose that means I’ll have to work with him?”
Eimear smiled despite the malice in Arianna’s voice.
“Has it ever occurred to you that the hatred residing in your heart doesn’t belong to you?
” Arianna blinked. Of course she’d—no, had she?
She’d thought that Gavin was manipulating her or that her friends were working for Vairik, but …
could Vairik really have made her feel this way?
Could he plant the desire to harm another person?
The answer was obvious.
“The anger directed toward Rion is nothing more than poison poured into your soul by Vairik himself. That very poison causes you pain whenever you try to reach for memories he’d rather have erased. I’m willing to bet even the mating bond would be excruciating if you reached for it.”
“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t tried.” In fact, she’d been denying its existence at all.
Even now, she possessed absolutely no desire to search for such a thing.
Arianna wrung her hands together. “How do I get him out of my head? How do I sort through my emotions and memories when I feel like—like my mind has shattered?”
“You let your friends help you. You let Sive help you, just as she’s been helping me.
Rest in the knowledge that my son loves you like he’s loved no other.
He will not push himself on you. If all you can give him is a simple conversation, he will sit with you, enjoying that small gesture for the rest of eternity. ”
Arianna gripped the edge of the balcony.
“Will—will I regret,” Arianna stopped herself, biting the inside of her cheek.
The question sounded stupid. She’d been told who Rion was by everyone she considered an ally.
To think of him as anything else, to still question his motives, was simply her denial.
“The previous Divine’s spirit lives in you.”
Arianna’s head snapped up. “How do you know?” She recalled a distant memory. An old study. She’d been … restrained with iron. Vairik had been there.
Eimear’s eyes traveled down to Arianna’s sternum, as if the High Lady could see something Arianna could only feel. “I can sense her. She might very well be guiding you to what you need. Listen to her.”
A headache throbbed at Arianna’s temple.
She dropped her face into her hands, bracing her elbows on the stone railing.
“Her, Vairik, Niall, my old life. I feel like a million pieces of different people thrown into one body.” She ground her hand against her forehead.
“What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to lead if I don’t even know myself? ”
“What does your heart tell you?”
“To protect these people. To ensure Vairik doesn’t wipe them from the face of the continent like he’s done to so many others.”
“Then let that guide you. Everything else will fall into place afterward. The unfortunate truth is that we’re facing a war that could very well end our race entirely. We don’t have time or the luxury for other things until that battle is determined.”
And if Eimear was right, someone else didn’t have that luxury at all. A sacrifice, but of what? Time, body, soul? Was she referring to her sacrifice? Of Rion’s? A friend?
The previous Divine had sacrificed everything. Her mate, her sanity, herself, and she’d still failed to bring about peace. But this time was different. If Arianna failed—if anyone failed—there’d be no more chances.