Chapter 80
Daegan
One year and a half ago
The witch, Maethrel, shuts the creaking wooden door behind us, leaving me alone with him in the herb-scented cottage. Raef and the elf princess wait outside.
I don’t like the way he looks at me with his creepy pale eyes.
It’s nothing against him, but he looks at me like I’m fucking doomed, like he knows some devastating secret I haven’t tortured out of him yet.
“What’s this about?” I demand, folding my arms.
“You.” He kneels on a black silk cushion on the floor like he has all the time in the world. “And your fate.”
“My fate?” I scoff.
“Yes.”
“What of it?”
“Why don’t you sit for a moment?”
“Why don’t I stand.”
He sighs. “I’ve lived many lives, dragon. And I remember each one. I remember the one where I doomed this entire world like a bad dream I was just awakened from only moments ago.”
“What? Are you saying…”
“I was the witch who cast that curse. A female witch named Ethmarel.” He pauses as he takes in my look of confusion. “That’s right…”
I shake my head. “You’re full of shit.”
“I’m not. Why would I admit to being that dreadful, lovesick fool if it weren’t so?”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I’ve waited a long time for you three to come around. I’ve seen the different fates of this world. One path leads to its salvation.”
“I’m guessing it involves me.” I’m not sure why I’m still entertaining this. I’m not even sure I believe him.
“Indeed. The princess is crucial to the only outcome which will set the land free again.”
“And I’m not?”
“You’re crucial… to her. Which makes you important too. And the red one, by extension.”
“What of him?”
“He’s more important for… after. For uniting the people.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“You three, plus a few more allies, are going to break my curse at last.”
Elation should be the emotion I’m feeling, but instead, I stare at him in surprise. This is what I’ve been working toward for years, half of my life, and he’s giving me confirmation that we’ll succeed. But do I believe his bullshit?
He still has more to tell me. I can see it.
“Why can’t you break it? You’re the one responsible. Thanks for that, by the way.”
“I cannot undo what I’ve done. I wish I could. But as I said, I’ve seen all the possibilities. I will fail alone. It must be you.”
“Bullshit. You’re just a coward.”
“So you will stop trying? Do nothing?”
“No.”
“That’s what I thought.”
I want to punch this fucker in the face. “Just tell me the rest and quit with the theatrics. At least help us out.”
“I can’t tell you everything—”
“Of course not,” I scoff, cutting him off.
He wears a surprisingly patient look. He should have all the patience, considering he’s responsible for all of this.
“There are certain things I can’t tell you, or the path will change and all will be lost.”
“How the fuck do you know that?”
“That is how the future works. And speaking of… what I’m about to tell you must stay between us. Otherwise, the dragons die. I’d give them another hundred years, maybe two. Along with a lot of other species. The curse is starting to move faster.”
My warm dragon blood turns to ice. “What do I need to know to succeed, then?”
“We must hurry this along. They’ll come looking for you soon.” He stands and faces me, almost eye-level. “You’re going to die. I won’t tell you when, because telling a person exactly when they’ll die is always a disaster.”
“Okay. We all die eventually.”
“True. Are you not scared?”
“No.” I quirk an eyebrow. “Are you trying to tell me it’s soon? Like, tomorrow? A month from now? When?”
“You have time.”
“How much?”
“Enough.”
I rub my hand down my face. “Why are you even telling me?”
“When you die, I will come to you. I will tie your soul to your body, temporarily, because your part will not yet be done. She will not go on without you. It’s been foreseen. This is also why you mustn’t tell anyone. Not her, not Raef. They won’t let you see it through.”
“O…kay. Who?”
“You have a choice. Stay that way forever, your soul constantly trying to rip away from your body, or, when I perform the ritual, we set a time limit. Only then will your spirit be free.”
“What would life look like?”
“If you choose to stay forever, you’ll eventually, very slowly, wither and become one of my shadow wraiths.”
“I choose death, then.”
“A wise choice.”
“How long will I have?”
He tucks his hands behind his back, studying me. “Until the dragons fly.”
I tilt my head. “Will it hurt?” I don’t know why I ask. I’m not afraid of pain. Or death.
“Your soul constantly trying to rip free from your body while it’s forced to remain there? Yes. Like a constant dull aching with sporadic bursts of more intense pain.”
I release a conflicted breath. I should be more freaked out, but I’m not. I always knew I’d do anything to save my people. Sacrificing myself doesn’t scare me. Besides, we could be looking at years before this happens. The fucker won’t give me any clue.
“Alright, well… I’ll see you when I die, then. Unless… there’s anything else you can tell me that will help?”
He hands me the dagger I came back for, and I shove it in a sheath. I knew the fucker somehow took it.
“One last thing… don’t fight it.”
“Fight what?” I lift my arms and drop them. I’m running out of patience with this guy.
“Love.”
“Please elaborate.”
“Elysande.”
“That… will never happen.”
“It happens in almost every future line I’ve seen where you two meet. You cannot fight it.”
My chest feels fucking weird. Have I thought Elysande is the most beautiful fucking creature I’ve ever seen, despite her being an elf, and despite hating her when I first met her?
Yes. Have I also begun to notice that she’s different from what I’d expect of the princess of Ellyar, in every fucking way? Also… yes.
“So what are you saying? We’re fated to be together? Soul mates?”
“No. I don’t believe in such things. I’m simply saying I’ve watched countless outcomes play out, and in nearly every one, you can’t stay away from each other. You’re doomed to love one another. It’s tragic really, but I can’t resist a catastrophic love story.”
Now I think he’s full of shit. Me dying for the cause? Fine. I always expected that. But me falling for the princess of Ellyar in every future? I don’t think so. I narrow my eyes at him. “What if you’re manipulating me. Telling me lies to fit the outcome you want?”
He shrugs. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Well, it seems it was unnecessary to tell me not to fight it, when you apparently already know I won’t.”
“I do what I do for many reasons. Sometimes, I’m just a hopeless romantic. My history will tell you as much. I’m not saying that’s a good trait to have. Oftentimes, love becomes our ruin.”
“Which one is it?”
“What?”
“You said you love a tragic love story, yet you’re also a hopeless romantic.”
“Same thing.”
“Is it?”
“I think so.”
What the fuck am I doing, arguing with this witch? “Great,” I say dryly.
“You don’t believe me.”
“I’m undecided, but I’m leaning toward no. Mostly because now that I know my fate, I would never allow her to love me. I wouldn’t do that to her.”
The witch gives me a sad smile that’s accompanied by pity in his creepy eyes, and I want to gouge them out. “I’m done here.”
“We’ll meet again soon, revenant.”
“Hopefully not too soon.” Then again, the longer I live, the more people die.
Fuck.