Chapter Thirty-One
THE MOIRAI
Earlier that night. Before the pirate attack.
The looms move rapidly, showing that the thread of control did not snap within Riven despite the self-revelatory power of the truth serum.
“It is time for more drastic measures.” The Crone hates lies, and Riven has been lying to himself for too long at the cost of another’s soul. Fate whispers from beyond in a tongue only the Moirai can decipher. “An illusion, yes, that will do it. But they will not know.”
The Mother hesitates, her fingers pausing as the image becomes clear in the fabric before her. “This will hurt him.”
The Maiden speaks up, ever hoping to ingratiate herself to both Fate and the older Moirai. “But it will reveal what the truth serum did not.”
The tone in the Moirai’s mountain home is cold and reverent. Unapologetic in method as long as the will of Fate is followed.
“They will survive it. All the matches will.” The Crone waves her hand, and a flash echoes in the sky. Storm clouds roll in, and the firing of a cannon on the distant sea responds.
“Fate does not test the unready, but sometimes, the unwilling fall in Fate’s crosshairs.”