Chapter 11 #3
“It was a few months after Thena died.” After another fight with Mother that left me hollow.
“My parents were out of town, and Sofia was at her friend’s house for a sleepover.
Yaya had wanted me to stay with her, but I refused and stayed home.
It was one of the few times I was alone, so I made the most of it.
Yaya saw an omen, knew something was up, so later that night, she rushed over and found me.
She called in a family friend who happened to be a Key.
By the time she was able to stop it, the damage had already been done.
Still, she did her best to repair what she could.
” Something flickered in Grayson’s eyes, so she asked, “What?”
“When I searched you yesterday, I found those repairs.” He studied her closely. “Her work is good, Cass. Extremely good. What I think is you’re not broken, just a little scuffed up. If it had been a less talented Key, things might not have turned out as well.”
She wanted to believe him, but it was hard. “Maybe.”
Instead of arguing, he simply said, “Tell me what changed.”
She worried her bottom lip. “The best way to describe it is to say my prophetic roots were weakened and warped. If I don’t go far into the future, I can still walk the clearest path without distraction, but if I reach too far forward, I tend to get lost, which means I’m more likely to cascade out.”
Concern lit his eyes. “So you have to be careful how far into the future you look?”
She nodded. “But that wasn’t the only change. Sometimes, the line between the recent past and the near future blurs.”
Confusion flickered. “I’m not following.”
“Typically, Oracles work only in future possibilities. They travel along the various paths an individual’s decision creates, and if they choose to, Oracles can provide decision points for the person to pick which of the dominant futures they prefer.
Whatever trigger the hex flipped gave me the ability to create specific decision points, which in turn allows me to create the future I want to happen, regardless of the petitioner’s choice.
Even worse, there are times I’m not really aware I’m doing it, because I’m so far along that future path that I don’t realize I’m the one creating it. ”
He studied her for a long moment. “Okay, that’s scary.”
She grimaced. “Tell me about it.”
Even scarier was realizing the only thing that held her back from taking that power and running with it was her personal moral code.
The first time it had happened, she’d tried to explain it away, but when it happened again, there had been nowhere to hide from the truth.
Already shaken by her close call with the second-rate hex, she’d gone to Yaya, scared and feeling more alone and out of control than ever.
Her grandmother hadn’t batted an eyelash but instead had carefully curated information that helped Cass learn how to rein in the impulse to play goddess.
“All right, I’ve got to ask, and not because I’m a dick but because I’m truly curious—how difficult is it not to use it?”
“Very.” She wished she could answer differently.
Grayson’s expression gentled. “But you’ve done it.”
She gave serious consideration to lying then remembered the cards and gave a slight nod.
“Tell me about it?” It was a request, not a demand.
“Before I do, I need your word that what I tell you, you’ll never share.” If it got out that an Oracle had forced someone’s path, it wouldn’t be her parents but the Alcmene Family who would ensure that it never happened again.
The arm at her back disappeared as he brought it between them, his palm facing hers. “Promise.”
Reddish-gold power ignited into an oath rune and hovered above his palm.
She called up her magic, a stormy mix of pearl white, beaten gold, and flecks of iridescent sparks, which fired into a mirror image of the rune.
The two runes merged into one, the colors shifting into rose gold, as the promise was offered and accepted.
When the power faded out, he curled his fingers around hers and pressed her hand to his chest.
She lowered her voice, keeping their conversation between them. Not that anyone was around, but this secret involved more than just her. “Sometimes, Des, Isa, and I provide help to those who don’t have a lot of options or, for whatever reason, can’t trust typical channels.”
His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say anything, silently encouraging her to continue.
“The last time, there was a young mother, with two little ones, who needed to get away from their father because he owed some seriously nasty people money, and the debt was secured with a geas that allowed him to use the kids to pay it. When the mother found out, she was desperate to get the children safe. She had no extended family to turn to, and her husband controlled their finances, leaving her trapped. It wasn’t like she could appeal to the ones who set the geas, so we offered to intervene.
Des and Isa did their part, and I did my thing.
Together, we tried to figure out the best and safest way to get her and the kids out of his reach.
The problem was, no matter which path we took, it left her, her kids, or both in danger because the one factor that remained constant was the geas.
” Which wasn’t unusual when magical bindings came into play.
“What did you do?” he asked.
She wasn’t proud, exactly, but she sure as hell wasn’t sorry about her decision, not then and not now. Those children didn’t deserve to pay for their father being a selfish prick. Honestly, neither did their mother.
She held his gaze and lifted her chin. “I found the one faint path with a possible loophole and exploited it, changing the terms of the geas so the only acceptable payment came from him. Then I made sure every possible path led to it.”
“That couldn’t have been easy.”
“It wasn’t.”
Understatement of the year. She’d almost given up on finding a solution when one of the paths shared a glimpse of another crime, one that meant Isa could step in and get the name they needed so Des could pay the individual who set the geas a visit, which eventually created the loophole she used.
Only then had she been able to twist the magical vow enough to set things in motion, like a karmic version of dominos.
He smiled, not with humor but with merciless admiration. “You’re wrong, you know.”
She arched her eyebrows. “About…?”
“About being broken.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he got there first. “You’re like a kintsugi piece.”
Not sure if that was a positive or negative, she asked, “Kintsugi?”
“It’s a centuries-old Japanese art form that showcases the beauty of imperfections in repaired pottery by adorning the mending cracks with precious metals.” He brought her fingers up and pressed a quick kiss to them. “I think you’re exactly who you were meant to be.”
A sweet warmth replaced the ache in her chest, and she let her weight sink against him, trusting him to hold them steady. She wanted to believe he was right. For the first time since she’d lost Thena, she wanted to believe she was who she was meant to be.