Chapter 34 #2
The woman bit her lip, and the instant stab of desire made Rydon grunt in dismay. He shifted his stance wider, hoping he seemed unbothered. The last thing he needed was this woman knowing she had any power over him.
“Do you recall our conversation back in Corvo, about the commander?” she asked Ren in a loud whisper. Rydon expelled a frustrated breath as he stepped closer to hear her better. Terena bent closer as well, frowning.
“Be specific.”
Cassandra flapped her hands impatiently. “About being soulmates.”
“Aye.” Ren replied with a groan.
“Are you sure I should be here for this?” Rydon was uncomfortable already with the direction this conversation was taking.
Cassandra ignored him. “I’ve seen the commander’s death. In Metilai after you become immortal. I didn’t realize it was Metilai because I’ve never been, but when I heard about the Heylisian army coming here, I thought perhaps the future changed and it would no longer come to pass.”
“Wait, what?”
“I’m getting a headache,” Rydon grumbled.
“What did you see?”
The seer shook her head. “His death. In battle. And I still see it. I’m worried there might not be a way to change the outcome. What if the Fates mean for him to die? What if that’s been his fate all along?”
“You saw this before and said nothing?”
Cassandra jerked back, affronted. “I thought we were going to Metilai! Then you received word of your sister here and the army coming for her, so I thought that the Fates had intervened twofold!”
Rydon shifted his gaze to Terena, whose ashen face and trembling lips told him how she’d received this news.
“I don’t understand a word of what she’s saying, but we’ll find a way to save him, Ren,” he said, more to give her hope than any genuine conviction he felt on the matter.
He still had no clue why he was in on this conversation.
Cassandra exhaled raggedly, reaching out to grip Terena’s hands.
“That’s just it,” she hissed. “I don’t believe there is.
I think… I think this is why you are soulmates.
Do you know what happens when one soulmate dies?
The surviving soulmate is fractured. They become twisted, their soul blackens and they become monsters.
I think Daris’s death is what the Fates had in mind all along.
I think what that will do to you is tied to your destiny. ”
“How can that be?” Ren’s voice cracked.
“The amulet is here,” the seer went on, her eyes shifting between Ren and Rydon. “In Sydney Hall. Surely, that’s why we received word that Sonah and the army were here! That the Fates wanted you to find it before going to Metilai. But I was wrong. His fate has not changed.”
This was a fucking lot, and Rydon could see how well Ren was taking this. Her body trembled and her mouth was doing that thing where she tried to speak but no words came.
“Are you mad?” Rydon snarled. “Why the fuck would you bring this to her now?”
“Would the Fates be this cruel?” Ren whispered in shock.
Cassandra nodded. “Oh, aye. And worse.”
Terena turned her head and stared off into the distance as Rydon glared at the seer. She pinched her lips and straightened her shoulders.
“But I have a thought,” she said as the silence stretched.
Like a drowning man thrown a lifeline, Terena wrenched her head around, her eyes narrowing on the seer.
“I think,” Cassandra said, wetting her lips. “I think if you… break the bond, or make him break the bond…”
Ren reared back, staring at the seer as if she’d turned into a gorgon.
“How the fuck is that going to help us?” Rydon snarled, dropping his head so his nose was an inch from Cassandra’s face. “We don’t know how to do that. She’s a week out from her nameday. There’s no time for us to go on another fucking adventure to figure out how to sever their bond!”
“We… don’t have to. We’re already on the adventure.”
“What’s that mean?” Terena asked.
“Do you know what the Amulet of Ka?ra is? What it does?”
Ren stared back at her with a blank look as Rydon growled at Cassandra.
The seer groaned loudly, wiping a hand over her brow.
“It corrupts the minds of men. The cypher who wields it breaks into the mind of their victim and twists whatever desire they focus on. So if the victim is ambitious, wanting to better his lot in life, he might… I don’t know, try to kill the olive oil vendor and take over his business.
Or assassinate a king if he desires a position of power. ”
“None of that makes sense. How does that break the soulmate bond?” Rydon asked with an edge to his voice, betraying his fear. The amulet sounded diabolical, and he thought they might be better off leaving it alone.
It was Cassandra’s turn to growl at Rydon, her lip curling back in a way that made her look seductive instead of angry.
Turning back to Ren, Cassandra held up a hand. “Before I go on, you must promise to hear me out before you—”
“Say it already!”
“If,” she cast a quick glance at Rydon before turning back to Terena. “When we find the amulet, we can get the cypher to use it and—”
“We don’t have a fucking cypher to use it.” Rydon seethed. He swallowed, taking a moment to compose himself. “And in case you haven’t noticed, we don’t have the amulet.”
Cassandra ignored him, focused on Terena. “You need to get the cypher to use it on Daris. Before that though, you need to make him want to break the bond.”
“He doesn’t even know about the bond,” Ren said, her voice small.
When Rydon looked over at her, her face was still pale and she seemed haunted. He took hold of her hand and squeezed it.
“You need to tell him. And then make it seem like it’s the worst thing ever for you two.”
“What? Why?”
“Because when the cypher gets into his head, she can amplify his desire to break the bond. It’ll make him do something… stupid… that should break it.”
“Should?” Rydon snapped.
“Theoretically.”
“The cypher’s a woman? You’ve seen her?” Ren asked.
“Yes to both.”
“What will it make him do?”
Cassandra opened her mouth to reply, her eyes shifting between them. Taking a step back, she held out her hands.
“You have to remember, you are bound by the Fates, so it has to be something significant. Something… unforgivable. So, theoretically, that’s how we break the bond. But we need to control the situation so—”
“Unforgivable?”
“And that will break it?”
Cassandra waggled her head. “Theoretically.”
“What about in reality?”
“I don’t know!” Cassandra sniped with a stamp of her foot. “We’re dealing with the Fates here, and I’m trying to walk a very fine line between saving her soulmate and getting us all hunted by the Furies!”
“What?” Rydon gasped, lurching forward. “What about the Furies?”
“Never mind them. If this works, they won’t bother with him. Or us.”
“But they might? If he breaks the bond, the Furies will kill him?”
“I don’t think so,” Cassandra whined, her eyes darting between the two. “If he’s under the influence of a power beyond his control, like the amulet, they might not retaliate.”
“Fucking gods,” Rydon groused, stabbing his hands into his hair and turning away from the seer.
“So, none of this is anything you know with certainty,” Ren bit out, her face blotched as she glared at Cassandra. “You’re asking me to trust that this will work without any guarantee.”
“If you’ve a better idea, goddess, I am all ears!”
“Talk to Hermes, Ren,” Rydon cautioned, watching as the wheels spun inside that head of hers. “Don’t do anything rash. He knows way more about this stuff than we do.”
“But can we trust him?” Terena pondered, her eyes on the ground.
“I don’t know him,” Cassandra replied. “But I know the Olympians as a whole are not trustworthy. He’s not called the trickster god for nothing. If you confide in him, he might twist the situation to suit his needs.”
“But isn’t that why I found him?” Ren asked, throwing out her arms. “I have to believe the Fates led me to him for help! If I do this, won’t they punish us? I’m drowning, here, Cassandra!”
“Your destiny is too big for them to punish you.”
Ren took a deep, shaky breath and dropped her head back. A long, tense silence stretched as they watched Terena wrestle with all the seer had shared.
“So, I have to get him to think I don’t love him.”
Rydon’s chest swelled and he clenched his jaw tight to stave off the sting of tears the sorrow in her words evoked in him. Gods, why the fuck can’t they leave this poor woman alone?
“Do whatever you need to. However you need to. Once that’s done, the cypher can do her thing and then…”
When she didn’t continue, Rydon frowned. “And then?”
“Remember, this is just an idea, all right?” Cassandra pleaded, backing away another step. “So, theoretically, if he’s under the cypher’s power, maybe, if everything goes to plan, he might… try to kill Sonah.”
“What?” Ren gasped.
“Are you fucking insane?” Rydon roared. Both of them bounded toward the seer, who squeaked as she took a few running steps away.
“It was just a thought!” Looking at Rydon, Cassandra waved her hand at him. “And he won’t do it anyway, because you’ll be there to stop him! You’ll take the killing blow instead, and, because you’re her guardian you’ll be fine!”
“By the fucking gods, woman,” Rydon raged.
“Well, do you have a better idea?” Cassandra hissed, lunging forward like an angry little dog, baring her teeth at him.
“The whole point is to get him to do something unforgivable! If he tries to kill Sonah, I’m fairly certain that counts!
You’ll save Sonah because you’ll be right there; the bond will break once he does that.
We save both Sonah and the commander with this plan. See?”
“How the fuck did you come up with something so convoluted—”
“Will it work?”
Rydon’s head whipped around as he stared at her in horror. “You’re not considering this!”
“Have you seen this?” Ren asked, her eyes on Cassandra. “In a vision?”
“No,” Cassandra said mournfully, shaking her head. “But I saw the cypher wearing the amulet. Right after I saw Daris fall in battle.”
“So where is she? And how are we supposed to convince this stranger to go along with this scheme?”
“Uhm…”
“Speak, woman!” Rydon swore he saw red whenever this woman was around. His head was about to explode from the amount of blood pounding in his skull.
“Again, this is only what I saw in the vision. But good news, we do find the amulet. You know, because, uh… the woman is wearing it. In the vision. She’ll definitely do it for you.”
“Why?”
“Who’s the woman?” Ren asked. “Do we know her?” Her shoulders slumped as she gazed at Cassandra.
The seer gave her a wan smile, and she let out a hesitant chuckle.
“Aye. You know her well. It’s Sonah.”