Panta
Epilogue
My breath whispers out, the days in purgatory endless as they stretch behind and in front of me.
My rider and draikani are coming, but they’ll leave me behind as they chase the Norns’ whims. The male who is not part of us—and may never be—is waiting for them.
The fates have given them no choice but to follow.
I’ll remain trapped. It must be. None of us would want to live in the worlds that will survive if they fail.
But that doesn’t ease the pain. My life was desolate before, even with my draikani by my side. It will be bleak and cold and empty when they leave these caves, taking even the sense of their presence with them.
I don’t know if they’ll survive long enough to return. I’ll know if they don’t, though. I can’t be killed, but I can experience their death when they do. And if they don’t make it back, I’ll live, even if I want nothing more than to die by their sides.
The End,
For Now …