I peer up at the beautiful man before me. Is he really as kind as he seems? Or is he the same as Loki?
“What is it you want, Baldur?” My arms fold across my chest, and despite his kind appearance, I can’t find it in me to trust him willingly.
“I want nothing.” He shrugs his wide shoulders. Still I stare daggers at him. “There are some mortals we relate to on a deeper level. There are some we want badly to help even if we cannot.” His attention, as always, is solely on me. “Your path is much like my own. Sometimes fate rests a little heavier on some people’s shoulders than others. I wish it was different for you. I wish life was different. I see that familiar struggling ambition within you. It’s there because your father is not. You have the will to win this war, but not the power.”
His words hit hard within me.
He’s right. I know he is.
“So help me.” It’s a quiet and pleading request.
His eyes soften as he looks at me as if he’ll never see me again.
“I already have.”
Confusion and shock storm through me. My lips part but he doesn’t let me speak.
“Take a walk with Viola. It’ll calm you.”
A walk. With my boyfriend’s ex. Yes, that sounds very relaxing.
“Come, Zakara.” Her whispered words are not a question at all. And she doesn’t wait as she starts to walk up the path ahead.
Darrio and Daxdyn exchange glances and I look to Ryder for a hesitating second before following after Viola.
A winding path of smooth bricks guides our way. A sparkling effect gleams off the bricks as the warm sunlight shines down. The ends of Viola’s thin dress sway against the ground as we walk and I find myself comparing our differences.
She’s soft curves with a deadly smile. Alluring but terrifying all at once.
Not a thing like me.
Or so I tell myself.
Small white flowers dot down the braid that’s pulled over her shoulder. When she turns to me, I hold her gaze, my head tipping higher.
A stupidly strong sense of confidence streams through me as I hold the powerful goddess’s gaze.
“We’ve been watching you.” Her eyes shine with an unseen smile.
The eerie statement doesn’t chill me like it should. I’ve always known the gods watch us. Especially now. Perhaps not as closely as they should. For if they did, my father wouldn’t have died protecting me.
The gods do not do their jobs as sufficiently as they should.
“And what have you seen?” I don’t cower away from the power I feel rolling off of her small frame.
Her attention drifts over my features as her head begins to shake back and forth.
“A headstrong child who grew up to be a headstrong woman.” Her hands fold in front of her as she starts to walk farther into the beautiful, blooming garden. “A damaged woman unsure of herself, but so sure of the world around her. A beautiful fae who can’t seem to make a choice between the most loyal of men.”
Her simple assessment of my life sets my nerves into an angry frenzy.
So she watched me and judged me. She doesn’t understand the feelings I’ve felt. The love and loss I’ve experienced.
“There will be more.” At the sound of her vague statement, I stop in my tracks.
“More what?”
“There will be more love and loss to come, Zakara.” The glinting look in her eyes makes my heart stumble. “I haven’t felt your feelings, no. But Idoknow what your path will bring.” Her detached smile makes my jaw clench tighter. How can she be so happy as she tells me more lives will be lost? “There’s a fire within you. And there is magic to match it.”
