And I don’t know what would be worse. To have these few, precious words after so long, to only be able to read them once. The coward in me wants to delay that moment longer. To hold onto the possibility of something, whatever it might be, rather than face the disappointment that might come with opening it.
Esme takes a deep breath, her bright eyes on the parchment. “You don’t have to open it.”
My groan slips out, and I drop my forehead to my hands. “Yes, I do.”
“No.” Her voice rises beside me, strengthened with surprising fierceness. “No, youdon’t, Selene.Youwere the one left behind. You only need to do whatever it takes for you to find peace with that. Maybe that means that you choose to open it now, or soon, or never.”
“And if my fate is written here? If I can finally learn what it is?”
That’s what scares me most, I think. That on the small piece of parchment will be words that tear my world apart and leave mein another maelstrom. “It might contain information that will help me with the Never.”
Or it could tell me that my fate is to let them fail. To stand back and donothing.
Perhaps right now, there is still a choice to be made.
“Would it matter?” Esme taps her finger to her lips, deep in thought. “Don’t you believe that fate is inescapable, either way? With that line of logic, whatever is going to happen will happen regardless of whether or not you read what’s inside that letter—”
Her voice trails off as I run my nail beneath the black crescent wax seal that only the Mother used, peeling it open. “Or we could just open it. That works too. Do you want some privacy?”
“No.” My head jerks up. My body is full. Of energy. Anticipation, nerves. Fear. My heart thumps unsteadily but quickly. “Please stay.”
“All right,” she says quietly. She rolls onto her back, closing her eyes. “I’ll be here.”
I sit up, crossing my legs beneath me as I run the pads of my fingers over the swirls and loops.
Mother, help me.
And I begin to read.
***
Selene,
I have dedicated my life to Hala’s service without thought or regret. But that time is coming to an end, as all things must, and my fate grows ever nearer.
As does yours.
We do not read children. Fate takes time to settle, and the bright sparks of youth forge their own path. But on the night you were born, we looked into the shadows—Mother, Maiden,and Crone—for no child had been born to us in so long that we knew it as a sign from Hala.
In those shadows, we saw not one fate, but three. Each of us saw something different.
The Crone’s vision for your fate matched those of your sisters, to end abruptly at the end of a sword. But the shadows changed, shifted. Two others followed, so closely entwined that I could almost see the edge. One was offered to the Maiden, and the other to me.
Your fate may yet fall either way.
Two possibilities. Which path you will follow will be determined only by you. I have learned that fate does not appreciate our involvement, and so can say little more, for fear that I will influence a path you would otherwise not have trod.
I have watched you grow from a babe to a child, to a girl who threw off the shackles which bound us to our vows. You dance, and sing, and I wish you to know that every part of this otherwise quiet existence has been so much brighter to us for your presence.
Faeytes do not love. But I watched you with Nyx, with Celeste, and I wondered. In truth, I have wondered many things since you entered our lives.
I am sorry for what lies ahead. But I have faith in you. We all do, Selene, every one of us. Know that we walk toward our fate with full knowledge and without regret. Do not grieve our end, for we face it gladly. This is something we can do, your family, to ensure that you never face the fate seen by the Crone.
This was always our fate.
But you—you have a chance to change your fate. To influence it.
There are dark days ahead. Our world is shifting, and the gods are angry. You will be at the heart of this, and I send you what little help I can to guide you. I have called on others, also.
