“There is one other option. We kill the fates.”
Silence overtook the room. The only sounds were the sharp crackle of wood burning in the fireplace and shallow breaths.
Grim and Aidan spoke simultaneously.
“No.”
“Yes.”
Elysia leaned back on one hand from where she sat on the rug in front of the fire, waiting for them to get it all out of their systems.
Turning to Aidan, Grim lifted a shoulder. “You know we considered it in the past. We said if things ever got dire enough that it was on the table.”
Aidan’s body was stiff, his answer unyielding. “That was before.”
Grim argued in his unruffled way. “She knows what’s at stake. We don’t have time for the gods to interfere anymore. The hourglass is close to running out.”
“No, we stay the course. We’re releasing the grid to all the gods soon. They’ll get involved, and it will change the available paths.” Aidan’s jaw was so tight, Elysia thought his teeth might grind through.
Thick chest puffing, Grim pushed back. “Tell her. Then she can decide with all the facts in hand. It’s her life.”
Soot-stained shadows shot out from the outline of Aidan’s body, and the blue fire in his eyes blazed unnaturally, but he said nothing. Standing, he began to pace until Elysia grew impatient and snagged his trouser pocket, stopping him from burning holes in the floor.
“It can’t be worse than me contemplating murdering you.”
Exhaling harshly, he stared down at her. “Killing the fates is a possibility.”
Surprise lightened her. “Then what’s the problem?”
“Your odds, specifically, are not good if we were to go in that direction. You need to understand, mortalscannotkill gods, much less fates. If anyone says otherwise, they’re lying. If we were to move in this direction, it would take time and planning. This isn’t a one-woman job.”
Elysia deflated, letting go of him and sinking back to the rug. It didn’t take her long to shrug. “There are no good odds—I say itstays on the table. Besides, they said they’d kill me if I didn’t kill you.”
Aidan’s gaze was heavy on her. “Involving the gods is a longer path, but safer. Every time I consider killing the fates, the odds don’t make sense. I can’t even be sure of what I’m calculating. It’s like my magic can’t conceive of a world where the fates are not dictating what is or isn’t. There have been many gods. There have only ever been these three fates.”
While it was likely the opposite of his intention, an ever so tiny flicker of possibility came back to life within her at his words. It was an incredibly long shot, but if it worked…
“Killing them can wait, but the fates are hiding the talisman from me to stop my apotheosis.” Decision made, she continued. “Which brings us back to where we started, I need to retrieve the talisman. My tapestry won’t change—I’ve been after the talisman the whole time.”
Aidan’s gaze darkened, easily surmising there was something she wasn’t saying. He ducked his brow to hers in acquiescence before quietly exiting the room.
His office door latched in the distance, and her shoulders dropped. No doubt he’d be in there all night now, filling ledger after ledger with possibilities and odds. As a mortal, his magic had made him successful, impossible to beat. Now, it seemed to be a curse. He lived in possibilities, never able to stay long in what was, and it was akin to unending distress.
Maya reappeared in the living room, ledgerless and irritated. “I couldn’t find that number.”
Elysia grabbed a bottle of red wine off the black tray resting on the couch cushion. She poured out a glass and handed it to Maya.
“Don’t worry about it. He’s pissed because we’re running out of time.”
Grim’s brow creased for the barest of seconds before smoothing. Nodding to Elysia, he stood and brushed a hand over her shoulder. “Need to check in with the reapers.”
She smiled at him. He could wonder all he wanted. She’d told them what she could. They would have to trust her now.
Grim stalked out, and Elysia poured her own glass.
It was better this way.
She took a sip of the bittersweet wine. “So, you tried to murder Garrison with a corpse?”
