“That I’m not sure of myself. Our sister Teeny is the one who cast the spell, and as you know, she’s not alive,” Minnie answered with a sad expression.
“How don’t you know? Don’t all of y’all do the same things? I mean, aren't y’all like triplets or whatever?” Cree asked, sounding clueless as he glanced around.
“It would be quadruplets, and no, we aren’t all the same, despite our looks. Teeny is the oldest. Then it’s Tiny, then Meeny, and I’m the youngest. Yes, we all have similar wisdom; however, Fate has given each of us an area we specialize in.Teeny had a special place in Fate’s heart. She had begun learning Fate’s spells.”
“Fate was teaching Teeny magic? That means Fate was getting her ready to take her position?” Naiobi asked while looking at Minnie skeptically.
“Correct,” Tiny answered as she floated back into the living room. “Fate had chosen our sister as the successor. It was an honor many couldn’t fathom the thought of, but Teeny was ready. However, she wasn’t ready for the jealousy that came with her gift.”
“Man! What?! I’ve never heard no stuff like this before. Since when did Fate have a successor?” Cree asked, bewildered by what Tiny said.
“Everyone knows Fate chooses a successor; it has been done since the beginning of time. Son, you don’t read the Books of Time as you should,” Alexander's deep voice grumbled as he frowned at Cree.
He wasn’t wrong. The Books of Time were where shifterkind wrote down our history away from humans. Every year, new books were added into the Library of Knowledge, where the original copies of The Books of Times are kept. As a leader in any shifter race, it was encouraged for us to read the first ten books as well as the most recent ten books. We knew of only a few people who had read the entire collection of the Books of Time. We couldn’t say that we even attempted to read that many, but we had read the first three books, so we knew that when the original Fate created the world, it took a lot for Fate to continue to run the world alone. Slowly, Fate’s energy was depleted, and Fate knew Fate would cease to exist. Fate decided to find the shifter with the purest of hearts to take Fate’s mantle and become the next Fate. The cycle was set to continue. Then, The Great War broke out as someone tried to take the power from Fate, which led to the Dark Mages being banished andshifters almost being wiped out, which was where humans came into existence.
Smacking his lips, Cree frowned at his dad. “Man, ain’t nobody read them long-ass books aside from you and Mom.”
“I’ve read a few of them,” Delcan chimed in.
“I read most of the ancient ones.” Naiobi raised her hand.
“Me too. Naiobi helped me study them,” Zamiyah chimed in.
“I only read the first one.” Yves shrugged.
“Kenzo, brother, don't leave me hanging.” Cree smirked at me.
“I can’t help you. I’ve read them too.” I chuckled at the defeated expression on Cree’s face.
“You have the capacity to be a great leader, but you lack the discipline required,” Tiny said with her lip turned up at Cree.
“Unh-huh. I hear you,” Cree mumbled as he threw his hands up in defeat.
“Teeny is the one coming to me in my dreams?” Bellamy asked as she turned from Tiny to Minnie.
“The Far Plains are not a dream. It is a place Mages go to communicate with the ones who’ve passed,” Tiny answered.
“Umm… She kept telling me love and friendship go hand and hand. Something about love being the key or something cryptic like that,” Bellamy said while looking up at us for reassurance. If anything, Bellamy had to know we had her back. We wrapped our arm around her waist and pulled her body into ours to give her more comfort.
“That sounds like our sister. She always speaks in riddles.” Minnie chuckled.
“You mean all y’all speak in riddles and cryptic messages for us to figure out like we are some detectives,” Cree playfully spat while smirking at the sisters.
“A fool can listen but not hear,” Tiny replied while looking annoyed.
“Hush, Creeland,” Halo snapped, shushing her mate. “What spell did Teeny cast?” she asked with her brow frowned.
Minnie and Tiny shared a look with each other like they didn’t want to say what it was.
“The Blood of the Phoenix,” Roselee spoke up nervously.
“What the hell is that?” we asked this time.
Phoenix were legendary shifters. Only one was born every thousand years, and it was rare for them to reveal their true nature to anyone because they were often hunted for their blood. Drinking their blood was said to make people unkillable.
“You and Bellamy were always destined to be mated. Your bond will bring about a powerful warrior who will help complete The Great Prophecy. Your cub will be the chosen one’s fated mate,” Tiny said while looking directly at Bellamy and me.
“When Teeny first came to me, you and your sister were small. She tried to warn your dad and me that a great evil was coming after you and your sister. Because of my relationship with Fate, I didn’t believe her. I felt like Fate would keep my family safe. I had Fate’s favor in my mind; there was no need for me to worry. In my arrogance, I ignored Teeny’s warnings until it was too late.” A look of gloom passed over Roselee’s face as tears began to fall.
