“For fuck’s sake, old man, quit saying that,” Abram snapped.
The man looked at Abram and grinned. The smile revealed yellowed teeth.
“A god who walks among the mortals.” His tone was strange. It sounded like half awe and half judgment as he watched Abram.
Then he looked at Nate again. “Nate, we should take your friends to my home.” He turned back to him. “Do you remember where I live?”
“No, Uncle, I’ve not been here in gods know how long.”
Thomas sighed as if Nate had personally offended him.
“Fine. Follow me.” He motioned for us to come with him.
He moved up the street faster than I expected for someone so drunk. He slipped between people easily, almost too quickly, as if he suddenly remembered he had somewhere important to be. Nate fell behind to walk with us as we followed his uncle.
“Hopefully, this goes well. He is drunk.” Nate smiled at me. “I’m sure it will be fine though. Maybe because he is so drunk he will share more than he normally would.”
His attempt at reassurance did nothing to quiet the knot twisting beneath my ribs.
All of a sudden, his uncle was gone. We stopped and glanced around.
"Over here, children." We turned to the left, following his voice.
Thomas now stood beside a wooden door tucked into a shadowed alleyway. Just as he opened it, rain immediately began pouring down in a heavy sheet, and we rushed inside the small home. He stumbled in the dark for a moment before a single wall sconce flickered to life.
The space was tiny, barely larger than a single room. A bed sat in one corner, a couch directly in front of us, and a narrow kitchen was tucked against the opposite wall.
"Sorry for the mess. I was not expecting a god today." He turned to Abram with a quick smile. "Please, sit."
He remained standing in front of the couch as Nate dropped onto it. Abram lowered himself beside him and pulled me onto his lap since there was nowhere else for me to sit. His arm tightened around my waist, steady and grounding.
"You have come for information on your mates." Thomas looked directly into my eyes, concern softening his features.
"Yes," I answered.
His gaze shifted to Nate. A sigh slipped from him, weary and resigned.
"I do not normally share too much about this. Knowing too much of one's own fate is a curse in itself."
Abram stilled beneath me. I felt the way his breath caught. He had said those same words to me once, and hearing them again made something inside him lock into place.
"But for you two, I will."
"Oh, this is not for me. This is for Elowyn," Abram said quickly, almost too quickly.
Thomas smiled, as if he were holding a secret only he understood.
"Two threads tangled beyond the heavens' design," he said as he watched us. "Two souls woven into the same thread. Curious indeed."
"What does that even mean?" Abram asked.
"The sun shall soon rise upon you, god of gods. A dawn you did not seek, but one written in the bones of the earth before you took your first breath."
He directed the words at Abram, but I could not make sense of them.Abram stiffened under me. His jaw locked, and his breath came out in a sharp, angry rush.Thomas’ eyes drifted to me. His gaze sharpened as if he saw something deeply hidden.
“And you, little witch trapped in another’s curse… your fate walks a darker path. Yours is not the sun’s warmth, but the storm’s unyielding embrace.”
My breath caught in my throat.
