I found myself inside a large bedroom with polished wooden floorboards covered with pretty carpets, small, ornately carved wooden tables standing here and there, a fireplace with lush furniture carefully placed in front of it, and a big canopy bed draped with dark blue fabric.
Someone stirred there, a whispered rustle of blankets. I sensed what I needed to see lay in that direction.
“Ah,” Vera said in my mind. “I’m glad you’re here for this. Watch. See. Remember.”
“I understand.” I was along for this ride, and I’d let it take me where I needed to be.
“There you are,” a woman said with a jerk to her voice from behind the bedding. “I hoped I wouldn’t see you for many more years, Vera.”
“I’m sorry,” Vera said. “I prayed to the fates I wouldn’t needto come here so soon.” She remained near the door, her hands clenching and releasing by her sides. Finally, she gripped the smooth fabric of her dress tight enough I thought she’d rip it. “I promise this will make a difference.”
“You’re sure?” The woman’s voice wavered, choked off with guttural tears. She sniffed and bedding fluttered as she shifted on the soft surface. Would she part the drapes and rise?
“Am I sure about this vision?” Vera said. “Yes.”
What had she foreseen this time?
“Is this the past or the future?” I asked her.
“Watch,” she growled in my mind. “See.”
While she’d snapped, I could tell she wasn’t upset with me. No, she hated this situation and the reason she had to come here.
“Can’t I have more time?” the woman asked, her voice dropping to a desperate whisper. “I’m so tired.” The words seemed dragged from her soul.
“Of course you are. It’s expected.” Vera walked to the bed and tugged aside the drapes, revealing a pretty, pale woman lying beneath the blankets, propped up in a sitting position with pillows nestled behind her.
“Vexxion’s mother?” I asked.
“Yes.”
She held a baby. As Vera watched, she kissed the child’s forehead, her long red hair sliding over her shoulder to enfold the child much like her embrace.
“Is this Vexxion?” My greedy eyes ate his appearance, from his tiny hands clinging to her hair to his sweet little face. She’d swaddled him in a sapphire blanket that matched his eyes.
“Her name is Ellyn,” Vera said. “Watch.”
I feasted on her beauty, sad that Ivenrail had done all he could to destroy it. He’d claimed her life, but the loveliness inside her continued on. Her touch had taught Vexxion how to love, and he’d bathed me with his unending devotion.
Would he ever love me again? The ache in my chest was slowly shredding me. His indifference pierced deeper each day, turning my longing into endless torment.
“How could she sleep with Ivenrail?” I snarled.
“She grew up with him. They were childhood friends. From the time she was small, she adored him. It took her too long to see who he truly was.”
And he murdered her.
“He always was a conniving person. He took advantage of her innocent devotion,” Vera said dryly. “Even her parents didn’t see until it was much too late.”
“If she hadn’t been with him, we wouldn’t have Vexxion.” And I couldn’t imagine missing out on anything we’d done together, not even the moments when I thought he was betraying me.
“You would not, but would all of this have happened?”
“I’m sure the monster on Bledmire’s throne would’ve stumbled onto his current path.”
“Paths take wanderers in too many directions. If only I could see down them all,” she said sadly. “But enough questions. I’m here for a reason, as are you.” She held out her arms to Vexxion’s mother. “It’s time. This is the only way.”
Ellyn clung to Vexxion, holding him tight to her breasts.
