“That makes two of us,” Julius said, slumping in his chair. “What you’re saying isn’t exactly a surprise. Bob’s told me a couple times now that I was his crux, though he didn’t make it sound quite that important. But I still have no idea what he wants, or why he pickedme.”
“That’s perfectly normal,” the Black Reach assured him. “No pawn sees the whole game. But since you are so important, I feel I must warn you that your brother has turned down a dangerous path. I may not understand all his motives yet, but I have seen his future, and it is not one I can allow. If he continues on his present course, I will have no choice but to—”
“Kill him,” Julius said, stomach clenching. “You’re going to kill him, aren’t you?”
“I am,” the seer said quietly. “But before you label me the enemy, know that I am here precisely because I want to avoid that fate. Like every seer before him, Brohomir knows what he must do to preserve his life. He’s known I am his death since he was younger than you, and how to avoid it. He knows perfectly well the temptations he must not touch, yet he still pursues them, and I don’t know why.”
He leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees so he could look Julius in the eyes. “That’s why I’ve come to you. You’re his pivot, the point around which all his plans revolve. I was hoping that, if you told me what he’s asked you to do, it might help us both better understand his motives and prevent an unfortunate end.”
He said that so earnestly, Julius almost answered before he could think about it. But as desperate as he was to save his brother, he wasn’tthatstupid.
“Why should I tell you anything?” he said suspiciously. “You just said you’re going to kill him.”
“Only if he makes me,” the Black Reach said, his eyes sad. “I do not enjoy killing seers, Julius. I may not be a living dragon as you are, but I’m not actually made of stone. I’ve known every seer that’s ever been born on this plane. I watched them all grow and guided them as best I could, but it’s neither my purpose nor my place to dictate the future of our kind. Even when I care for a seer greatly, I can’t force them to choose as I would like. I exist for one purpose: to be a check on the power of seers and ensure our future is never sold again.”
“But, if that’s all you do, why are you their death?” Julius asked. “Why iseveryseer’s first vision you killing them if you only come out when they break your rule?”
“Because no seer can resist,” the Black Reach said angrily. “You saw what Estella did just with the chains, and that was only a minor manifestation. The power to force the future is always there. Waiting.Tempting.It may take thousands of years, but sooner or later,everyseer comes up against a battle they can’t win with knowledge of the future alone. When that happens, they inevitably reach for the one weapon that will guarantee their victory, and I am forced to stop them.”
“But why?” Julius asked again. “They’ve all seen their deaths, right? Theyknowyou’re going to kill them for doing it, so why try?”
“Because every seer thinks they’re special,” he said, shaking his head. “They spend their entire lives knowing things others don’t and using that knowledge to do the impossible. When you’re that powerful, it’s only a small stretch to thinking you’re unstoppable. That you can do what no one else has ever done. That you can beatme.”
“Can they?” Julius asked. “I mean, I get that you’re older and better and can probably run circles around any other seer, but no one’sactuallyinvincible.”
“I am,” the Black Reach said calmly. “I know that sounds like boasting, but this is what I was created for. I was constructed by the greatest seers of our old world specifically to be a weapon againstthem. I can’t be defeated, at least not by a seer.”
“But can’t you just tell them that? Bob’s not Estella. He’s notcrazy. I’m sure if you just explained all of that to him, he’d—”
“You think I haven’t tried?” the Black Reach snapped. “Do you haveany ideahow frustrating it is to watch one of the best seers ever born throw himself away? Brohomir knowsexactlywhat is coming and why he shouldn’t do it, but he still refuses to change, and I’ve reached the end of my ability to reason with him.”
“I hope you’re not expecting me to get through to him,” Julius said. “Bob doesn’t listen to me.”
“But he doestalkto you,” the seer said, staring at him intently. “You’re different from other dragons, Julius. I told you flat out when we started that your brother was in trouble, and you didn’t even try to use that to your advantage. You didn’t offer to sell him out to me or trade information for favors. You just wanted to help, to save him.”
“OfcourseI wanted to save him,” Julius said. “He’s my brother.”
“There’s no ‘of course’ about it,” the Black Reach said, leaning closer. “Do you know how long I’ve waited for a dragon like you? One who’d legitimately choose his brother’s life over a debt with Dragon Sees Eternity? You are incredibly rare, and I believe that’s why Brohomir picked you. Not just because you won’t betray him, but becauseIdon’t want to kill you. I could end all of Brohomir’s plotting right now, save his life by ending yours and all the plots he’s attached to you, but I won’t. Ican’t, because you’re exactly the sort of peaceful, honest dragon I’ve always hoped would emerge one day. Under your leadership, I can foresee Heartstriker evolving to the point where you might finally be able to put a stop to the foolish clan infighting that’s forever pushing seers to seek the ends I must kill them for taking. That’spower, Julius, and I’m sure it’s why Bob chose you. Where better to run your plans than through the one dragon I don’t want to kill? But his cleverness is also his weakness, because by making you the center of all his plans, Bob has handed you—the only one who truly cares—the power to save his life. He’s the seer, but you’re the one holding all his strings. If you let them go, everything he’s built will fall apart, and I won’t have to do a thing.”
A cold knot began to form in Julius’s chest. “You want me to betray Bob.”
“To save his life,” the Black Reach said angrily. “Your brother is one of the best seers I’ve ever known, but his cleverness and audacity have led him farther down the path of self-destruction than any dragon before him. He’s made a bargain with a power so deadly, I can’t even tell you its name without risking the future I was created to guard. If he takes one more step, I cannot stay my hand, but you can make it so I don’t have to act at all. That’s not betrayal, Julius. That’s saving him from himself. If you truly care for Brohomir, then help me. Disrupt his plans, foil his plots. Don’t do whatever it is he’s ordered you to do. Let himfail, and you will save his life.”
He finished with a smile. Not the polite one from earlier, but a true, heartfelt smile that changed his entire face, making him look less like a deadly weapon and more like a desperate old dragon. And that was the hardest part, because Julius was now certain the Black Reach hadn’t come here to manipulate him or set a trap. Whatever other games he might be playing, he believed the seer truly wanted to save Bob, and that was the problem, because Julius didn’t know how.
“If that’s what you need, I’m afraid I can’t help you,” he said apologetically. “I absolutely believe you want to save my brother. I want to save him, too, but I can’t go against his plans, because I don’t know what they are.”
“That doesn’t matter,” the Black Reach said dismissively. “You don’t have to know a game to ruin it. Just don’t do whatever it is he’s told you to do, and the whole thing should fall apart on its own.”
“But that’s what I’m trying to tell you,” Julius said. “Other than ordering me not to free Chelsie, which I already ignored, Bob’s never told me to do anything except be myself.”
The Black Reach went still, staring at Julius as though he’d started speaking an unknown language. “That’s it?” he said at last. “‘Be yourself’? You’re sure that’s all he’s said?”
Julius nodded, and the old seer scowled. “That can’t be it.”
“I know,” Julius said, not sure whether to laugh or cry at the absurdity. “But I swear that’s all he’s said. Believe me, if I’d known he was planning to kill Amelia, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I would have already disrupted his plots into itty-bitty pieces. But I had no idea. You and Chelsie and everyone else go on and on about how I’m Bob’s chosen one, but I must be the self-operating kind, because he doesn’t tell meanything. I don’t even get crazy texts anymore.” And man, he never thought he’d miss those.
The Black Reach looked down at his lap, his long fingers drumming against his legs as he thought that through. The silence lasted so long, Julius started to worry he’d gone into some kind of sleep mode or whatever constructs did when they got overloaded. Before he could decide what to do about that, though, the Black Reach rose to his feet.
