“Soon, you will have to make a devastating sacrifice, but it’s a necessity for everyone in Kalista,” Blair said cryptically, but her voice softened as she trained her focus on me again.
“Can’t you be more specific?” Dex growled out, his fist slamming against the table as his shadows slithered up his arm.
“She’s ourmate,”Skel pleaded, his green eyes shining with raw fear. “We should be able to save her from sacrifices.”
“We want to help her,” Reed added softly, violet gaze locked on the seer.
“Please,” Bram muttered, raking a hand through his dark hair. “Tell us how we can prevent any more sacrifices from Pandora.”
“You cannot stop this sacrifice,” she stated calmly to my mates, not taking her eyes off me. “It’s something that must happen. You cannot protect her from it.”
“It’s okay, Pandora,” Nebula murmured. “Blair is a very strong seer. She knows what she’s talking about. Just listen to her.”
“I’m tired of being a pawn,” I rasped, meeting Blair’s gaze.
She let out a melodic laugh, shaking her head as if my statement truly amused her. “You are no pawn. You’re a queen, and queens must sacrifice their pawns...even if they love them.” Her white eyes flicked to Nebula, who was tucked in my palms. “You know, don’t you?”
“I do,” he hissed out.
She bowed her head slightly at him. “You are what familiars strive to be.”
Nebula chuckled weakly. “Maybe when I was alive.”
“You may not be meant to be alive, but you are living, Nebula,” she addressed him.
“You can hear him?” I gaped at her.
“I’m powerful. I can do many things, and we met long ago.” She shrugged, turning around and walking toward the door with her cloak billowing behind her. Her hand gripped the door as she paused. “Think of what I’ve said today.”
Rowan cleared his throat, drawing attention to him as Blair shut the door behind her. “I apologize for her crass nature.”
“It’s okay. I like how up front she is.” I shook my head, feeling the panic in each of my matebonds from what she’d told us. I couldn’t even wrap my mind around what sacrifice she was talking about.
“How are you doing with everything?” Wren leaned forward, her brows pulled together in concern as her long white hair cascaded over her.
I hesitated, moving my thumbs over Nebula’s skull in a soothing motion. How was I doing? There was a dark magic cult bent on my demise, my mate’s dad was a serial killer, my other mate’s dad was hunting me down, my best friend was Sybil Shaw’s familiar, and I was apparently fated to make a devastating sacrifice. But there was also some good in this. I’d fully mated all five of my mates, broken a dark magic curse, and I’d overcome my fear of shadow magic.
In retrospect, things could’ve been a lot worse.
“I’m okay. I’m alive, I’ve sealed my matebonds, and I’ve finally seemed to get my shadow magic from Dex under control,” I answered her with a soft smile.
“That’s amazing,” Wren told me with an encouraging smile. “I know firsthand how difficult shadow tendrils are to control.” A shadow tendril came from out the top of her shirt and wiggled around before slipping back to where her mark was. “When I was first learning, my shadowalwaysimpaled Damien.”
I gasped. “That’s horrible!”
“It was.” She nodded in agreement.
“Aw, but little bird,” Damien pouted, grabbing her face with one hand and turning her head to meet his glowing silver gaze. “I miss that. I loved the feeling of it piercing my flesh when I was inside of you.”
She batted his hand away as a blush fell over her face. “Damien!”
“That’s right, little bird. I love when you say my name,” he purred.
“Damien, stop embarrassing our mate,” Rowan sighed.
I let out a small giggle before the weight of what Blair told me settled into my bones. I turned my attention toward my mates. “I’m scared of what I have to sacrifice.”
“The sacrifice will be worth the world, Pandora,” Nebula assured me in a way that had my heart splintering.
