I instantly rise and look at the goddess, knowing she can see everything I am, everything I’ve done, and possibly even what I will do in the future. Yet, I can’t make out anything about her through her veil.
“You are in danger,” she says softly. “You and the Prince have both made choices that have solidified the branching of paths within your destinies.”
I frown. “I don’t understand, Goddess. I…”
“Hush and listen, child. I am not here to declare a cryptic prophecy and leave. Your path is important. You understand many have guided your life since before you were born. My brethren and I do not manipulate the strings of destiny lightly. Your life has been of immense importance, and thus we’ve made sure you walked the correct path.”
I nod in understanding. There’s no doubt in my mind that my life’s beenguidedsince birth.
“Good. And now that your path is set, there is nothing I nor any other god can do to change the choice that lies before you.”
I hesitate to speak, but I’m becoming lost in where this is going again. “What choice?”
“The choice to continue in Nyxthos’s competition. If you compete in the next trial, you will die.”
A shiver runs down my spine at the words. Saelira is never wrong. She can see the lines of destiny as clearly as I see the walls of this room.
“And if I leave it?” I ask.
“You will live. I, and everyone else on Nyth, need you to live, Fiona Thorne. The future of this world depends on it.”
I glance at Azric, who still stands motionless, his hand outstretched. “What will happen to everyone else if I leave the competition?”
Saelira hesitates for a moment as though my words surprised her. “Another will die in your place. The Kingdom of Dunloch will fall. Thousands will die. The last duskthorn tree will die. The veilrunners will be eliminated. The skryths will become nothing but myth. But you will live, and Nyth may yet survive.”
“There’s no way I will survive if I step foot into the last trial?”
“You will die.” She says it in a flat voice as though there’s no room for argument.
I hesitate for a moment, and then I ask. “What will happen to Dunloch if I compete?”
Saelira’s jaw tightens. “Dunloch will escape. The duskthorn trees will survive. The skryths and veilrunners will continue to hunt in the shadows. The darkness will live.”
I want to turn away from her. I want to hide from the truth. Saelira is never wrong. But just like so many times in my life, I cannot run from reality. It’s a dark and terrible world that I live in. It’s a world where sacrifices are necessary, and I’ve always known that my life would end fighting for others.
Rhaskar Thorne taught me that running when you could save people was always the wrong decision. Just as I told Thomas Wellen, the Priest in that tiny village on the outskirts of Averna a lifetime ago, a Priest is a brick in the wall against the storm. A brick may crumble; a Priest may die. It is the brick’spurposeto crumble to keep those inside that wall safe. The brick will be replaced.
I may not be a Priest or be a part of the Order. I may not even see Sylvantia as the only kingdom worth fighting for. Rhaskar might not even be the man I thought he was, but I can’t turn away from the morals I’ve lived by my entire life.
“If it saves Dunloch, I will compete in the final trial,” I say.
“You risk Nyth in its entirety by doing so,” she says with a confidence I certainly don’t have. “Your life has more meaning than a few thousand Godforged and humans.”
I shake my head and face the Goddess of Destiny with certainty in my heart. “I will never run from a fight to protect people who can’t protect themselves. My life is not worth more than thousands, and I will gladly lay it down to save them. Azric Cyrus will find another way to protect Nyth without me. He is the Champion ofNyth. I’m nothing more than a brick in the wall against those that would try to destroy the goodness of this world.”
Saelira stares at me for several long moments. “I cannot make this choice for you, Fiona Thorne. My godhood does not allow me to interfere in the world’s destiny once the path is clear, but I hope you reconsider. Your life is far more valuable than those thousands. There is not another alive like you, and there is not time to recreate the path you have walked. Destruction comes for all if you die.”
“Is that a destiny?” I ask, feeling far more confident in my decision with every word the goddess speaks. “Or is it a possibility?”
“Astrongpossibility,” she says, and I nod to her.
“My decision is made, and I won’t be swayed from it.”
The Goddess of Destiny stares at me for the breadth of several heartbeats before saying, “So be it.”
Then she’s gone, and everything returns to normal.
“Fiona?” Azric says from behind me, and I turn to face him. There’s a look of fear on his face, and all thoughts of what we were doing a few moments ago are gone from my mind. “What happened?”
