“You think I didn’t notice it was you who helped make that imbecile’s mind right when he came into Chaos?” Skuld tsked. “Of course, I noticed. No one else would have been able to alter the Chaos in that way. You sped up time a bit when you did that, Nanshe.”
No, Nanshe hadn't done that. If she had been the one inside the Chaos to fix Carlo’s mind, they would have connected then. It wasn't until he was whole again that their connection was felt across the timelines.
Skuld must have noticed Nanshe’s hesitation. “Ah. So am I to believe Chaoschosehim to be our King of History? Who cares about history when we should worry about the future?”
“I should have seen this in you a long time ago, sister. I should have been able to notice how you hate the place you've been in, and eventually you would chomp at the bit to be the leader. Is that all you're angry about? Therehasto be a King of the History.”
“He will never be a king I will bow to. He shall never be a king I’ll follow. He is apast.” Skuld laughed again. “Don't you just like that play on words? I know, I'm a bitch. I learned from these current millennials. I kind of like them. They're moving to cause great things to happen in the war as I play with their minds. The more they spark such brilliant, creative thought processes—unlike the old boomers who’ve been around for some time—the more they surprise me.”
“We're not supposed to interfere with humans, Skuld. You know this was part of our charge.”
“And yet, sister, for all of your bolstering about rules and doing what's right, you jumped in yourself, didn't you?”
“For the balance!” Nanshe argued.
“There is no balance between us. We may have come from the same womb, we may have lived as blood relations in ancient times, but we wereneverbalanced. I may have watched you fall in love with the boy of my heart, while he saw you and nothing else. I may have seen how he worshipped you and needed to be by your side. And yes, sister, I may have been the cause of it all.”
Nanshe froze. “What are you saying?
“Oh, I'm sorry,” Skuld added, covering her mouth and feigning a sense of surprise. “Did you not know?” She smiled. “Before we took all these opposing appearances when we accepted our position as Norns, we lookedjustalike, didn't we? The same coloring, the same complexion. You looked better when you had dark hair, by the way. But something about the Norn power made you look so different, no trace of our old blood.”
“We did this for Ishtar, Skuld.”
"Donotsay her name in my presence.”
“Oh? Did you forget the goddess we did all this for?”
“Whowedid this for?Weturned our backs on her to follow the gods in order for us to gain our position as Norns. Don't fool yourself into thinking you were better than me.”
Nanshe shook her head, knowing her sister would not listen. “We did not turn our backs on Ishtar. It doesn't matter how you try to turn your words or change anything. We could not follow her to where she went to, and she made us take over the flow of time, so we always have a woman's touch in a world that was gaining the control of men. It simply was. It wasourturn for control. We are like water, ever-flowing, ever-powerful, slipping through fingers that tried to clinch too hard. We were there to temper the gods, not take their place.”
“Well, better to retire than to be forgotten. I will no longer die for these peons of humans that don't care for us. I will no longer have to be reborn and strangled by this power connecting us. Could you imagine being free? Could you imagine no longer being tethered by this skill? It's why I tried to free you. I knew if you fell in love with that man and gained your happy ending, you would have blissfully fallen into the trap of becoming annoying. You would have gladly died life upon life, over and over again, while making him our king. I knew that wasn't for us, so I took him back from you. You see? Even though you stole him first, I returned the favor only to save you.”
Once more, Skuld had hinted at something more involved when it came to Carlo’s past incarnations. “Speak plainly, Skuld. I’m growing tired of your games.”
Skuld stepped forward, her black dress swishing around her legs, her cherry-red lips spreading into a crooked smile. “Oh, he enjoyedmyflesh as well. He enjoyed howIfelt.”
Skuld took more steps toward Nanshe, her hips rolling with each movement, flowing with sensual seduction. “And then I raced over to another timeline, and another and another, making sure he could hear every word.”
Nanshe’s heart stuttered in her chest.
“By the time I was finished, dear sister, he knew he was worth nothing to me but a roll in the hay. He was unimportant. My love for him was delivered with the same words I said to others who gave me what I wanted.”
“Is that what you made him think? That I betrayed him because he saw you with other men?”
“Oh, Nanshe. You should have told him you were a twin sooner ineverytimeline. By the time you did, it was already too late.”
“I never thought you would do something like that to me. I believed some witchcraft had been done to him.”
“Well, maybe one of us is naïve and the other one deserves to have both powers. I wonder what should happen in the future. Future should finally kill the Past.”
“It is impossible. It is why this position has been held by us for so long. We’re two halves of the coin that could never be separated.”
“If you know I cannot die, you know I can return. So what makes you think this war will turn out in differently?”
“Because he has recognized himself as the King of History.”
“Bravo, sister. One battle won. But one day, whether or not in this lifetime or the next, he will end you. It is written.”
