A faint, tired smile tugs at her lips before fading.
“I made myself a promise two hundred and twenty-five years ago, Thayla. I swore that when the next savior came, I’d write them a manual. I’d tell them step by step everything they’d need to know to succeed.”
She hesitates as her breath catches the tiniest bit, and her fingers tighten around nothing before she stills them.
“I didn’t realize the next savior would be in another realm when I said that. Regardless, I’m disappointed I can’t fulfill that promise for you and your Valtrue.”
My chest rises and falls, and the weight of her words presses down until my shoulders ache.
“Good,” I say, although an edge creeps into my tone sharper than I meant. I clear my throat. “We aren’t saviors. And we don’t want to be.”
“You all lost that choice the moment you were born,” she says with a small smile that belies the regret etched beneath it. “And I am so sorry for that.”
“No.”
“Yes.” She steps closer, taking my hands before I can pull away. Ice crawls through my veins even though her steady grip is warm. “You will accept that. Not because it’s fair, but because there is no one else who can do what you five can. You all will save your realm. And when it’s over…then you make your demands.”
I want to argue, to deny this until I no longer can. I want to rage against every being who decided this was my fate. Instead, my body goes still. A deeper part of me already understands there’s no path around this. Only through.
“We aren’t saviors. Just…fucking puppets.”
“It can feel like that. The difference between being saviors and puppets, though, is that puppet masters tend to dispose of their puppets when they’re done using them. You five are indispensable. Therefore, when the time comes, you will make your demands. And they will be honored,” she promises with a grit in her tone that’s so sure, I can’t form an argument.
Her steady, unrelenting grip stills my rage-induced trembling fingers.
“If a line that should never be crossed is, I swear to you, I will come. My Nexus and I will stand at your side. You have powerful allies in Elementra. Remember that.” She holds my gaze until she’s satisfied with the nod I give her. “Originally, I was only meant to give you something, then leave you to decide what to do with it. I’m not going to do that to you.”
She steps back, drawing in a slow breath. The deeper she inhales, the heavier my exhale becomes, like my body already knows what’s coming and is bracing for it. My spine straightens instinctively as her gaze sharpens with intent and unyielding determination.
“I’m going to tell you exactly what you have to do. But first, there’s more advice you need to hear, and I need you to take it to heart. Starting now. This very moment. Remember the things I’m about to tell you and apply them to every situation you face. When something feels off, listen not only to my voice, but to your gut.”
She pauses. Long enough that I feel like she’s purposely leaving space for me to get my mind right and absorb her words.
“You’re going to find alliances from unlikely sources. Don’t let old grudges or differences stop you from reaching your goals. That doesn’t mean you forgive and forget. Redemption walks a different path. Mercy is an option, not an obligation. Leave room for change. Tolerance, at the very least.”
Fuck…seriously?
That’s her first piece of advice. So much harder done than said.
Her words sit heavy in my chest. There’s a list of individuals that guidance could be directed toward, and that isn’t a comforting thought.
“You and your Valtrue can’t do this alone. You need people behind you, and they need to forget the hierarchical shit that’s holding them back. Give them a reason to fight. Some are too afraid to pick the lock on the cage they’ve learned to survive in. You have to do it first. Show them it can be done.”
Fondness fills her gaze, and it holds my question at bay.
“You’ve already started doing it with the way you are with Yemi.”
My head jerks. “How do you—”
“Your Valtrue isn’t complete,” she interrupts and blindsides me with the change of subject. “And neither are you.”
Again, I flinch from her words. They land across my heart like a lash, stealing what little breath sat in my lungs.
“What does that mean?”
She shakes her head, and something almost tender flickers across her expression.
“That’s a journey you deserve to take without interference.”
