“Can we somehow have him kill the Djinn and die in the process? I wouldn’t mind that.” I frowned, but Dante sighed.
“No, because Delsanra needs him,” he replied. Wow, was that my worth?
“At least you acknowledge she needs me,” I remarked sarcastically. I glared at Dante, who simply smirked.
“You know, if he’s out of the picture, you get to keep her,” Leo implied.
“That’s true…” Dante agreed arrogantly.
“Can you two cut it out?” I growled.
“So the bastard is there,” Leo said coldly.
“Yes, because I need you both to do this together. I can’t explain it fully, but I really need you both to pay attention,” Dante said, closing his eyes.
We both stayed quiet, and I knew whatever Dante was going to ask for would probably impact Leo’s final stance on this. I knew that there was no way I could stop Mom, and I was holding on to whatever Dante had planned because, as he said, it was not Mom’s time to go yet. I knew it was selfish, but I couldn’t lose her.
“Mama Maria or Dad will be carrying the blade… I don’t know, but when you see Mama Maria going for the Djinn, I need you both to work together to get the blade from her. Leo, I think it will have to be you because Rayhan won’t be able to risk hurting her.”
“I don’t get why her dying is a problem,” Leo added, making my eyes flash.
“Listen to me,” Dante said. I could tell he was feeling exhausted already. He may have been acting all right, but he was weak. “You need to pass the dagger to Rayhan by all means necessary… Rayhan, you will need to stop Dad. He’s weakened due to the poison; you can take him.”
“That’s fine, but then what?” I asked. I heard Leo scoff.
“What? Can’t you go and kill the Djinn yourself?”
“No. The one who will kill the Djinn will be there,” Dante said.
“Who?” I asked. It was inevitable that someone was going to die.
“I can’t say… but at the last moment, when all hope will feel like it’s lost, he will come, and you will know he is the one to do it. Trust your instincts and give him the dagger.”
We both fell silent, letting Dante’s words sink in. It all sounded fine, but this was messed up on an entirely new level. Not only was I listening to a smart, all-knowing pup, but to work alongside the one man who hated me more than anything… and above that, telling me to give the dagger to someone who I didn’t even know byfollowing my instincts? This could go wrong on so many levels…
“You both just need to do exactly as I said, no matter who tries to stop you. Look for the man in black. You must get him the dagger.”
“Won’t he die?” I asked quietly.
“Or worse yet, what if this bastard misses?” Leo added.
“He won’t. Do you both promise?” Dante pushed.
“Fine,” I agreed. It was obvious Dante knew what he was going on about, but his promise regarding Del and the way he knew what was happening made me think this plan would work.
“Fine, but I don’t care what happens to that bastard who’s there with you. I’ll give him the fucking dagger, then I’m done,” Leo said icily.
“Thank you,” Dante replied with a small smile. “Goodbye, Leo.”
Leo hung up without saying anything else, and I looked at Dante, who was looking at Delsanra and Ahren.
“Are we doing the right thing?” I asked. “You know messing this up could cost us a lot…”
“I know, but it won’t get messed up. I mean, you two won’t. You can do it.” Our eyes met, and I sighed. I would put my faith in him because I really had no other option…
“Then tomorrow, the day has come,” Dante said, leaning back as he began playing with Ahren’s hair.
“Yeah…” I replied.
