“Matamuri,” the voice sang. “At last, we meet.”
It was strange for the girl to hear her name after so long. Ever since the destruction of her people, she was known as the Last Keeper. Or the Matriarch. Even Cael—the only man to ever use her body for pleasure—called her Matriarch.
She’d almost forgotten her name.
“Matamuri.” She rolled it around her tongue, surprised she could speak without the recent, ever-present rasp in her voice.
On closer inspection, the girl realized there was no pain here. Her head wasn’t exploding from the constant messages and memories gifted from Solace. Her body wasn’t frail and weak.
She feltwhole.
The girl nodded her head once.
“Yes, that’s my name.”
She felt rather than heard the disembodied voice smile.
“You’re a hard one to track, Matamuri. Solace has kept you hidden, inaccessible for years. But I finally found you.” There was a definitive undertone of glee as they spoke, and Matamuri found herself intrigued by the statement.
“Hidden?” she finally asked.
“Yes. My daughter put a lock on your mind. Clearly, she was fearful of what I would do if I were ever able to speak to you.”
Daughter?
“Are you . . . Fate?” Matamuri whispered, and the voice laughed, a deep, rich sound that reverberated through the endless black space.
“Indeed.”
“Why can you access my mind now?”
“Because you’re dying, Matamuri. Even now, as we speak, your organs are shutting down. You have mere moments before your soul is joined with Solace for eternity.”
Matamuri knew she was dying, but hearing someone else confirm it, and so flippantly, had her stomach tying in knots.
“Will it hurt?” she whispered, suddenly terrified of what was to come.
“No, child. It’s like falling asleep,” Fate said. Then, after a pause, “I can ease you from here into Solace, when the time comes?”
The thought of never having to return to the hut that stank of death and rot had the girl instantly nodding her head in agreement.
“Yes,” she whispered, “please.”
“Then I ask one thing in return,” Fate said. “A bargain, if you will.”
Matamuri nodded her head again.
“Very good,” Fate purred, and the sense of victory washed over the girl.
What have I agreed to?
But she found that she didn’t care. She was dying. Soon, if Fate was telling the truth. And she had sacrificed everything in the name of Solace and justice. Everything. She would do this one thing for Fate if it meant she could have a small comfort at the end of her incredibly short life.
“I have one last vision for you, and I need you to send it to the very last Keeper in existence. His name is Jarius, and he is currently under the care of the last Truthsayer.”
The girl nearly hissed at the mention of the man who destroyed her entire family.
“It is imperative he receives this message,” Fate urged. “The future of Elyria hangs in the balance.”
