While there’s snow all around, there are also people. Many more people. Swords, fighting, all a blur as the vision shifts, stuttering to one with colour and brightness.
“Ever?” I grit her name, clinging onto her as the pain barrels through into my mind.
“Let go, Ten.” She pulls away, trying to break the contact that invokes such a painful response. But I keep my hands where they are, needing—no pleading—for another outcome. Another possible future that we can hope for.
There’s no set vision that emerges from the chaos. No idyllic waterfall, or other scene that I can bring to reality for us. Just the possibility of more pain.
My hands fall from her face, and I stagger back, breathing heavily. My eyes skim over her, not ready to look at her eyes. Not ready to admit defeat.
“Ten? What did you see?”
“It doesn’t matter. Nothing good.” I walk to the washroom and run cold water to splash over my face, letting the shock clear my mind.
“Ten? Did we see the same thing? I saw a battle, like the one I did when I first trained with Ascella. There was a fight.” She stands at the door to the washroom. As I look up into her eyes, they are rimmed with darkness, like the black smoke that spins from her fingers when she gets angry.
“I saw the same. A battle. The snow. But I also saw colours. Other images that I couldn’t concentrate on, couldn’t bring into focus.”
“Do you think it’s the future? We keep seeing the same things. It has to be.”
“Possibilities, Ever. They will only ever be that.”
“And if Ascella chooses the other side—my brother’s side—and we have to fight?”
“You said you wouldn’t be fighting.” I remind her of what she told General Aster.
“I know what I said, but what if…”
“Tomorrow. We can talk about that tomorrow.” I walk out of the washroom and into the room. “I’m going to go and check on Calix.”
“Ten, please don’t be disappointed. We’ll find a way. To be together. Once this is over. If you meant what you said, through all of this, we’ll?—”
“We’ll find a way, Little Siren. I love you. And I’m not disappointed. Not with you, at least. I was just… hoping to see something else to believe in. A future that didn’t show you bleeding out in the snow.”
I brush my hand over hers, a whisper of touch.
“You’ll endure every possible future,” she says the words that I feel, deep in my soul, and I watch her eyes glaze with tears.
“As long as you’re still there with me. I still vow by that, Ever.” I smile. “We’ll find our way, Little Siren. I promise.”
forty
. . .
Ever
“We can’t stay in here all morning.” My stomach lets out a huge rumble, adding weight to the argument, as I pace around the room. At least the sun rose again today after the Maker’s little trick yesterday with Aslendrix—the dawn signalled the start of a normal day, perhaps.
“Allow me to indulge in us being alone a little longer. Besides, I know we can’t get into any trouble in here.” Ten’s lips turn up into a smile, and I happily let his rich brown eyes douse me in comfort.
There’s still friction between us, arriving with the return of my magic. And with everything at stake, it’s hard to focus on just being a boy and a girl again for long.
“If we go out, we risk running into the trainees or the custodians. Then our cover is blown,” Ten adds to his argument.
“We didn’t come here to hide. We could have all done that back at Lyle’s house.” The decision to come will haunt me, I know that, whatever the outcome here. Especially now that Iknow the Maker and the Orders have played a part in this. Maybe I should have stayed with Lyle and gone back to an easier life. It’s not like they’ll let me complete the trials now or have a future here in Kirrasia.
But that’s for another day.After.
“If we meet them, we’ll confront them, but they won’t take us.” I’m feeling much more like myself following a decent night’s sleep, but looking at Ten, I can tell his sleep wasn’t as restful. The green and purple hue beneath his eyes tells me it wasn’t.
