“No, we must discuss Agatha.” I grabbed onto Roman’s arm and he stopped.
He stared at me with level eyes, I could feel the emotions rolling through him even now as a human. “We will look for her,” he said. “But first, wemustgo back to the camp.”
“Why?”
He rolled his eyes and pulled his arm free. The winds began to pick up as we headed into the gap. “Because there may be nothing left. If the merls were tempted to kill a squadron of men, they may have been tempted to kill six horses too. If that’s the case, and our camp is destroyed, then it’s not just Agatha who will need saving. But us too.”
I went cold. I felt stupid. I hadn’t thought of that.
Neither of the men spoke to me as we walked through the gap. Not that they’d really been able to, the wind was stronger than it was this morning. All of us, even Roman, struggled against the wind to gain the middle. I had felt a slight pang of happiness that even he had struggled. But then felt guilty for the thought. My feelings for these two kept changing. One minute I’d felt happy around them, the next I was bound and drugged.
We passed the gap and emerged back on the covered side of the mountain. Out of the morning sun, and having just been buffeted by strong winds, I was freezing. We were all still completely naked and I suddenly felt self-conscious. It was like the winds had cleansed thoughts from my mind and body, making me aware of myself without my wolf. I wanted to cover up but had no clothes. I hung back slightly, just a few steps.
But when Dion turned back to check on me, he caught me staring at his ass. I tried to say something—but he only smiled and turned away. I went the darkest shade of red my face could go.What was I doing? This wasn’t the time.
We came to the formation Agatha and I had forked from. Roman didn’t like what he sniffed on the wind, and we began running down the descent. All of that effort overnight had made it seem like we’d traveled for ages in the dark. But in truth, I could already spot the camp from our vantage point.
I thought again about Dion’s words, not the destined lovers part, but that I was a part of his prophecy. What did it mean? What was his? Had they read mine in my letter? Did all shifters have a prophecy? Had I been thinking I was special, when in reality everyone outside of Lassig was like this? I asked them.
Roman, for the first time that morning, smiled. Then shook his head. “No, we didn’t read your letter. I used a method of copying that marks the imprints, it is done backwards. Your secrets are yours, and yours alone. Only you can make that decision to tell us.”
He said it matter-of-factly. He wasn’t offended or intrigued now that I was admitting the existence of the letter. Dion however, piqued his ears towards me.
“It is not normal, however,” Roman went on. “You two, or anyone involved with you it seems, become special.” He paused, watching the camp from a closer height. There didn’t appear to be any signs of damage as we came closer. His nose twisted like he’dsmelled something off. “Back when Jebra was alive and not just a myth, people had their prophecies told all the time. It was commonplace.Thenit may have been normal, but it was normal in an extraordinary world. But now? Lassig has becomedifferent… since I visited.”
“You’ve been to Lassig?” I asked, awe in my voice.
“We have,” he gestured at both he and Dion. “But we avoid it if we can. It’s too risky for our kind. Precautions have to be made, communications with those inside—oftentimes, one can only go as a child. I went then along with Dion’s father. And even then, the banishment was spoken of ending soon. But how long has it been? How many of our kind remain in there? Double agents who restricted their own life, ability to shift, in hopes that the next generation may be the one to overthrow her?”
A bird wheeled into the air from cover over on the right. We all traced its line of flight across the sky. Roman smiled. “A kite this far out can only mean good or bad. Ichoosegood.”
Roman’s words rebounded into my body.Shifters chose dormancy to stay inside Lassig, to be undercover in hopes to birth a revolution. Aunt Teetee… my parents… was I connected to that world?
I felt Dion looking at me, his eyes tracing the scar on my chest. A brand, left by the burning beam that killed my aunt. It seemed so long ago now, yet my flesh was still raw and healing. My heart too, but I couldn’t let it split open now that Agatha needed saving. My heart heaved. There was no way she’d misheard them. No way she was lying–
But then, what was the truth?
I believed all of them.
“Can a prophecy be wrong?” I asked. A small ache of dread had been building in my chest. What if I wasn’t this destined girl? What if there was no real prophecy, no second prophecy…what if I was a mistake that had been given a crown? I looked at Dion’s naked body, glancing without him seeing.What if I could love him too?
No! I shook my head. I had to think ofAgatha.
“A prophecy is rarely wrong,” Roman said, now looking up and down the ranges. “It can be misheard or never lived, but rarely is it wrong. A prophecy comes from foresight. And the power of foresight is seeing true. Often it is people that do not want to see or hear the truth, which causes the prophecy to bewrong,”Roman said.
We came into camp and everything was normal. Everything was as it had been, but in truth,nothingwas normal anymore. I had killed something—I buckled at the knees and fell.
“Are you alright?” Dion came quickly.
“I’m fine,” I lied.I had killed something. That part had hidden itself away in my mind. When I was a wolf… when I’d lost my best-friend... I had killed something as easily as I put on clothes. And now I was back with two men I didn’t know what to make of, but who killed just as easily. Would they kill me? He left reluctantly.
The men checked over the camp, made sure that the horses were fine, before beginning to pack up. Dion brought me clothes and laid them on a rock before me, departing with a comforting smile. He and Roman finished packing up before dressing themselves.
I’d wanted to ask more questions as we packed, but I felt a tension in the air. Roman was thinking, and occasionally, he would look at both of us before nodding to himself and carrying on.
I wanted to mistrust them, I wanted to listen to Agatha’s words. But I found myself doubting everything.Theyseemed so genuine, yet, so hadshe…I was being double played by all sides.
I would have to remain wary of everyone.
