Page 87 of A Silence So Divine

I nod. Eden doesn’t respond.

“It’s like that, but it goes both ways. There can never be too much of one or the other. Good and Evil.” Her eyes dart between us. “Those who put their faith into the Fates have been wondering for decades when restitution would come for the Brothers. Many even speculated that the Fates had abandoned us. That Darkness had won.

But now… well, it seems Fate was simply waiting for the right time.”

My eyes scan the room as I attempt to make sense of the nonsense Veda spouts. What kind of weird ass cult have I been roped into?

Still, if she has any information that might help Eden, then I can handle some kismet mumbo jumbo.

“Again, where does Eden fall into all of this?”

Veda looks almost nervous now, and she brings the book to sit on her lap. She leans back into her seat, putting more distance between us.

“Edenisthe Balance.”

My eye twitches. Beside me, the girl in question looks at me like I might be able to explain what the fuck is going on. I really wish I could.

“Which means..?” I push, exhausted by vague responses and half answers. There’s something she isn’t saying, something major, and it’s all I can do not to grab Eden by the hand and take her out of here.

Veda sighs, fidgeting with the watch on her wrist.

“Reapers were thought to have been a thing of the past. To my knowledge, there hasn’t been one for—shoot, I don’t know—fifty years? Because the Brothers made sure of it. Their power was too much of a threat, too intense. So, over time, they were wiped out.”

“And what kind of power is that?”

“The power that we fear most of all. Death.”

The heat of anger rises from my feet, spreading throughout my body. Wherever she’s going with this, I can tell I’m not going to like it.

“So when you say she is the Balance in all this…” I trail off, lowering my eyes to the book in her lap. Things begin to click into place.

“That is her Gift,” she begins, looking to Eden now. “Yourpurpose—”

My hand juts out, halting Veda mid sentence. I’m damn near vibrating with outrage.

“Wait a minute. Do you think Eden was born as some sacrificial lamb? She’s meant to kill the Brothers, consequences be damned? That’s fucking insane!” It isn’t until Eden whimpers beside me that I realize I’m bordering on screaming. Palming the back of my neck, I pace around the tiny kitchen.

The mark at my nape burns.

When Veda speaks again, her tone is cajoling, but it does nothing to calm me. “There are some things that cannot be undone. Her mother brought her into this worldknowing—” Catching herself, she shakes her head and clamps her mouth shut.

In two steps, I’m towering over Veda, finger poised in accusation.

“How the fuck would you know anything about her mother?” I snarl through grit teeth.

Sharp inhales come from behind me, and I twist my neck to glance at Eden. Her nostrils are flared and her chest stutters. Without a thought, I go to her and drop to my knees beside the chair. My palms find her cheeks, and I stroke my thumbs over her flesh. She stares past me.

“Look at me,” I murmur, dipping my head in an attempt to meet her gaze. Comfort isn’t my thing, and affection even less so.

Since I’ve met her, I’ve tried to keep her at arms length, convincing myself and others that my feelings for her are absent. But the panic she exudes does something to me. The same something that I felt when I found her by the pond, covered in blood.

It’s become startlingly clear that I care for her very much. What the fuck am I meant to do with that?

Her fingers wrap around my wrists. Her vision is still elsewhere, but at least she’s aware of my presence.

“I’ve got you.” At the sound of my voice, her breathing begins to even out.

I give Veda my deadliest glare. “Explain. Now.”