Page 177 of The Immortal’s Mark

“Of course, I’m alright.” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “What did you see?”

“I…” I choke and close my eyes, shaking my head.

I don’t know what I saw.

It couldn’t be the past, but I refuse to believe that it’s the future.

There is no way Adir can defeat Des.

Can he?

A throat clears.

I open my eyes and look up.

My mother and Alex hover in front of me, eyes tight and wearing matching frowns. Lome and Eshe stand just behind them, looking just as worried.

We’re still on the balcony. I must not have been trapped in the vision for that long.

Movement to my left draws my gaze. I meet Charmian’s stare. Unlike the others, there’s no concern in her eyes. Rather, she looks at me with understanding that makes my stomach clench.

I don’t know how, but she knows what I saw.

“Was it real?” I ask, voice strained, as if the smoke in the vision damaged my vocal cords.

Her lips turn down. “Yes.”

Oh, God…

My head falls forward, and tears drop into my lap.

Des’s arms draw me closer into his chest. I sink into the comfort, but at the same time, the action makes pain flare in my soul.

I whimper.

“It’s okay,” he murmurs, resting his head against mine. “It’ll be okay.”

He’s wrong…nothing will be okay.

“What is going on?” my mother asks, tinged with panic. “What did she see?”

I lean into Des’s comfort, unable to give voice to the tragedy that unfolded in the vision, refusing to give it life by speaking it out loud.

Charmian doesn’t have the same reservation. “Darcie glimpsed the future.”

A beat of silence passes.

“And?” Eshe prompts. “What happened?”

“Darcie?” Charmian calls my name softly.

With a heavy sigh, I part my eyelids and meet my ancestor’s gentle gaze.

“Was it the battlefield?” she asks.

Was it?

I suppose it could’ve been. Once.