AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I didn’t even have time to lunge for Grace although she was right next to me—Wild was there first, banding his arms around her shoulders and pulling her into his chest, her face hidden by his bicep.
“I wouldn’t lead you anywhere near them if they were a danger to you,” Eirene said sharply. “Besides, Milos would tear them apart if they so much as whispered any negativity in your direction. She’s a very clever girl,” she added affectionately, patting a preening Milos again. I had to admit, itdidlook like Milos understood every word we were saying.
It wouldn’t be the weirdest thing to happen to us. There wasn’t much I questioned anymore.
“Why do you think the agathos aren’t a danger to us? To Grace?” Riot pressed.
“Perhaps they were once.” Eirene glanced back at the library. “They went to pray to the spirits for guidance, and the spirits wouldn’t let them through. Their souls were judged and found wanting. Whatever nonsense they were fed by their Basilinna, by what they saw on television, there is no greater wake-up call than that.”
It didn’t seem to reassure Wild much, but Grace wriggled out of his grip, taking his hand instead and dragging him along behind her as Eirene began walking again. There was no chance of getting out of here unseen—there was a row of flames up ahead in front of the remnants of the theater. They were waiting for us.
“I have known you,” Eirene said softly, just loud enough for us to hear. “You have been promised for generations. Whenever my ancestors and I despaired of the path the agathos have taken, Sophia would remind us that a new age was on the horizon.”
“You’re giving me too much credit,” Grace replied with an awkward laugh.
“If anything, I’m not giving you enough. Certainly, no one else is. Perhaps you don’t realize how powerful a Prophêtis really is—especially when you are faced with the actions of goddesses too powerful to fight back against. But not all wars are won on battlefields, Prophêtis. Sometimes—more often than you may think—they are won in private rooms, in secret meetings, in wealthy homes. Not all voices carry the same weight, Prophêtis. Don’t underestimate just how powerful yours is.”
Grace felt contemplative, but she didn’t have time to think on Eirene’s words because we were already approaching the waiting line of agathos. They were kneeling, heads bowed, holding candles out in front of them in perfect silence.
It was unsettling, and I didn’t trust it. Neither did Grace, judging by the emotions I could feel through the bond—still very much a weird, foreign sensation in my chest.
Eirene broke the silence with a clipped speech in what I thought was Turkish. I didn’t need to speak the language to know she was unimpressed, and the agathos on the ground bowed their heads further, thoroughly cowed by her telling-off.
“What did you tell them?” Bullet asked curiously as we moved away from them, toward the empty parking lot.
“The truth. That after meeting you, it is clear you will fight for the agathos who never fought for you. And that they don’t deserve it. Come, let’s go.”
It must have been three miles at least to Eirene’s home, which I was trying not to be resentful about it, but honestly, none of us were really up for another walk. Grace didn’t complain, but she couldn’t quite hide her winces as she traveled over the rocky ground in thin, worn sandals.
Hopefully, Eirene had some shoes that would fit Grace. Warmer clothes, too. It was a miracle Grace didn’t have hypothermia yet.
“I hope this is okay to ask,” Grace said to Eirene eventually, struggling to catch her breath as she talked. “But where are your bonded?”
Right, all agathos women had bonded. Grace had been the odd one out until she’d found hers.
“My final bonded made his way underworld just last week, joining the others. Over the past year, I lost all of them. I will join them soon, I’m confident.”
“Oh. I’m… I’m so sorry,” Grace rasped, stumbling slightly. Wild grabbed her arm, righting her. “That’s… I can’t even imagine what you’re going through.”
Eirene glanced back at Grace over her shoulder, a serene smile on her face, gnarled fingers buried in Milos’ fur. “You are very young, Prophêtis, and when you are young, it is hard to imagine death as anything but a terrible ending. My bonded and I shared a very good life together. Our home was filled with love, our children and grandchildren are happy and healthy. There were bad days, of course, but those bad days never felt like they would go on forever because the love we felt for one another was stronger. The underworld is our next beginning, not a dreaded ending.”
I glanced at Bullet out of the corner of my eye, finding him staring off into the distance with a sad smile on his face. He’d been saved from the underworld, snatched from the jaws of death by the bond that tied him and Grace together.
Was he happy? Relieved? He didn’tlooklike a man who’d cheated death.
Eirene held up the torch, squinting at our faces before turning back around. “I hope you are as fortunate with your bonded, Grace. Agathos do not like to admit to it, not even to themselves, but many bonded are not happy with who the Fates paired them with.”
I felt Grace’s surprise at that, and it made me wonder about her own parents. Hadn’t she said that two of her dads were kinder to her than the others? Surely, that was the kind of thing that would cause tension between bonded and maybe make for a not-so-happy union? It wasn’t like anyone was able to hide how they were really feeling when their emotions were broadcast all the time.
“The Fates are busy,” Eirene continued. “They had enough tasks before Anesidora gave them the responsibility of assigning soul bonds as well, and they don’t have the luxury of taking time and care with it. If you love all of your soul bonds, then you should consider yourself very fortunate indeed.”
“I do,” Grace whispered as we passed a tall stone gate with barbed wire on top. Comforting. “I am very fortunate.”
Did that mean Grace loved me too?
As always, the idea filled me with a mixture of dread and comfort. What was real and what wasn’t? What was the bond and what wasus? Did I love her? Did I know her well enough to love her?
Did that matter? Maybe I didn’t know her favorite color or go-to pizza toppings, but I could feel Grace’ssoulthrough the bond, and it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever known. Was that love?
