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“How could you possibly know that?”
The corner of her lip tugged. “You’re far too content to not have one, and I can sense the magic that comes with the connection.”
“I’m lucky to have found my soulmate, a second time.”
She rolled her eyes. “Everyone speaks of soulmates as if it’s the best thing, but there’s no real tension. I can feel it in you.” Her top lip twitched, a muscle feathering on the bridge of her nose. “The emotions are…lukewarm.”
I leaned forward, my stare hardened. “Careful, you’re sounding like Salenia.”
“She’s wrong in a lot of regards,” she said coolly, leaning back in her chair. “But not for her dislike of soulmates. People just disregard their loved ones when they find their soulmate. Luckily, it’s rare.” Her jaw clenched, and my brows raised. She continued, shrugging her dainty shoulders. “I don’t completely hate the concept, unlike the goddess. I’ve read the stories. I just prefer karmic relationship. Love is never random. We’re all put together, for different reasons.” She glanced at Zach, then looked back at me. “Some of us need a soulmate, to make things easier.” She said it as if it was a bad thing, then pressed her fingers together. “Most of us don’t. We need someone to push us to grow.”
“If you think that’s what it’s like, then you’ve never had one,obviously,” I drawled. “If you met my wife, you wouldn’t say that.”
“Really?” Her gaze narrowed, and she tugged on her braid.
I nodded. “If it’s supposed to beeasy, then I’ve been duped.”
Zach repressed a grin, looking at the table, and I grabbed my glass. “Really, love is never easy,” I said. “Soulmate or not. But it’s worth it.”
Her brows knitted together, something moving in her expression, then she cleared her throat and the mood shifted. “I guess you’re right. I can feelyourtension from here. Lover’s tiff?”
Discomfort rolled through me, and a small smile ghosted on her lips as if she enjoyed feeling every small thing we did. “So, are you going to tell us what you know, or are we supposed to sit here all night?” I snapped. She had no idea what was going on between my wife and I. The only tension was my fear of her dying or being taken again. The anxiety stayed with in every waking moment, and sometimes it even seeped into my dreams.
“I am here out of my own desire to help,” she said. “If you continue to speak to me as if I am dirt, then I walk away and leave you to figure out how to save your wife.”
She stood, the chair scraping back as her legs hit the seat. Jolting up, I grabbed her arm, desperation clawing at the pride left in me. “I apologize.” I swallowed thickly, thinking only of Olivia. “Please, tell us what you know.”
She lowered herself slowly, puffing her cheeks out as she let out a long exhale. “The first thing you should know is while we want her to succeed, I am not without compassion.” I repressed my scoff, but Zach didn’t bother hiding his disbelief. She continued, looking only at me. “I have compassion, for other sorceresses anyway. We’re used so much, for our magic, our wombs.” Her breath quivered, and she shifted position on the hard chair. “I admit, I was curious when I first heard of the immortal sorceress, the empath princess, with a prophecy she doesn’t want.”
Zach side-eyed me, then looked at her. “She accepts it.”
I ground my teeth, but Avyanna only nodded. “I wanted her to fulfill the prophecy, too. We want to the underworld gone too.” She paused. “But then, I felt bad for her when I found out what the psychic sorcerers were saying.”
I leaned forward, my heart thumping. “Which is?”
“I thought Azia would have told you?”
“He obviously didn’t,” I hissed the words through my teeth. “What does he know?”
She loosed a sigh. “The underworld will indeed be destroyed, along with Salenia. But, Olivia will die an excruciating death.” Her chest heaved. “The gods want payback, and they plan on using her to destroy their wayward sister who has darkened their creation—their world.”
Zach leaned back, pressing his hands against the edge of the table, squeezing the wood. “Why tell us this? You don’t know her, and I don’t buy the crap about some sisterhood, where you watch out for other sorceresses. What is it you really want?”
“I do not care aboutyouropinion,” she snapped. “I came to warn you, it is as simple as that. If she wants to fulfill the prophecy, then of course I would want to fight alongside her,” she admitted. “But I believe everyone should know the full truth before they sacrifice themselves.”
The word cut deep.Sacrifice.I’d already lost her once. I couldn’t lose her again. Panic clambered my next thoughts as Avyanna watched me carefully, but I didn’t care.
She continued, but I could barely listen to a word she was saying as my mind numbed. The occasional phrase, like‘help you get out’reached through, but I couldn’t think, I could hardly breathe.
Zach touched my shoulder, as if he knew how I was feeling, then stood. He said something to Avyanna, then led me out of the inn, into the evening air. The sun kissed the horizon, and Zach turned to face me. “Brother,” he said, the word intoned with warning. “Don’t react on impulse. I don’t trust her. She’s not being honest. I just know it. Olivia will beokay.”
“I don’t care,” I blurted as imaginations of Olivia’s dead body filled my head. “I’m getting her out of here. I’m not taking any chances. What if she’s telling the truth? I’m supposed to just let my wifedie?”
“This is what I meant by being impulsive. Look, we already planned on getting her out of here, but you can’t go storming in there and whisking her away. What if this is a trap, so you could try to get her out now and Salenia’s guards are expecting you at the borders?” he asked.
“Then I’ll find another way for us to get out.”
I sped back into the city, Zach racing at my side as the feeling of being watched followed us through the aniccipere-ridden streets. We stopped for a second, and Zach glanced around. “Why are we here, anyway?” He questioned, although we’d both been thinking about it. I was so wrapped up in wanting to know anything about Olivia’s fate that I let the suspicious circumstances slide. “We have to go back to thatbitch. She knows something,” he urged, but I continued forward, my focus only on Olivia and getting her out.
