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A mirthless laugh escaped me. “And I’m his food? Like, what the hell am I supposed to do about that?”
“That is a mystery of the heavens, and I wish I knew, for your sake.”
A cold stab of nausea curled in the pit of my stomach. “So, when you said that I didn’t have to bear the burden … when you told me to urge Jericho to give up his love for me. You weren’t actually trying to save me.”
The bleak shadow behind her stare stoked a feeling of dread. “Those who have perished before you are the fortunate ones. The Dark-Winged One’s fate is like crystal. I can see every detail of his future, and he will wake from his slumber. Unless his path can be diverted, there will be much suffering and death. Truly, the fate of the five realms has been greatly jeopardized by the love you share with this Sentinel. For, if Letifer learns that you are alive, he will certainly seek you out.”
Hand lodged in my wet hair, I paced, because what else did one do when a Nostradamus bomb had just been dropped in her lap? Back and forth, I tried to make sense of everything she’d said to me, and after another minute, I paused, rubbing my hands together as thoughts arrived too fast.
“So, let me get this straight. I just want to clarify. You’re telling me that, for centuries, this curse has existed–girls dying on a pentad blood moon, except for me and one other, who broke the curse by getting knocked up. And even though I’m stillalive, Isurvivedthe curse, IwonThe Hunger Games, Jericho’s great-great grandpa Dark One might wake up from the grave and come after me, anyway. Because I’m some Mary Sue who’sspecialenough to be hunted by a freaking legendary baddie for reasons you can’t even tell me.”
“You’ve a very creative way of wording it, but yes. Essentially.”
“Uh-huh.” I resumed my pacing, biting my lip as the pounding of my heart told me a panic attack was about to make an appearance any second. “Did I happen to mention that I’m currently on the shit-list of both Heaven and Hell, too?” Skidding to a halt again, I set my hands on my hips, still chewing the shit out of my lips. “Yeah, for whatever reason, I’m Miss Freaking Popularity right now. It seems everyone wants to throw me on a spit and feed me to the gods.”
“Well, considering not many of the cursed survive, I suppose the ones who do lead exciting lives.”
“Exciting … I’m about to turn cambion when this baby is born. Apparently, that’s the angels cue to begin the hunt, and right now? That seems to be the lesser evil.”
“You are not the average human being. You’d do well to avoid the comparison. Of course the heavens and Hell are watching you. If the stories are true, and I believe in them, your very existence is a threat.” Rolling her shoulders back, she maintained her poised posture, studying me in a way that wasn’t prodding an answer. “Although my vision is not entirely clear, I see no animosity from the heavens. The vision tends to be far more chaotic when darkness and light are at odds.”
“But that’s just it. They’re not at odds if they’re both hunting the same thing, right? As a matter of fact, the angels and demons are probably giving high fives on their way to come get me.”
“I do not sense the wrath of the heavens in you.”
Weird, considering I’d apparently pissed them off by bringing Jericho back. And I’d probably double-down the resentment the moment I turned cambion.
Still, I did feel a small bit of comfort in her words, even if I didn’t entirely believe them.
Until she added, “The darkness I see is the strongest I’ve ever envisioned. Meaning, you are at great risk.”
Fantastic.
Eyes narrowed on hers, I crossed my arms and surrendered my logic to the irrational anger rising up in me. “Why now? Why didn’t you stop me from going to Nightshade in the first place? Why didn’t you impart this sage advice when I was barely able to get out of bed all those months? Why wait until I’m confused and freaking out.”
“Would anything I’ve said have changed your mind? Has it? If I told you to walk away from him now, would you?”
“No.” It was the truth. Not even the prospect of becoming his eternal sex slave would deter me at that point. Particularly after she’d just told me that all of Hell still had it in for me.
“As I suspected. You are with child now. And regardless of whoseshit-listyou’ve landed on, you have a duty as a mother. So, my advice to you is this: Stay alive.” Resting her hands atop her knees, she pushed up from the chair and twisted to the window behind her, unlatching its lock.
“What are you doing?”
“Leaving,” she said over her shoulder.
“Through the window?”
“Yes.”
“Okay …” Biting my lip again, I nodded. I’d just had a twenty minute conversation with my cat. If she wanted to leave through the window, who was I to say what was weird. “Speaking of which … back in the library. I almost died trying to get you off that ledge. What’s up with that? What kind of prophetess godmother lets someone fall to their death?”
With a fiendish smile, she shrugged. “I saw Vaszhago coming for you. Suppose I wanted to test his reflexes.”
Of course she did.
Cinderella got a fairy godmother who spun out a beautiful dress and sent her off to a ball to meet Prince Charming. I got a cat who tried to kill me and pin the doom of the five realms on my love life.
At a quiet knock on the door, I only glanced over my shoulder, and when I turned back, Camael was gone. Frowning, I strode across the room and peered out of the window, finding the crazy, black cat sat on the ledge licking her paws. A niggling thought sat at the back of my mind, one I didn’t want to acknowledge, but the way it clawed at me, I couldn’t help but wonder–had I just imagined an entire conversation with my cat?
