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“You have many questions,” she said, walking up to me, and then past me. I hadn’t realized until now, or maybe it hadn’t been there before, but there was a stone slab sitting inside of the ring of purple torches. “But… they are a deflection.”
“Deflection?”
“You know why you are here.”
“I don’t. I’m not even sure I really am here. This feels like a dream.”
“And it is. In part. I am speaking to you through our connection, our bond.”
I frowned at her. “What bond?”
“A bond forged before your birth, dear child. I could not reach you while you remained in the castle, but now that you are with our people in such a powerful place, we may speak, and wemustspeak.”
I swallowed hard. A lot was going on, and I didn’t have all the answers I wanted, or needed—not yet. But something about this whole thing was starting to feel like it was a lot bigger than what I could see, and hear, and smell.
“What… what do we have to talk about?” I ventured.
“You have a wish,” she said. “I can grant it… but you must ask, first.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You do. Search your feelings, Amara. Speak from the heart.”
I took a deep breath. “This has something to do with the Selection, doesn’t it?”
The woman nodded. “It does.”
“You said… you could give me a way out. Is that true?”
Her lips curled into a smile, and she extended her hands. “I can.”
“What does that even mean?”
“It means that here, in this place of power, I can sever the bonds of Fate and make it so you no longer have to take part in the Selection. I can cut the ties that bind you and set you truly free. Free to be the person you want to be, to explore this world and any other that you like in the way that you see fit. I am the hammer that breaks your chains, child.”
I shook my head. “How can any of that be possible?”
“It is not impossible. Our people are powerful mystics… we tug on the strings of Fate, we commune with the spirits of this world, and we take the form of wolves. You lack the skills to unravel Fate’s power over you, but I don’t, and I can use those skills to give you what you want.”
I watched her closely, trying to figure out if she was lying, or trying to misdirect me. Radulf had told me that there was no one powerful enough to redirect fate… he could have been lying to me though. Her face was stone, her expression impossible to read, and her scent… I still couldn’t place it. I knew what it was, but when I searched my mind for the answer, I couldn’t reach it.
And still, I felt compelled to push forward.
“How do I know this isn’t a trick?” I asked.
“You wish for me to take you out of the Selection,” she said, “I can do exactly that.”
I paused. “How?”
“I need only a memory.”
“A memory?”
She nodded. “A memory. Whether it is good or bad is of no importance, all that matters is that it is a strong memory—something powerful, and rich with emotion.”
Part of me, a big part of me, didn’t trust what was happening here. That same part of me wanted to turn tail and get out of this place. Standing here, listening to this woman felt wrong, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that what I really felt like I was doing was disappointing my father.
What would he think if I was suddenly taken out of the Selection? How would he react? He would be furious, and it would irreparably damage our relationship. But was that really worse than what he was trying to put me through? It didn’t take long for me to arrive at the conclusion that, no, what I knew Ineededwas more important than what he wanted for me.
