AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s not your fault, Rave,” Kirsi said. “I think we all thought him to be invincible. The gentle giant that would never fall. I guess we were all wrong. I just hope we were enough for him. And that he didn’t feel so alone.”
Raven nodded, dusting off her hands. “I’ll see you there.”
Kirsi and Nym shuffled forward, gripping more dirt and releasing it at the same time.
“As above, so below. I’ll see you there,” they said in unison.
My soul ached for this small group of friends. I’d never had that. I wasn’t sure if I hurt more because of the reality of my own loneliness, the wolf that had turned his back to everything, or the way he hung his head, likely wracked with guilt.
“It’s not your fault.” I walked carefully toward him, the sounds of the sniffles in the background muffling my footsteps in the snow. “At the end of the day, it was always his choice.”
I could feel Future’s fingers wrap around the ends of my hair as she tugged.
“It is his fault,” she rasped. “He could have seen beyond himself and let his friend go find happiness, and instead, he chose to take advantage of Torryn’s loyalty. Do not speak against the lessons to be learned, or I will take everything from you, Marley Stormborn.”
I didn’t miss the jaw tick from Atlas as he balled his hands and moved toward the ruthless Spirit.
“If you want me to change this, then just tell me how. Isn’t that the purpose of this fucked up magic? To traumatize me in a different way than my life has? You didn’t like how I was dealing with my past, so you’re fucking with my future? Is that the plan here? I’m done with these games. I’m not afraid of you. Just tell me what you want or leave me the fuck alone. I was just fine before you came.”
The gasp on my lips was hardly audible. He’d challenged Future, and that final sentence might have damned him.
“And why is Marley here? Why are you dragging her through this? She’s been a pawn in your games for years and almost died because of it. Did you know that? You throw her into the hands of people you know to be terrible and then leave her to her own mercy. Binding her to them because you know her heart is too good to let them run off and fucking die.”
“Atlas,” I warned.
But it didn’t matter as the scene around us melted away and reappeared. The snow melted. The ground covered in frost changed into a fresh pile of dirt covering a new grave we stood upon.
“What are you showing me this time, Spirit? More of my own demise?”
When my eyes traced over the headstone, I stumbled back, ice settling in my veins. Two figures, men I’d never seen before, stood leaning on shovels as they stared down at the ground. One clean cut with markings and the other unmarked. Shifter, maybe.
“I fucking hate it when they die in winter,” the witch said, wiping his runny nose down a disgusting sleeve.
“This one didn’t even need a plot,” the other answered. “No one came.”
“Did you search him? Anything good?”
The unshaven man shook his head. “Not a coin on him. Not even a brass button.”
“Shoulda known.”
“I know that’s my name,” Atlas said quietly. “But you’ll never convince me that my family never came.”
“Your family is chosen, not kin born of your blood.” Future’s voice was a hiss of poison. “Even forged bonds can be broken with enough strain. Or resentment. Or…” She twisted, pointing to Torryn’s worn grave. “… guilt.”
Atlas ran strong fingers through his hair as the two gravediggers hobbled away. “How can a man control a mark on his heart he never wanted?”
The second Future’s attention fell on me, my breath caught in my throat.
I tried shifting behind Atlas, but she circled, the withered ends of her tattered black robes grazing the frozen ground.
Though she spoke to Atlas, her words were like a knife to my heart. “You must choose to forget. Everything. Laramie. Your parents. Your friends… Marley. If you’ve truly learned something from my sisters, you will not need the memories. Your soul will reset, and the mark on your heart will vanish. You will be free to create a fresh path. Untainted.”
Something in my chest broke as he spun, eyes locking with mine for only a second before I could read the writing on the wall. He’d never choose to forget them. He’d said as much. And if he did, I’d be a lost memory. This was the end for us either way.
“So damned if I do, and damned if I don’t.” He looked up at the gray sky before shaking his head, his voice breaking.“We both knew how this was going to end, Marley, didn’t we?”
I nodded, dragging a frozen breath into my lungs, if only to make sure I was still breathing.
