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“Great. I’m tired. Go teach your lessons. But be nice to this one. There’s goodness in him.”
Future swooped closer, hovering above my nose as I looked up into the void where her face should have been. I flinched, and my heart stopped as she spoke. “There’s goodness in all of them, dear. Otherwise, they would never get a choice.”
I swallowed, remembering strong hands wrapped around my throat, eager to take my life. “There is nothing good in Levin Riverden. I can promise you that.”
Past swooped in, half of her body disappearing as her shoulders aligned with Future. “Ah. But there used to be.”
The last word echoed off the walls as the three identical figures vanished. I thought of Atlas as I crawled into bed. Of the look in his horrified eyes when he saw the magic. Of the disbelief of his own soul.
But that was the point. He didn’t know how broken he really was. None of them did.
I lay, tossing and turning as I listened to the soft crackle of the fire, watching the shadows it cast dance in the room and along the walls. He could get through this, I reminded myself as, finally, my eyes grew heavy and drifted shut.
* * *
“What the… Where am I?” I whispered, staring at Past as she looked onward, eyes locked on a figure snoring in a bed that was nearly too small.
“It begins.” She pointed a long, thin finger at the sleeping man.
“No,” I gasped. “I’m not supposed to be here. That’s not how this works. I warn them and stay close. This is your job. Send me back.”
Past’s head snapped toward me as she rushed forward, causing me to stumble backwards. “Do not deign to tell me what my job is. You are here because the goddess wills it. You are nothing more than a pawn in her games. Just like the rest of us. Lose your attitude, and be silent.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and said no more as I took in the room. A pile of clothes tossed into a corner made my stomach turn. He’d been wearing them tonight, though they smelled more of ale than they had when he’d left me. Otherwise, the small space was tidy. I peeked out the window, taking in nothing but snow illuminated by the sea of stars above, smothering the world.
“Wake up, you big oaf,” Past screeched, waving a hand to rip Atlas’ blankets from his naked body.
His glorious, naked body.
I gasped and turned, covering my eyes with my hands as the beautiful image of that man burned into my memory. The moon had lit all the right places, and I heard a moan that could have been my undoing. He still hadn’t woken. Not until there was an enormous thump, and the walls faded to nothing.
When I turned around, the bed had disappeared, but the naked man remained, standing in all his glory. Atlas’s locked eyes with mine, daring me to let my gaze wander. I jumped and spun again, but not before I noted the simmering anger on his face.
“This is not real,” he said, the sleep still heavy in his voice. “Leave me alone.”
“This is real, Atlas Firepelt,” Past hissed. “And if you do not stand and dress, you will come on this journey naked. You are quite nice to look at, so I bestow upon you your first gift of choice.”
“I don’t take orders from ghosties.”
Past’s voice grew in volume, the sweetness melting into something sinister. “I am not a ghost. Or a wraith. I am a Spirit. Selected by the goddess herself. I have power, boy. Do not insult me again, or it will be your last.”
Loud footsteps crossed the room, but I kept my back to him, my face buried. I wanted nothing more than to be a million miles away from him right now.
He mumbled to himself. “Pork? Did I have pork yesterday? Maybe it wasn’t fully cooked. That’s what this is. A bit of undigested food, come back to haunt me. Maybe it was ale. Or the rum. Might’ve been the rum—”
“Will you be speaking to yourself this entire time or eventually shutting up? I do hate it when everything starts in denial,” Past said, putting the bed back in place as the floor became engulfed in shadow.
“Marley?”
I turned to face him, slightly disappointed to see he’d pulled on trousers and was shoving his arms into his coat.
“I’m sorry,” was all I could manage. And I was, though I knew deep down it was for the best. This would not be a tranquil night for him.
“Then make it stop,” he demanded, stomping over to stand before me.
“I can’t. It’s not me. I am just the Heart Seeker and messenger. My power is only to find you and call the Spirits of Solstice Past, Present, and Future. The rest is up to you.”
The room had nearly faded to black, the planks of the wooden floor and pile of clothing, the only things remaining. Atlas turned in several circles, likely working the magic out in his mind.
