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Someone Else’s Fate

Anya

A cacophony of cracking bone and wailing filled the forest behind me as I neared the stone bridge that led across the River Gray—but I did not allow the sound of monsters to distract me or steal my nerve. I focused my hearing on what lay ahead, keeping my movements shrouded in silence.

The river was a slash of whitewater in the dimness. The trees were sparser here, the river carving out a hole in the thicket. For the first time since I entered the forest, I caught a glimpse of the star-splashed sky, the waning sliver of the moon lighting the way.

There was an abomination up ahead, between me and the bridge. It was much larger than the first—the height of two men at least, with more muscle and smoother sinew. Its form seemed to consume the moonlight; it was all darkness, shadow, and pointed shapes.

This time, when I aimed my crossbow, I sent the bolt into the woods on purpose, amplifying the sound of the shot and sending the echo to the south, far away from where I was headed. The abomination took the bait, loping on two legs into the gloom.

You will return to Waldron-on-Wend .

I loaded the crossbow again, then hurried out of the tree cover. I crossed the bridge swiftly, the river Gray’s gush filling my ears with music and my nose with freshness. A chilly spray rose off its shores to kiss my cheeks. As much as I wanted to pause, to rest here surrounded by the comforting notes of water, I didn’t linger.

I continued on into the night, minutes turning to hours.

My feet ached. Blisters reopened on my heels and the balls of my feet, smarting with each step. My legs shook and my shoulders were sore from sustained tension. I saw no additional abominations, but I heard them rustling around in the underbrush. Eerie squeals, awful cracking. Even if I did manage to escape this place, I wasn’t sure I’d ever sleep again.

The temperature of the fog rose considerably as I went, faint whispers of sulfur reaching my nose. Soon, I heard the distant hiss and puff of geysers. In spite of my exhaustion, I walked faster, deeper into the mist, bolstered by the beckoning sound.

The forest’s density lessened, then the trees fell away completely, opening up to a rocky glade. Without the buffer of branches, a crisp wind dispersed the steam rising off a small pool on the opposite end of the clearing. Aside from a few burbling puddles edging the path, it was the only pool here.

After the night I’d had, I felt almost incredulous to see it now. Dubious. I recalled what Hammond had said of the Mirrors’ history, the cursed pools that the travelers had faced from Kelebraim before the incident with the Mirrors. The Well of Fate was the farthest east of them all, and seeing as I’d come from the east, I could only conclude…

I’d made it. I’d actually made it.

Sweating in the heat of the geothermal flat, I shucked my cloak onto the ground. I shoved my mother’s pin into my pocket as I started down the trail through the clearing, heading for the water. Fog spun in columns in my wake, slipping across the path, blurring my sightline, but I was so close now. I was almost there.

An icy wind sliced through the steam, clearing my vision once again—and revealing a man up ahead on the path, standing between me and the pool. In the lingering haze, I couldn’t make out his face, but his features were familiar. Blond hair. Sturdy build.

I took a few tentative steps closer, recognizing lips I’d kissed countless times. The utilitarian dagger I’d gifted him for his birthday two years ago still fastened at his belt.

“Remy?” I called, my voice echoing.

Confusion twirled in my chest like the eddies twirling in the surrounding steam. For a moment, I forgot my anger toward him. All emotion was replaced by simple relief to see a familiar face after such a wretched night of barely contained panic. I strode forward, moving toward him with purpose—only to halt again when I saw his eyes.

Red. Glowing faintly.

And his hands—they were claw-tipped. His skin was webbed with the black poison of whatever monster had bit him. Closer to him now, I spotted the short nubs of black antlers poking out of his mop of blond hair, the ridges of new appendages under his torn shirt.

There was no recognition in his gaze. Only hunger.

So, this is why I was Fated to kill him.

I would’ve been comforted by his vision in the Mirror of Death if it weren’t for what I’d learned from Idris, that monsters operated outside the bounds of Fate. Monsters had no Fate. Which meant the outcome of this fight was yet unknown.

There was no time to waste. I lifted my crossbow and fired, the bolt hitting Remy’s shoulder with a thud. He tipped his face up to the heavens and screeched , a sound so inhuman I stumbled backward, cold terror filling me.

I flung my voice right back at him, my scream skittering off the surrounding stone. With my magic, I plucked the echo out of the air and aimed it into the distant trees. Remy didn’t fall for it. With his sight magic, he could see me plainly. He stalked forward with a singular focus, red eyes narrowed.

I fumbled with the crossbow, wrists shaking as I tried to cock the weapon—but I couldn’t get the lever in the right place. I was clumsy with fear. I breathed deeply, trying to calm my quivering muscles.

By the time I took aim again, Remy was upon me. He smacked the weapon from my hands, the contraption clattering off the path and into one of the bubbling puddles. I scrambled sideways, tripping on my Fates-forsaken skirts and landing on my butt. The fall jostled a few crossbow bolts free, causing them to scatter on the path. My grasping fingers found one, and with all my might, I plunged it deep into Remy’s thigh.

He wailed again, grabbing at the bolt protruding from his leg, trying to pull it free.

With Remy distracted, I crawled toward the pool on my hands and knees, trying to escape him and get my feet under me.

Claws closed around my ankle, yanking me back. The joint cracked, pain searing through my leg. My chin hit the ground, teeth juddering, grit and gravel scraping skin. I kicked out with my free foot, clipping Remy in the jaw. Swiveling onto my back, I kicked again, freeing myself of his grasp—but not without his claws shredding the skin of my shin, my calf.

It was the worst pain of my life. I screamed , scrambling backward, breathing through my teeth, adrenaline numbing my muscles, making me clumsy.

Any normal man would gather himself before pouncing again—but Remy was no longer a man. The Remy I’d known had died long before this night. He leapt on me like an animal, clawing at my bodice, nipping at my face. My hand found another loose crossbow bolt, and I buried it into the side of his neck.

He howled, but he didn’t stop his assault. Claw-tipped fingers fumbled with my arms, and he managed to pin one by my side. I placed my hand on his face, pushing him away, unwilling to succumb to his bite. His black tongue lolled out, licking my palm.

I gripped the bolt in his neck and pulled as hard as I could. His head twisted with a sickening grinding noise, black blood raining down on my neck and chest. A bit of splatter landed on my lip, and it stung like alcohol in a wound.

The movement forced him to ease up on my pinned arm, and I reached for the dagger at his hip, yanking it free of its sheath. I angled the short but wicked blade up, burying it in Remy’s side.

That time, he took the hint.

He scrambled off me. I didn’t hesitate. I surged to my feet and lunged at him. He held up a clawed hand as if to block my blow. I slashed across his face from eye to mouth. Then I swept straight across his throat, opening the artery through which that poisonous black blood pumped.

He fell, just as his Mirror of Death predicted.

What the vision in the Mirror hadn’t shown, however, was the way I fell right afterward, my injured leg buckling.

With adrenaline still coursing through my veins, I dragged myself backward, fully out of Remy’s reach. In the silence that followed, short, shocked gasps escaped my throat. My lungs heaved. My fingers shook uncontrollably. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe Remy had turned into a monster .

I couldn’t believe I’d killed him.

As my breathing leveled, a new sensation swept through me, one of tingling pain and paralyzing dread. I lifted my skirts to inspect my injured leg and—at the sight of torn flesh and pale bone—acid rose up my throat. I swiveled to the side and vomited on the barren path.

Still shuddering at the gruesomeness, I forced my gaze back to the injury, trying not to overthink the odd way my ankle was twisted. I pulled my clothing up farther, wincing at the damage, fighting another rise of bile. My leg was… unrecognizable . Irreparable . How I’d managed to make a final stand against Remy at all, I wasn’t sure—it must’ve been the adrenaline, the numbness of desperation and survival.

I clung to that feeling now, but it was like sand slipping from my fingers. I reminded myself of the direness of my mission. If I could just reach the water’s edge…

With shaking hands, I hiked my skirts higher, locating the pristine untouched skin of my thigh. With the full ruin of my leg on display, my vision swayed. Blood was pooling around me on the ground, hot and sticky. My body was quickly growing cold, all the heat leaking out through my shredded leg. I unfastened the belt at my hip and threaded the leather underneath my knee, moaning through my teeth at the excruciating pain of even the faintest of jostling. With a swift yank, I fastened the belt around my thigh, pulling it as tight as I could, trying to slow the blood loss.

I leaned back on my elbows, panting from the exertion, the shock. My lips shivered against my chattering teeth. The world was beginning to blur at the edges. I rolled my head over to one shoulder, peering into the mist. The Well of Fate was only ten or so feet away—but with the way my vision was darkening, it might as well have been miles.

Nausea clenched my throat again, and I closed my eyes, fighting the dizziness.

It’s not too far , I told myself, forcing my eyes open again. The blue-green waters of the pool lapped the rocky shore of its basin. Long stocks of a formidable-looking grass crowded its edges, reed-like and lush from the heat of the water. You’re so close. You can crawl. You can…

My arm buckled, and the ground rushed up to meet my cheek.