Page 190 of Quicksilver

“In nature, there is a counterweight to everything, child. Light has darkness. Life has death. Joy has sorrow. And good has evil. That law applies, no matter which realm you exist in,” he said with a broad stroke of his arm that encompassed the many, many leaves on the tree. “Threads like you and Kingfisher, that are drawn together and cross on an axis create a well of power. The energy the two of you draw together attracts an equal and opposite counterweight. Every possible future where the two of you are together ends with the vast majority of this tree dying. None of us can foresee any other way.”

“So…you’re saying that Fisher and I are responsible for the end of the entire universe?”

Zareth shook his head. “Not you personally. But the moment where you meet, along with the moment you become mates,is a spark. The flame in the dark that draws the moth. It was incumbent upon me to try and stop that spark from taking place, but as you’ve already learned, the fates themselves would not be guided down that path.”

I felt my heart beating all over my body. “Does Fisher know any of this?”

Zareth snorted. “No. I orchestrated events so that he would be brought here as a young male. His mother had just died, and his disposition wasn’t very polite.” Zareth frowned, as if the memory were troubling even now. “He made an enemy of my family. He was only allowed to live because I demanded it. I’d spent a great deal of time studying the various outcomes and paths of this universe once you and Kingfisher met, and while I never found a balance that meant good prevailed, there were pathways that led into…uncertainty.”

“Uncertainty?”

“Pathways that lead down roads, where both the way and the destination are blocked to even my sight. And in all of these veiled futures, where a chance still exists for life, there is one common factor.” I didn’t want to know. Couldn’t hear it. This was way too much pressure. Zareth knew this, I was sure, but he plowed ahead. “You and Kingfisher fought at each other’s side, and you were God-Bound.” He pointed to the script writing that wrapped around my wrists. “These oaths mark you as my ward. They protect both you and Fisher from the unwanted attentions of my brothers and my sister.”

“Protectionfrom them?”

“They would rather kill Fisher and roll the dice on what comes next. They would prefer to weather the storm on the horizon and replant our tree once the slate has been wiped clean. I don’t want that to happen. It would break my daughters’ hearts.” He broke off, watching the girls dance down in the field, mimicking the grasses as they swayed in the wind. Theirlaughter rose up to us like sweet music. “For them, I’m willing to take a chance. If you truly accept Fisher as your mate, then you must agree for the thread of your life to be severed from the tapestry of the universe. Once you do, none of us may affect your future. We won’t be able to see you at all, nor will my brothers and my sister be able to interfere with timelines or events that affect you, either. You’ll be on your own.”

On my own? What was he talking about? “This burden shouldn’t be placed on one person’s shoulders. It definitely shouldn’t be placed at mine. I’m a thief! Just…one woman! I can’t be held responsible for—”

“You’re not responsible for anything. All you need do is live your life.”

“But—”

“Let me put it this way, child,” Zareth said, cutting me off. “Do you want your mate to die?”

“No, of course not!”

“Then this is how you save him.”

“I…” What was I supposed to say? If I did this, then Zareth and the other gods wouldn’t be able to see ahead or do anything to affect events as they were about to happen. But should they be allowed to do that, anyway? Their meddling meant that I’d been born in Zilvaren, not in Yvelia. How many times had they swayed the tides of fate, and how many people had suffered because of it? What gavethemthe right?

Zareth narrowed his eyes at me. “Fuck the fates. They don’t get to decide shit for me.Idecide what my future is going to be. Did you not just say that mere days ago?”

I had said that. And I’d meant it, too. “Yes, but…”

“If you truly wish to be the master of your own life, then this is how you accomplish that goal.”

I got the feeling that Zareth was desperate—a God who would say anything to bend me to his will. But there was no denying it.Hewasa God. He could make me do anything he desired, and yet he was giving me this choice.

I asked carefully, “How painful are we talking? This thread cutting?”

“No more painful than the transition that is already beginning inside your body as we speak, Saeris Fane.”

Why the hell didn’t that sound reassuring? “How would you do it exactly?”

“By transforming you into something that has never been seen before,” he answered cryptically. “The universe cannot focus on that which it does not recognize.”

“Buthow?”

“I’m not just the God of Chaos, Alchemist. I’m also the God of Change. I will it, and it is done.”

“I—”

“Time is running out, Saeris. You must make your decision.”

“Okay. All right. Yes. I’ll do it.” I blurted it out before I could take it back. If it was a decision between becoming something new, and most certainly dying along with the rest of the universe, then it wasn’t really a tough call to make.

The God Bindings at my wrists flared out of nowhere, biting into my skin like burning ropes. “The best of luck to you, then, Saeris. Give Kingfisher my best.” And then he shoved me into the quicksilver.