Page 153 of The Dragon's Gambit

“You know what I mean.”

The lips of the pale woman curled upward as her eyes smiled with blackness. “You mean how you have to stand by and watch her walk to her death bed?”

Selene averted her gaze, looking away from the woman in front of her. “Do you see that future too, Kali?”

Kali turned her head and gazed back into the stone pot. “I can see many futures.” She dipped a pale boney finger in the hot liquid and swirled it around. “It’s the futures between light and dark that align that are most likely to happen.” She looked up at Selene. “The futures that we both can see clearly. There are two distinct ones that stand out. Futures that we both know are likely to happen.”

Selene nodded her head and looked back at the woman. She was the dark priestess, an immortal, who had the gift of prophecy. The two had existed together since the beginning of time. The Yin and Yang of each other.

“If he dies, she will have a long road for recovery,” Selene said solemnly. She exhaled lightly and frowned.

“She won’t have time for that recovery. She can mourn the dead after this is all over. Sacrifices have to be made sometimes for the greater good. Balance must be restored. An order has been broken, and it must be set back in alignment,” Kali spat out bitterly. What was one life? What were a few dozen lives in the grand scheme of things? “I just hate to see my children hurting.” Selene looked up to see the crooked smile on Kali’s face. “What did you just see?” Her voice was but an airy whisper.

“Something that you must not be meant to see. A future that now has only one path. What is about to happen is meant to happen. The string of fate has been laid. Now it must continue to play out.”

“You won’t tell me what you’ve seen?” Selene asked in irritation, pinning her gaze on the priestess.

“No, I don’t think I will. It’s more entertaining this way.” Kali looked up from her pot, her obsidian eyes shining at Selene. “This is still only one small part. The big showdown is yet to come.”

The closer the future came, the clearer it would be. This was one of those futures where so much could happen. Where so much could go wrong that Selene couldn’t see exactly which outcome it would be. Reiya would make it. She would pull through. She could see her clearly in the future with the demons, but not the others. This worried Selene. There wasn’t anything that could be done about it. This was life. Love, happiness, pain, and sadness were all part of life. And as much as she wanted to shield Reiya, she couldn’t. The future that was coming was in Reiya’s hands now. Her decisions would directly affect the outcome.

Selene met with the dark orbs and nodded her head. “Let’s hope this future doesn’t blow up in our faces.”

“We’ve learned our lesson. We know what can happen when we interfere too much.”

“Like the balance shifting too much to one side?” Selene scoffed with an obvious eye roll.

Kali stared into the liquid in the pot in front of her. She scowled as her gaze burned into it. “Exactly. Now we have to play damage control.”

Selene scoffed again, folding her arms over her chest. “You mean I have to do damage control. My children have to be put at risk for damage control.”

“What about mine? What about my people? Do you think you’re the only one making sacrifices?” Kali’s voice hissed angrily. She then sneered at Selene, an arrogant smirk on her face. “Of course, that’s what you do best, though. You sacrifice the ones you love.”

“What happened to Endymion was not my fault!” Selene clenched her teeth and squeezed her arms over her chest. A silent water crystal dropped from her eye.

“No, it was our fault.” She looked up at Selene and gave her a sympathetic smile. “We got too arrogant. In the end, he saved us from our mistakes. Now we have to make sure we set everything right. Remember who all this is for. Remember the path we chose and the roles we picked.”

Selene nodded and met with the obsidian eyes. “If we continue to let it play out correctly—”

“And let the necessary sacrifices happen ...” Kali interjected, her head tilted slightly.

“In order to save him, some lives will be lost.”

“It’s the bigger picture you must continue to look at. This is our one shot. You saved the Gemini twins’ souls for this reason. We can’t let this chance go to waste. It’s your only chance to get him back and my only chance for redemption.” Kali stared at Selene with resolve. For Endymion, she would put the Chainfamily through hell. She would push them into battle like the pawns they were.

Selene dropped her shoulders in defeat. The Gemini twins were needed for the demon war. That much was true. But that wasn’t the reason she saved their souls. There was something else that she needed from them. They were in too deep now. There was no turning back. This match would need to play out. Then, she would seek what she needed from the Gemini twins.

She sighed and nodded, her voice quiet as she agreed with Kali, “For Endymion.”

Chapter 93 Her Moment

The tree frogs’ chorus began to die down, along with the chirping of crickets. At the same time, the birds began to make their presence known as the night faded away. Reiya opened her eyes and stared upward, breathing in the cold morning airand feeling it grip her lungs. Today, she would meet the Merrow Queen. It all came down to what would happen in the next few hours. She squeezed her fist in her hand and exhaled.

Today, we get our mate back.

The sun streamed through the trees, flickering on their faces as they walked under the leafy canopy. The gentle rustle of water could be heard along the banks of the river, growing louder as they approached. The soft waves lapped against the shores, leaving behind a white foaming trail. They were getting close to their destination.

Brody looked at Reiya from the corner of his eye, checking on her. She looked undeterred and determined. She reminded him of their mother.