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A urora screamed, crawling over to where Theron had collapsed in a pool of his own blood. He couldn’t die! She was supposed to change this fate, to fight against it. If she couldn’t even do that, then how was she supposed to change anything—how was she supposed to save anyone? Her magic swirled inside her like a storm, itching to be freed. She had no control over it, but as the monstrosities began pouring out of every shadow, her options dwindled.

Not even the paladins were making headway, though they were distracting the beasts, keeping their focus off Aurora and Theron.

Aurora fumbled for the protective artefact nearby, activating it. She was covered head to toe in the shield, like a bubble shaped just like her, protruding from her skin by only a handspan. How long it would hold was anyone’s guess.

“Please, save him,” she pleaded, unleashing the magic inside her, begging it to suspend him in time, to keep him from death.

But it was stuck, trapped between her skin and the shield. She could feel it raking its claws against the shield, trying to get out. If she wanted to save him, she would have to risk her own life. Hand trembling, she turned off her shield.

Her magic latched onto Theron like prey, sinking into every bone and sinew and vein. The pool of blood around him stopped growing. Had she done it this time, as she had when they first met? She reached forward to try to move his hand but couldn’t, just like before. But just as she dared to hope, a monstrosity rose from the shadow of a dismembered torso, its eyes fixed on her.

As it clawed its way into her world, her heart crashed against her ribs. Was this the end for both of them? Was her fate to die not in her own time, but in the distant past, the future doomed?

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed.

Sorry for getting Phaedra and Silvanus killed. Sorry for dooming Trisia. Sorry to the deities who had entrusted her with this fate. Sorry for proving unworthy of her Orithyia’s faith. Sorry for meeting Theron and driving him to this end. He wasn’t supposed to die here, not like this. For all she knew, her presence in the ancient past was why the monstrosities had shown themselves in the guest palace. The only thing she’d changed was shortening his thread even further. The only thing she’d accomplished was becoming the most miserable disappointment in the history of Trisia. Every other Trisian given this task had succeeded. She’d been the first to fail, and given what Drakon would do in her absence, likely the last.

Aurora grabbed for Theron’s spear, swinging it wildly at the monstrosity. A task made all the harder by the fetters that kept her arms shackled. It easily dodged her fumbling attempt at self-defence, her arms shaking with the dual effort of keeping Theron suspended in time and holding up the massive weapon. She swung again. The beast dipped under the arc of the spear and lunged at her.

Just as its claws raked her face, a flash of light blinded her, and the shrieks of the monstrosities rang in her ears. She squeezed her eyes shut as tears streamed down her face at the sting of that light. The screeches of beasts were replaced by the groans and cries of men and women. Had they been saved? Who had wielded such power?

When at last the spots had cleared from her vision, she looked around. Paladins were busy healing the wounded, while palace guards bowed in reverence to a young man with a bow.

A bow with a very familiar symbol on it.

The holy sword…and the hero who wielded it.

Her head spun as her magic drained from her. She wouldn’t be able to suspend Theron much longer.

“Avatar! Please, help me!” she shouted.

The avatar duly obliged and stuttered to a halt.

“King Theron!” he gasped.

The avatar’s eyes widened as he looked over the king’s attire and then her own, rage darkening his features. He went to his knees and tried to move Theron without success.

“Please, I’m holding his death at bay, but I can’t hold on for much longer. You can heal any wound caused by a monstrosity. Heal him, before I exhaust my magic.”

The avatar nodded, pouring his divine magic over Theron. Slowly, slowly, the wound healed, closing up as both sinew and bone were restored. Sharp pain shot through her head and blood dripped from her nose yet still she held onto the magic. Her vision was swimming and her lungs crushed in a vise by the time the avatar was done. Aurora collapsed on her side the moment she released her magic, spent. The avatar came over to her side and used his divine magic to heal the wounds on her leg and face.

“Is he…?”

Aurora was terrified of the answer. What if she’d been too late? Her magic inadequate?

“He’s breathing. You did well.”

Relief crashed through her. She held back her tears. Though she hadn’t been able to prevent the events of the vision from taking place, at least he was alive. But questions lingered. Had she truly changed the future, or merely ensured it would happen as she’d always known?

The avatar picked her up, searched the halls for the nearest room with an intact bed, and placed her down gently.

“What’s your name?” she asked, her voice thready and weak.

“Hyllus, my lady.”

“Aurora.”

“You’re a good woman, Aurora, to put yourself at risk to save another,” he said, covering her with a sheet.

She almost laughed. She was a bloody mess—literally. Whosever sheets she was currently soiling would be livid when they discovered it, given how stingy the vivarium’s attendants were. If they’d survived, that is. The thought sobered her. Before exhaustion took her entirely, she needed to tell Hyllus what was to come, and their parts in it.

“I need to tell you something.” She grabbed hold of his tunic before he could leave.

“It can wait until you’ve rested, my lady.”

“No. It can’t. There’s a monster we must slay, Drakon. And we must do it before he has the power to destroy the whole of Trisia.”

“We?” he asked, a doting look on his tanned face as he searched her head for bumps and bruises, glaring down at the metal binding her wrists, following the chain to the collar at her neck.

What could she say that would convince him she wasn’t mad? That she didn’t in some way deserve her fetters? Nothing she’d said since she’d arrived had been believed, save by Theron, and even he had needed to see her visions. She wracked her foggy brain.

There was a theory that in every lifetime, a person had the same magic, tied as it was to the soul. If Hyllus was the first incarnation of the hero, and the hero was the same in every cycle, then he would share the same magic as Silvanus. It seemed she’d be putting her theology teachings to the test.

“I met another hero of the holy sword. Silvanus. During a cycle of calamity, he was given divine magic and made the avatar, his purpose to seal away a great evil—Drakon.”

“There can be only one avatar of Justice at a time, my lady.” He frowned, still looking for a wound on her head.

“I know. Silvanus had wild magic, as expected of an avatar. The magic of divine eyes. Just as you do.”

“My lady, I fear you’ve hurt yourself in ways I cannot heal.” While his tone was full of concern, she didn’t miss the fear in his grey eyes.

“I kept his secret because he was a good man.”

“And yet you told me.”

“Hyllus, I suspended Theron, kept him from the moment of death. But I couldn’t heal him. What do you suppose my wild magic is?” she asked. The hero in her time had been the first to realise her magic for what it was. Hopefully, Hyllus was the same.

His eyes widened.

“Time.”

“Yes. And I never betrayed Silvanus’ trust. Use your eyes, you’ll know I’m telling the truth when you step into the Tapestry.”

Hyllus searched her eyes, looking for traps and lies he wouldn’t find.

“My lady, if you’re simply mad, I’ll have to silence you.”

To protect himself and his secret. Those with his magic had been hunted since the earliest times by all and sundry. She understood his caution.

“I know.”

He paced the room a few times. His wavy brown hair was held back by a tie, some of his more unruly locks escaping confinement as he shook his head.

“So be it.”

When he gazed at her again, it was with eyes glittering like grey jewels. His face contorted in bewilderment, his brows furrowing with strain before he came back to the material world. He blinked in shock.

“Your thread is…I cannot describe it. It is here and not of here, displaced but not by distance. I cannot see where it came from. I saw the thread that bound us, one of fate and friendship, our paths converging. And there is another thread attached to yours. I’ve never seen one so thick and malevolent. What did you bring with you?”

“My fate is tied to Drakon, the monster we must seal. If we don’t stop him here and now, the cycles of calamity will repeat.”

“Repeat?” he asked, before light dawned in his eyes. “Then you… travelled through time… How? Why did you come here?”

“I didn’t mean to. I expected to die.”

Hyllus paced the room.

“This is…a lot.” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Though at least now I know what my true mission is—the great evil Justice wants me to deal with.”

“I’m just glad I don’t have to search the whole of Trisia looking for you,” she laughed. “But why did you come here?”

“Truthfully, I was coming to see if I could help King Theron. He attacked me, and Justice punished him, even though I hold him no ill will. He struck me as an honourable man, and I want to ensure he’s back on his throne…before his cousin does something rash. May I ask why you risked your life to save his?”

“Because he was the only one who believed me and was willing to help. And he has been kind…sometimes.”

Hyllus laughed.

“That sounds like him.”

“Hyllus, we’re both prisoners here. His jailor is Flora, and mine is Orithyia. I went to her for help first and…let’s just say that I offended her, and though she let me live, I…I don’t want to meet with her alone again. I saw a vision of Theron’s death, of the monstrosities here. We were trying to escape the city when we were caught and forced back here. I tried to warn as many as I could but no one believed me.”

“You see visions as well?”

She nodded.

“I would rather not,” she answered glumly.

He gripped her hand in his. Hyllus must know what it meant—that eventually, the visions would drive her mad—provided she lived long enough.

“I’ll protect you, Aurora, and I will free you. The title of avatar should be enough for that. And then together, we’ll slay this beast.”

Tears sprung to her eyes. She sobbed. His brow creased with concern and he pulled her close. Aurora would have flung her arms around him if her wrists weren’t still bound by manacles attached to the collar at her throat. She settled for pressing herself into the cuirass of his bronze armour, not caring about the hardness of it against her skin.

It had been so long since she felt so hopeful and safe. She’d found the one person in this time that she could fully trust. There was no need to bargain with Hyllus, no need to give away what she would rather guard. Indeed, there was no need to guard herself at all. And certainly no need for scheming or playing games.

As she wept in his arms, the weight crushing her heart and forcing her to harden herself lifted. Shared with a partner she could trust, the burden of the future didn’t feel so heavy.

“Thank you for finding me,” she whispered.

“I only wish I’d found you sooner,” he replied.

“It has been…difficult.”

Hyllus chuckled.

“And why do I suspect that to be a monumental understatement?”

Aurora choked out a bitter laugh. He had the right of it. Pain and fear had been her constant companions since she’d learned of her fate.

“Do you know what this place is called?” she asked.

“The guest palace?”

“The vivarium. A display case for the queen’s living trophies. A place where you either steal your daily necessities or bargain sexual favours for them. You see how I’m dressed, how Theron is dressed. The queen is cruel, Hyllus. She delights in using humiliation to break people. If you mean to free us from this place, you must be very careful.”

“I am well acquainted with Flora’s…personality. I’ll let the other paladins of Justice here know what’s been going on. They’ve been intent on entering the palace since the royal guards attacked someone in the temple plaza. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“They attacked me. I…I defended myself, and then they dragged us back to the palace. The guard who stripped and chained me, he…Theron killed him.”

His hold on her tightened. Hyllus held his tongue, but when he loosened his arms, she could see the rage swimming in his eyes.

“That won’t happen again. Never again,” he swore. “I’ll see if you can be made a guest of Justice’s temple instead.”

“Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me. Any honourable person would do the same.”

“I’m still grateful,” she sighed. Her head felt light and her body heavy.

“Rest. I’ll take care of everything else.”

He tucked her in as her lids began to feel heavy. But there was something else he needed to know, some other advantage she could give them in the fight to come. She gasped.

The artefacts.

She strained her hearing, but outside the door, people were in pain, paladins called back and forth and healers had just arrived. She hoped no one would hear what she needed to say.

“Hyllus, wait! One more thing.”

“What is it?”

She crooked her finger for him to come closer.

“There’s a hoard of ancient artefacts hidden in the basement of the temple of Knowledge that might be able to help us,” she whispered. “Press on the brick on the third row up from the ground, exactly halfway across the length of the back wall of the temple. Then speak the words, ‘Lead me to the fathomless depths of Knowledge.’ It’s dark inside, too dark for your eyes to see, but at the end of the hall is the door to the vault.”

His eyes widened. Hyllus smiled then, an impish glint in his eye.

“You’re unexpectedly full of mischief, my lady.”

Aurora laughed.

“And don’t you forget it.” She winked, returning his smile.

Hyllus laughed.

“I won’t, I promise.”

Theron woke with a gasp as his lungs filled with air he shouldn’t be breathing. This wasn’t the Loom, where all the threads of the world were collected to be respun by Fate back into the Tapestry once more. His surroundings were…physical. A pool of blood cooled beneath him. His blood. And yet he was whole, unharmed, as if the attack had never happened. Theron fumbled to his feet and was immediately sent crashing to his knees. His head swam. Triad’s tits, there it was, the proof of the attack, the blood loss. He leaned against the nearest wall and waited out the dizziness, calling on his magic to replenish his blood.

Theron opened his eyes to find the world had mostly righted itself…for him at least. The atrium of the vivarium was still splashed in blood, guts and gore. Bits and pieces of people were strewn about, with no way to discern the noble from the entertainers and whores. Paladins sifted through the mess, looking for any lingering survivors. It was simply too bad Flora hadn’t been here in time to be devoured. He dragged a hand down his face and sighed, exhausted. How had he survived? And why? He’d died for a reason—a purpose.

“Aurora,” he whispered.

Where was she? Had she managed to flee? Had she died? He got to his feet, ready to search for her when Princess Epicasta inserted her very unwelcome self in front of him.

“How did you know?”

He grinned, enjoying the advantage of knowing something she didn’t. Apparently, the rumours of his little fairy’s predictions and supposed madness hadn’t made it to this one’s ears. That was all for the better. Once her true power became known, it would make it harder to secure her for Aureum.

“Why did you believe me?” he asked.

“I didn’t.”

“And yet…” he chuckled, looking around her.

Aurora was nowhere to be seen. Was that because she’d survived…or because she hadn’t?

“Who are you looking for?”

“Your mother. Perhaps I got lucky and she was eaten.”

“Her Majesty is safe in the inner palace.”

“What a shame.”

“Watch your tongue.”

“Watch your tone. I’m still a king.”

“Clearly.” Epicasta looked him up and down before raising a brow.

He didn’t have the energy to be embarrassed. But he did have it in him to be crafty still. He caught the eye of a nearby paladin and waved him over.

“You’re a paladin of Justice, are you not?”

“I am, your…” The paladin looked him up and down, unsure exactly what Theron was. Though he spoke like a high-born, he was dressed like an ornament.

“Majesty. I am King Theron of Aureum. Thank you for your heroic efforts. If you had not been here at the right moment, everyone would have perished. How did you know when the monstrosities would appear?”

“We didn’t, Your Majesty. We’d been invited to come to the palace by Princess Epicasta to investigate a matter which occurred in the temple plaza a few days ago.”

Epicasta’s eyes widened a fraction as she caught on to his ploy.

“Which I will be happy to rectify with you. If you would please come with me?” Epicasta smiled, trying to pull the paladin away.

But no one who had become a paladin of Justice had done so without being hardheaded and stubborn in the extreme. Like a bloodhound on the scent, once they caught a whiff of injustice, they were as unmovable as a mountain. He might have just found his way out of the vivarium.

“I believe I know of what you speak. The woman attacked by the royal guard is a friend of mine. When we were dragged back here, the royal guard stripped and chained her to that column for days leading up to this…party. Have you found her yet?”

“No, not yet. But when we do, she’ll be taken to the temple of Justice for protection. You, too, will be welcome to take refuge there until the matter has been seen to. Given your status, you may wish to remain there until High Priestess Nerio arrives to oversee your case.”

Theron smiled and bowed to the paladin.

“Blessings of the Triad on you, paladin. I’m grateful for your assistance.”

He gave the paladin Aurora’s description, being sure to make clear that she wore manacles and a collar as well as the garb of a prostitute. Every detail only seemed to enrage the paladin more.

After all, attacking someone in the temple plaza was an affront against the Triad. The royal palace might as well have spit on the statues of the goddesses themselves. By law, the moment Aurora had been assaulted in the plaza, she was a ward of Justice’s temple, and her treatment after that moment was a serious insult. But Flora had never worried herself over taboos and consequences, not when Orithyia and her daughter always cleaned up after her. He would save the details of what Flora intended to force him to do for the right moment. Perhaps at the trial?

When the paladin gave Theron instructions to return to the temple with a paladin once he’d collected his things, Epicasta stood like a statue beside him.

“Fool.”

“You lost this round, Princess.”

“The temple can’t save you. You still need to be purified and pay restitution. Rest your head under the temple’s roof if you like, but you can’t escape what’s to come.”

Maybe not, but at least Aurora could. It might have been better to find a way to allow her to slip away in the middle of the night, but now that she’d come to Flora’s attention, only the attention of those with some power in Viridis would protect her from Flora’s worst caprices.

“Nerio will purify me. And with her arrival, any restitution I’m forced to pay will be fair and just .”

“And where is the wandering high priestess? How long will it take to find her, bid her to come, and wait for her arrival? Much can happen, even in the span of a week.” She looked around at the gory scene before them pointedly. “Besides, even if you hide behind the temple walls, Her Majesty is within her rights to demand your attendance at court. After all, it wasn’t she who attacked your paramour or chained her here. All you’ve done is given yourself a paladin babysitter whose sense of justice rarely sits well with the machinations of court.”

She had a point, but it was a challenge he believed himself capable of overcoming. Besides, his paladin babysitter, as she called it, would be there to observe Flora’s behaviour as well.

“That’s a great many words to say ‘I lost.’”

“You’re an ingrate and a fool, Your Majesty.”

Theron snorted. What need did he have to thank her for doing as she was told? Once the dust settled, she was going to be hailed and fêted. She’d brought the paladins in the nick of time, saving all who could be saved.

“I’m sure you can spin this to appear like a prescient hero.”

“It would have been better had you died.”

When he’d stood in front of that monstrosity, knowing what would happen and knowing the consequences if he’d lived and been forced to do as Flora was going to command, he’d agreed. But now that he was alive, given a second chance, he would never wish for it again.

“Run along then and sulk in your room, Princess. I have more important matters to attend to.”

“Goddess save me from arrogant swine,” Epicasta muttered. “The avatar took your paramour to the room down the hall, and has yet to emerge.”

“Was she…? No, move out of my way.”

Theron pushed passed the princess, flinging open the doors to rooms where furniture had been trashed and guests hid. Finally, he came to one where he could hear Aurora’s voice coming through the thin door. He was about to fling open the door when he heard her laugh. It caught him up short, his hand hovering over the handle.

He’d never heard her laugh like that before.

Theron opened the door just a crack. Aurora was tucked in bed, Hyllus seated at her side. The way they were looking at each other, the genuine light in their eyes and smiles, it was like they shared some amusing secret no one else was privy to. It made him feel ugly inside. She’d never smiled for him like that. Never looked at him like he meant the world to her.

Theron wanted it with a ferocity that shocked him.

He clenched his fists at his sides and tamped down on his magic as it seethed inside him. Of course she looked at Hyllus like that. The avatar was a ‘good man.’ He exuded boyish charm. In his naivety, he believed in the good inside others, and found it reflected back to him in those with similar, na?ve dispositions. And it helped that he’d probably been responsible for saving everyone still living in the vivarium. He need not be jealous of the—jealous? Jealous?! No, that’s not what this was. It was preposterous. He was not some dog growling at any who approached his new toy. He was the King of Aureum. If he wanted Aurora, he would find a way to make her come to him pleading for the pleasure he could give her. Against a young man with no experience in matters of seduction, he had nothing to fear.

So why did he hesitate to intrude on them? Why did he still feel like there was a pit of snakes in his heart?

There was nothing for it. Any longer out here and he was going to become the fool Epicasta accused him of being. Theron pushed open the door.

“Theron!” Aurora sat up, her face pale and drawn.

“Your Majesty!” Hyllus jumped from his seat on the bed and clasped forearms with him.

“Do I have you to thank for my life?” Theron asked Hyllus as he gripped the avatar’s arm in turn.

“Not entirely. Aurora risked life and limb to keep you alive until I got here. She’s incredibly brave.”

“Yes, I know,” he said, taking in the sight of her.

His fairy had stayed to save him, even knowing what would happen. Even though she’d had no guarantee of her own safety. Hyllus could only hope for such devotion. Everything Theron had done had been worthwhile. She was his.

Hyllus waited for a moment, assessing Aurora for any sign of discomfort. As if he might need to protect her from Theron. She was not Hyllus’ to protect, to care for. That was Theron’s self-appointed charge.

“Aurora, I’m going to speak with the paladins here. They’ll take you to the temple of Justice and safeguard you until you’re ready to leave the city. Your Majesty, I’ll do the same for you, though you may need to wait a little longer to leave, since Nerio is usually the one to see to cases amongst royalty.”

“No need, Hyllus. I’ve already done so by speaking to the paladins here.”

Hyllus smiled.

“Good. See, Aurora? Everything will work out.”

“Are we…are we really getting out of here?” Aurora asked, her eyes full of cautious hope.

“Yes, we are,” Theron answered.

“Thank the Triad.”

She should be thanking him. But he would let it slide, just this once. His little fairy looked like she was going to collapse at any second.

“Sleep, Aurora. I’ll wake you when I retrieve our belongings,” Theron said.

“Mmm,” she replied, her eyes closing the moment her head hit the pillow.

Within a few heartbeats, she was asleep.

“Your Majesty.” Hyllus waved him out of the room and into the corridor. Once the door was closed, he kept his voice low. “I won’t be staying in Boreas long, but I intend to take her with me when I leave. I thought I should tell you in case the two of you…”

At least the young man had the sense to know there was something, however tenuous, between them.

“And do you truly believe you’re capable of protecting her? Do you even know who her enemies are?”

“I know she fears both Orithyia and Flora. I’m confident my status as the avatar will shield her from any future meddling.”

“Hyllus, the only person protected by your status is you. Do you know what she is? What she’s capable of? What she seeks? The risks involved?”

Hyllus furrowed his brows.

“Yes, of course. She told me as much.”

She’d told him?! A man she’d known less than an hour? He’d had to wheedle and cajole even the barest hint of that information from her. What made Hyllus so much more trustworthy? So deserving of her secrets?

“You seem upset by this. I assure you, her secrets are safe with me.”

Secrets. Plural. What did Hyllus know that Theron didn’t? Theron tamped down on his anger. That even the avatar could sense it was a slip he never should have made.

“Then you know that if Orithyia or Flora wish to harm her, there will be little you can do to stop them. You are one man against armies of soldiers, spies, and assassins. Avatar or not, you will need the resources of a kingdom to guard her.”

“Do you love her?”

“I—”

Of course he didn’t. What kind of king could afford to love? Love was a weakness for those with real power and more enemies than they could count. Love was for good men like Hyllus, not good kings like Theron. But that wasn’t what a good man wanted to hear about a woman he’d sworn to protect. So Theron told the avatar exactly what he wished to hear.

“I do. I have not…admitted as much to her.” That would hopefully forestall Hyllus from telling such outrageous lies to Aurora in the meantime. Good men respected the secrets of others. “And I cannot, in good conscience, allow you to take her from my side. Once this business with Flora is sorted, I’ll escort her back to Aureum in comfort and safety. When it comes time to slay this beast, she’ll have the might of an army behind her.”

And once the business with her beast was done, and this cycle of chaos over, she would remain at his side, her visions used to ensure the peace, safety and power of Aureum. But Hyllus didn’t need to know that.

Hyllus clapped him on the back with a smile.

“You see? I knew you were a good man.”

And as long as the avatar believed it, he was a fool.