Page 13 of Winds of Darkness

“Why do you seek these lost memories?”

“Who wouldn’t want to know where they came from?”

“What does it matter?” the voice countered, coming from his left this time. “Will your past decide your future?”

“Maybe.”

“Why?” The question was full of a child’s curiosity.

“Why? Why wouldn’t it?”

“Will it define who you are?”

“I already know I am an Ash Rider.”

“That iswhatyou are. Not who you are. And even then …” Rayner whirled, the voice coming from another spot in the cave now. “Even then, that is not entirely what you are. You are more than ashand smoke. You are more than Fae. But none of that iswhoyou are. So many names in your past. So many names in your future.” She stepped from the shadows, a slightly terrifying smile on her small face. “Ash Rider. Wanderer. Favorite.” She slipped back into the dark, stepping from somewhere new that had Rayner spinning around yet again. “Reaper.”

“Reaper?”

Her smile tipped up even more, her head tilting. “Brother.”

“Brother?” he repeated in a slightly horrified whisper.

“Would you like to know some other names that could be yours?”

“I …” He paused. Did he want to know? “No, I just want to know what lies in my past.”

“Why?”

Frustration coursed through him. “Because how can I know who I am if I do not know where I came from?”

Her smile widened, and she stepped right up to him, her bare toes touching his boots. Her head was tipped back, and she spoke softly when she said, “Thatis what you seek, Ash Rider. Not your memories. Not your past. You wish to know who you are, who you are supposed to be.”

Rayner flinched back when several torches burst to light, flames flickering and casting shadows along the cave walls. The child moved to a stone table that appeared in the center of the room, a basin atop it. She climbed upon the table, stirring the contents with her fingers.

“One not of this world took from you. Took more than your memories.” She looked up, violet eyes connecting with his where he still stood across the chamber. “Understand that if I give these memories back to you, there is no undoing it. Consider that sometimes it is better to not know than to live with memories you cannot change. Consider that maybe losing these memories was a blessing rather than a curse. And consider that learning such secrets of your past still may not tell you who you are.”

“Do you know what these memories are?” he asked.

“No,” she answered. She reached into the basin, and when she pulled her hand back out, a vial was held between her fingers. “Make your choice, descendant of Anala and those who hunt.”

“What does that mean?”

“There is so much more to your gifts than you know. So many futures,” the child mused. “I wonder which will come to pass.”

He’d taken the vial, and the moment he’d swallowed down the elixir, the entirety of his first three decades came flooding back to him. The Southern Islands. The cliffs. Moranna. Feris. Aravis. Breya.

He’d sunk to his knees when he realized the Oracle’s form was that of his youngest sister who he’d been unable to save.

But he’d left the cave with a new title.

The Reaper.

That’s what he had become. His sole purpose had become freeing the innocents still trapped in the cliffs, hoping he was not too late to save Aravis.

Rayner signaled the barkeep to bring him another mug of ale as he watched the Fae around him. A shady game of cards was happening in a dark corner. One deck of playing cards had already gone up in flames. He would bet this deck would go up within the next hour. A few females were off to one side, scoping out their options. Some for pleasure, some for coin. He knew if he lowered the hood of his cloak, one would approach within minutes. It was why he kept the hood up.

Well, one of the reasons.