“We hoped the gifts themselves would guide them, leading them to return to their united state. We hoped the families would eventually see our wisdom.”
Today spoke in a solemn voice. “In the balance of the world, what is—soil, air, water, fire—will always be stronger than what has been, or what could be. The gift of the Ahlens and the gift of the Roths suffer from their imprecise nature.”
Yesterday picked up where her sister left off. “Their gifts should have driven them to make peace with the strength of the soil. It didn’t, and we began to see the value in what Ciorstan’s mother had tried and failed to do.”
Resentment welled painfully in Emariya’s chest. The Three had essentially created a gigantic love spell inspired by Ciorstan’s mother. “The pull. After a hundred odd years of us apart, you created the pull to force the bloodlines to reconnect.”
“Yes.” Yesterday nodded her head, without any hint of regret. “Through the pull we ensured the bloodlines would become one again at last. The gifts will guide you to the knowledge of what is right for each other, and your own specific gifts will protect you as you struggle to bring the long divided lands into one united kingdom.”
“But that isn’t what is happening!” Emariya didn’t even bother to try and contain her outburst.
“Torian’s visions are driving him to the brink of madness. He is seeing his sister’s child ruining any peace we create—or maybe our child—regardless, it is driving a wedge between us, threatening to force us even further apart.”
Today spoke. “It is difficult for mere mortals to fully understand the visions of gods. What he sees is one surface of a multi-faceted stone.”
“And even visions aside, my brother has the same gifts as I do. I am not strong enough to beat him on my own, but if our gifts were removed, our army could stop him from forcing The Three Corners to bend to his will.”
“You misunderstand,” Yesterday said. “We care not who leads them together, as long as they are together.”
“Well...” Tomorrow ran a hand through her hair, as if reading the threads of time. “I can see that Emariya would be the better choice. She is preferable. Though either of them are preferable to remaining apart.”
“Please,” Emariya begged. “Take the gifts, and Torian and I will continue to work on uniting The Three Corners in peace. If I don’t get rid of my gifts, my mother will see to it that my brother wins!
She attacks me from within my own mind.”
“Even if we wanted to, we could not,” Tomorrow said.
Emariya’s jaw dropped. “But you’re goddesses.”
Fire swirled in Today’s eyes as she smiled. “Yes. We are. But just as we could not change what we are if we wanted to, we cannot change the things that are born into you. You carry gifted blood. Even when we removed the free use of magic from the world, we didn’t simply extinguish it, we put the power of it inside the bloodlines. So it still exists, just in concentrated lines. Similarly, we cannot control what you do and see with your gifts. The magic exists apart from us.”
“Well. There is one way to make them lay dormant...” Tomorrow said. “If The Three Corners are united, they will be a latent aspect of the next generation’s blood, but the gifts will not manifest again until they need to light the way to bringing the land back together again—just as your own gifts didn’t present themselves until you were no longer a child. If they have no purpose to serve, they will not awaken in a new descendant. The extra knowledge of the spirits and of the future will go dark, for you will no longer need to see.”
“Is the pull irremovable as well?” Emariya asked.
The three goddesses glanced between themselves and an uncomfortable silence weighed over the cavern. Tomorrow met Emariya’s eyes. “Not necessarily.”
Hope surged. “If you remove the pull, then we can free Terin, and it will weaken Reeve so I can ensure it is I who leads The Three Corners back to prosperity.”
Tomorrow’s eyes were pained. “But how do we know you will do as you say? Your future is...
ambiguous.”
Inside the cavern at the top of The Cradle of The Three, Torian’s anger thundered within him.
After finding himself separated from Emariya he’d pleaded, and then cursed, and then demanded to know she was all right. All to no avail.
They badgered him with incessant questions, and each time they asked another his ire rose.
Tomorrow faced him with an enchanting smile. The goddess was beautiful, Torian would give her that, but she didn’t possess half of Emariya’s grace or beauty. To his eyes, no woman—or goddess—
ever could. Now if only she would shut up and let him get back to Riya.
“It is a great responsibility, seeing the possibilities the future holds, isn’t it, Prince Ahlen?”
Tomorrow’s voice tinkled around the cavern like a distant bell, yet it grated against his nerves like screeching stone.
Torian took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. “Yes, it is a great responsibility.”
“Do you understand why we bestowed this great and precious gift upon you, despite the weight it places on your shoulders?”
Torian shrugged. “I already told you, I care not for your reasons, only your actions. Are you going to let me return to Emariya or not?”
Tomorrow mimicked his shrug. “Perhaps. Or Not.”
Torian growled. “Enough games!”
“Your anger runs away with you, Your Highness. Don’t let it carry you to misdeeds. It doesn’t pay to act too rashly.” The flame-haired goddess, Today, faced him.
Her words made him pause. He did have a tendency to do as she accused. “At times, I suppose.”
A bone-chilling laugh erupted from Yesterday. “At times. It would appear our prince has a sense of humor. Tell me, Torian, do you think it rash to consider killing your own sister?”
“I consider it justifiable. Emariya is my priority. Not just because she is my wife, but because I believe in her. If anyone can bring The Three Corners back together, she can. If I have to kill my sister
—who has chosen to stand against us—in order to do so, then I will. But that isn’t my first preference, which is why we are here. On the other hand, I thoroughly hope I have a chance to kill Reeve Warren.”
An ominous look passed between the goddesses.
Yesterday tilted her head to the side. “You’ve vowed that he will die.”
“Yes.” Torian nodded.
Forever blinked several times in quick succession. “How would you respond if we said we had seen the outcome of your quest, and you are destined to lose?”
Torian staggered as her words hit him. She had to be wrong. “I would find a way to change it.
Defeat is not an option.”
“What if the cost of your success is another life? Would it be worth it to you?”
He tried to bolster his rapidly retreating sense of sanity by clinging to the promise beneath her words. If she was asking, nothing had yet been determined. “I’ve already said I would be willing to risk my sister’s life, to protect Riya. If I can’t save them both, I
will
save Riya.”
Tomorrow leveled him with a grave frown. “It isn’t your sister who will have to buy Reeve’s death with her own life.”
Torian gasped. “Mine?” Acceptance settled over him. “If I can ensure Emariya’s safety with my own life, I will do it without hesitation. You can strike me down now if it will save her. Just please, let me say goodbye and tell her why. She won’t understand...”
Yesterday’s lips twisted upward into an amused smile. “Dear prince, have you forgotten that your bride hears the voices of the dead?”
Emariya grew impatient as Yesterday continued the endless interrogation. “What of this other boy, Garith? You and he were close.”
Tomorrow nodded. “We don’t want to see things fall apart because of a fickle heart. If the pull didn’t keep you and Torian together, for all we know you might decide you prefer Garith instead.”
Today grinned. “He has become quite a bit more... appealing... since you and he set out from Eltar.
He’s come into his own. What would keep you from choosing him instead?”
“I’ve said my vows to Torian. I wouldn’t break that, ever.” Emariya tried to let her sincerity show through her tone. She wondered if Torian were having as much trouble convincing them as she was.
Yesterday cocked her head to the side. “Perhaps not... But still. Ciorstan made promises as well.”
“He loves you,” Today said, “and you feel something for him as well.”
“He’s my best friend.” Emariya defiantly met the goddesses’ accusing stares.
“Would you give him up? Completely? Would you give him up if your keeping Torian depended on it?” Tomorrow lifted her palms and between them the air shimmered. A projection of Garith filled the looking glass below.
Seeing Garith, even knowing it wasn’t actually him, renewed the ache of his absence. Emariya’s voice softened. “I think he may have already given me up. I don’t know where he is.”
“Answer the question as it was asked, daughter of the soil.” Tomorrow dropped her arms to her sides and the vision of Garith disappeared.
The answer resounding in her mind wasn’t the one she thought they wanted, but they would know if she lied.
Forgive me, Torian,
Emariya thought to herself.
The three goddesses stared back at Emariya, waiting for her to answer their inquiry. Would she give up Garith to keep Torian? She released an unsteady breath. “No.”
“See!” Yesterday shouted.
Emariya gritted her teeth and straightened her spine. “I wouldn’t give him up, because I don’t give up on my friends. And I wouldn’t ever believe my keeping Torian depended on it, because we trust each other, and he wouldn’t respect me near as much if he thought I could just walk away from a friend. If I want him to love me, I have to be true to myself. I’d fight for them,
both of them,
with my last breath. But whether you believe it or not, Torian is the one who holds my heart. And only Torian.”
She couldn’t be sure, but she thought there was a ghost of a smile on Tomorrow’s lips.
Today beamed. “You have passed, daughter of two Stones. You are free to go.”
“What about Torian?” Emariya asked, relieved they hadn’t taken offense at her answer.
The goddesses glanced between themselves, then Tomorrow answered. “I’m afraid Torian won’t be leaving with you.”
Emariya blinked hard, trying to understand what she meant. Had Torian already left The Cradle?
“His Highness made different choices than you. He is blinded by what he wants, and by his love for you. It led him to a different fate than you both hoped for when you ventured here to our chamber.”
Yesterday spoke in a monotone, as uninterested as if she’d just announced a tree had shed its leaves.
“No!” Emariya screamed, feeling her heart shatter. “I don’t believe you. This is another of your tests.” Shaking, she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“I wish it were.” Tomorrow’s eyes filled with tears. “It pains me, because I can see that the two of you would love each other for always. But it is as my sister says.”
Emariya shook her head, hugging herself as she did so. “It can’t be; his heart is as pure as mine.
Maybe more so.”
Today raised her palms above her like Tomorrow had before, but instead of holding them there she slammed them forcefully to the looking glass below them. The vibrations traveled along in waves, finally reaching Emariya. She stumbled, trying to keep her footing. But when Torian materialized before her, immobile on the reflective surface, Emariya collapsed beside him and clutched his cold hand.
Hot tears seared her cheeks, but her pain chilled her to the core. His face, so angelic and peaceful, almost as if he were sleeping, told her the truth of the goddesses’ words.
“Torian... no.” It couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t! But his hands were so cold, and his chest remained conspicuously still. They had considered the consequences of their visit. And they came anyway, for the good of their people, knowing it might change things between them. Knowing they might die together. Never once did Emariya consider this choice might mean she would have to live without him.
She turned agonized eyes to the goddesses before her. “How could you? You might as well have killed me too.”
“Do The Three Corners not need you, just because Torian is gone?”
“Our bloodlines will never reside in one child now. Didn’t you want the bloodlines returned to one?” Emariya nearly choked on a sob. She softly caressed Torian’s hand.
“The bloodlines are as unimportant as the prophecies you mortals are determined to fear. We care that The Three Corners are united. That is all. You are still in a position to do exactly that. You are so close to accomplishing our goals. Don’t make your journey here, and his death, for nothing. Make it mean something. The choices are yours, but do not waste the life you have been given.”
She barely heard their words. How could they expect her to concentrate on what she had in the face of what they’d just taken from her? Emariya swallowed hard and looked down at Torian’s tousled hair spilling over his forehead. “Can’t you bring him back?” she pleaded. “Surely you must be able to.”
“We will not.” Tomorrow’s tone left no room for argument.
Still, Emariya had to try. “What if I said I wouldn’t do it without him?”
“Then it would mean we were wrong about you,” Yesterday said.
“What do I have to do?” Tears burned Emariya’s eyes.
“Be the leader your land needs. Show them, and us, that the faith placed in you has not been unfounded. Lead your people back to prosperity. Believe in yourself and your own strength enough to know you can do it without Torian by your side. Believe in them, your people, enough not to abandon them to suffer under your brother just because your heart hurts,” Today said.
Tomorrow smiled sadly. “Walk your path. You came here with honesty in your heart and promises on your tongue. Now, you need to live your words. You must go on.”
Somewhere beneath her grief, Emariya could sense the wisdom in their advice. But she didn’t want to go on. She wanted to go back. Back to when Torian still breathed beside her. Back to when she wasn’t alone. Back to before the sun set on any chance she’d ever have for happiness. Not forward.