“She will be able to.” Keella was still looking at the sky. “I’m not surprised to hear you say that. I didn’t think the idea of forcing her to be reborn with the sole purpose of destroying Kolis would sit well with you.”

I nodded. “So, what was it you wanted to discuss?”

Her gaze lowered to mine. “It is Sotoria I actually wanted to speak with you about—her and the prophecy.” She glanced back at the chamber. “It’s something I didn’t say when you two were here last—something Eythos told me, and my…my impressions of what he planned.”

Curiosity rose. “What is it?”

Keella was silent for several moments. “Eythos spent a long time trying to decipher the prophecy and its true meaning. He even managed to speak to Delfai. I imagine the God of Divination didn’t share that with you and Nyktos.”

“No,” I stated. “He did not.”

A wry grin appeared. “When Eythos spoke with Delfai, it was when Etris Balfour—the last oracle—was still alive.”

My brows shot up. I wasn’t expecting her to say that.

“I don’t know exactly what Etris or Delfai said to Eythos, but whatever was shared led Eythos to place the embers and Sotoria’s soul into your bloodline. That was no random chance of opportunity.”

I frowned. “But Roderick Mierel summoned him to save his people.”

Keella nodded. “And Eythos was waiting for that moment. He knew Roderick would do so. You see, this prophecy had begun to fulfill itself before Sotoria was born. It started with the Silver Knight.”

“The warrior Queen,” I said, immediately thinking about what Ward had told me. “I’m named after her. Ward—the first viktor—saved who turned out to be my ancestor.”

“She was, as one would say, promised by the Fates,” she said. “Just like you.”

Tiny bumps pimpled my skin. “So, you’re basically saying Etris, or possibly even Delfai, told Eythos Roderick would summon him? It makes sense. The prophecy spoke of the desperation of golden crowns, but this really doesn’t tell us anything new.”

“No, but it does remind us how much needed to happen for us to be right here, right now,” she said, pausing to inhale deeply. “What Eythos did was never just about stopping his brother. Yes, the prophecy spoke of Kolis, but also of greater dangers.”

“The awakening of the Primal of Blood and Bone,” I surmised.

“Yes, and what Eythos learned convinced him of who that Primal would be.”

My fingers dug into my knees. “Do I even want to know?”

A wan smile appeared. “Sotoria.”

“What?” I half-laughed. “How? She was mortal.”

“So were you.”

“Yeah, the moment that came out of my mouth, I realized how unwise it sounded,” I admitted. “But this is different. I don’t understand how that’s possible.”

“Neither do I. Eythos never said, but I do know that is why he put her soul in your bloodline,” she said. “Eythos was trying to circumvent the prophecy, Sera. He hoped she would be reborn with the embers of life in her—allowing her to stop Kolis and make way for Nyktos to rise as the true Primal of Death. It would have also prevented her from rising as the Primal of Life and Death since he believed the prophecy referenced his son and Sotoria coming together in love.”

A deep frown pulled at my lips at the idea of Sotoria being the one meant for Ash, even though that would’ve still technically been me. I rubbed my temples, thinking this was going to give me a headache.

“That is why he asked for the firstborn daughter of the Mierel bloodline,” she continued. “And if he was right, then in his mind, there would be no threat of Sotoria rising as the Primal of Blood and Bone. To do so, it would’ve required her to kill Nyktos—something she would not do if she loved him.”

“Okay,” I said, following what she was saying. “But that didn’t work. I’m not Sotoria, and her soul is in The Star.”

“Correct. His plan worked, except for that.” She looked at the pastel-colored clouds. “And his plan should’ve worked completely. My involvement ensured that. But something went impossibly wrong, and for that to have happened, there can only be one reason.”

“The Fates got involved.” My brows knitted. “They prevented Sotoria from being reborn in my bloodline. Why would they do that, though? They cannot want the Ancients to awaken.”

“You must remember that prophecies are the dreams of the Ancients.” Her eyes searched mine. “And you also know what that means.”

I did. Dreamt by the Ancients meant dreamt by the Fates, and Keella was old enough to know exactly who the Fates were. I didn’t speak any of that aloud, opting for a nod as the safest choice.

“And that means most of those Fates expect all that is said in the prophecy to happen,” she said softly. “I don’t know why they would want that, but their involvement ensured it is still possible.”

My heart started pounding. “I don’t understand how it can be possible. If Sotoria were reborn, she would be as she was before. A mortal.”

“Unless the Fates intervene once more,” she said. “It’s imperative you follow through with what you plan regarding Sotoria. She needs to be freed as soon as it is safe to do so.”

“Well, it’s a good thing we already planned to do that,” I said. “But what will stop the Fates from intervening even then—?” Then it struck me. “Because what is shown in the prophecy happens in the future. That is what Penellaphe said. If Sotoria were reborn now, she would live and die as a mortal long before what Penellaphe saw in the future could happen.”

“Correct.”

Something big still didn’t make sense, and that came back to her. Sotoria. “Why Sotoria? Why would the Ancients dream of a mortal becoming such a powerful being? It’s not because of what Kolis did to her. That dream happened long before that.”

“That, I don’t know,” she said. “And if Eythos knew, he never said.”

Closing my eyes again, I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. I needed to release Sotoria’s soul the moment Kolis was entombed and not a second after. If not?

Opening my eyes, I looked at her. “Do you believe the future is already written? That the threads that last cannot be unbroken?”

“I do not know,” she said after a moment. “I hope to know the answer once I reach Arcadia.”

Gods, I hoped so. Because if I failed now, and the threads of Fate kept stretching and expanding, Kolis wouldn’t be the only problem Ash and I would one day face.

Lost in our thoughts, the Primal and I sat there briefly until Keella patted my arm. “It’s time.”

And it was.

Ash and Ione joined us while Nektas quietly crossed the veranda to walk the manicured lawn. I forced a smile when Ash sent me a curious look. As Ione moved to a divan across from Keella’s, I pushed all I had learned to the farthest corners of my mind while Ione knelt, swearing her allegiance to us. Because as long as we didn’t fail, I would not have to burden Ash with this.

I drank from Ione’s wrist and took what I knew, building a wall of shadowstone and Ancient bone in my mind to place it behind. As my fangs pierced my skin and Ash let out a low growl at the sight, I built a shield. As Ione drank from me, I made myself forget what I had learned until I needed to remember it. And while I knelt at Keella’s side and drank from the wound she had created herself, I prayed to the Fates—to the Ancients—that I would never have to remember.

When I felt Keella’s last sluggish heartbeat, I lifted my head. Her breathing was shallow as she stared at the sky of her Court. Not once since we’d begun had she taken her gaze from it.

I still held on to her hand as I felt the warmth leave her. “Thank you,” I said. I wasn’t sure if I was thanking her for this sacrifice or for what she’d warned me about. Maybe both.

Ash knelt beside me, folding his arm around my waist. He placed his hand over mine and Keella’s. “May the next journey bring you peace.”