But worst of all, Acari is about to know now too.
The prince blows out a laugh. “You’ve got it wrong. The Council ended Sinisa’s contract on Gem when they heard about the Guardians.”
“Did they?” Rhet says flatly. “Strange. The Council has never ended a contract before.”
Another short laugh, one that seems to drain the smile from Acari’s lips as he considers what Rhet is suggesting. “But…Sinisa said that they wanted to learn about the Guardians.” Beside me, I sense him pushing himself up again, turning toward me to gauge for himself whether or not what he is realizing is true. “You said they don’t want you to kill Gem anymore. That’s true, right?”
I don’t dare meet his eyes, though I feel my betrayal crashing into him all the same. My eyes are fixated on the ground, but no matter how hard I try focusing them, my vision blurs through tears I have not shed in years.
“Choices. Consequences. Change,” Aulow mutters.
“What?” Acari and I ask in unison.
A soft smile tugs at her. “Sometimes we make the wrong choice. Sometimes the consequences feel too great at the time, but later we change our minds about our previous decision.”
There’s a calm knowingness in her tone but it does nothing to ease my nerves. I feel as if she’s talking straight to my soul, like she already knows everything I’ve done or thought of doing.
“I will ask the question again. Would you like to end your contract on the princess, or do you intend to carry it out?”
My voice is hoarse, and I bristle more than I mean to. “What do you mean do I want to end my contract? No Reaper can.”
“You lied!” Acari roars, startling his sister awake. Sitting upright, his legs dangling over the edge, he cradles her closer against him. “You lied to me. You made me believe you were good. You tricked me! You said—”
Aulow holds up her hand. “There will be time for that later. For now though,” she says, bringing her attention back to me. A grin broadens between her cheeks, practically illuminating the room. “You have given the correct answer.” She turns, cocking her head back to look up at the tree of a man beside her. “I think she’s ready, Rhetriel.”
“I disagree,” Rhet grunts, looking me up and down.
But Aulow waves him off. “As ready as she can be without knowing.”
“Knowing what?” I ask, cautiously.
Aulow draws closer, taking my hands into hers. I can’t help but marvel at her touch, still not sure how it is even possible that I can touch a mortal and they survive it. As my fingers delicately trace over the runes on her hand, my eyes linger on the designs.
She giggles. “Soon you’ll understand, if you haven’t pieced it together already.”
My attention snaps to her, questions lurking behind my eyes.
“Brace yourselves,” Aulow says to all of us with a radiant grin. “Your worlds are about to come undone.”
20
The Mark of Prophecy
Acari
“This realm is full of secrets, kept from everyone but those who seek the truth,” Aulow begins.
I’m learning the truth of that more quickly than I’d like. All this time I thought Sinisa was trying to help me, when really nothing had changed. She is still the Reaper meant to kill Gem, and I’ve led her directly to her. At least I know that as long as we’re here, she can’t touch Gem—which is probably why she wanted us to leave so badly. As long as Sinisa can’t use her power, she can’t complete her contract.
I won’t let Sinisa do it. I don’t care what it takes, but I will keep Gem protected for the rest of her life. No matter what.
“Secrets,” I say with a dark laugh, hugging Gem tighter. “All and sundry present seem to have lots of those, and I’m sorry to be so direct or rude, but I don’t know how many more secrets and riddles I can take. So can we just get to the part where you tell us what you know about Sinisa’s contract on my sister? Is that why you took Gem? Is that how you knew who she was?”
“Not exactly.” Aulow tilts her head. “We knew about Gem because she is one of those secrets I mentioned. Your sister is marked by prophecy.”
My focus wavers, first to Sinisa, but when she meets my gaze, I’m reminded of her betrayal, and I look upon Gem instead. She peers up at me from her big, curious eyes. I trace my finger over the scar in her lip.
“Like all of the others who are born misshapen, Gem was born a Prophet. Long ago, people feared the Prophets, declaring their visions dangerous and immoral. It is why it’s customary to have them executed now when they are born. It’s a barbaric practice that has been carried on, even though most people don’t know why they do it anymore.”
Awe for my sister only grows the longer I stare down at her. I’ve always known she was special; I just never knew how.
“A Prophet,” I whisper to her like I’m telling her an enchanting fairytale. When she giggles, I’m taken aback by the beauty I see in her that my father fails to notice, and the smile fades from my face. “Does my father know?”
“I would have no way of knowing,” Aulow admits, a gentleness to her. “But my guess is no. As far as we can tell, we are the only people living that know of them.”
I could be wrong, but I sense the intentionality she uses with her words, and wonder if she’s suggesting that people not living might know about the Prophets too. Maybe the Council Sinisa works for knows. Maybe she even knew. Why else would they be so determined to kill her?
“What does this have to do with breaking my contract?” Sinisa asks finally, and I hate that I convince myself
