Chapter Twenty-Five

Baer walked into the room, Rory not in sight as he grabbed something that resembled a pear from the table across the room. It didn't take much to guess that she was comforting Sasha.

Again.

"What did you do this time?" Baer asked, half amusement in his voice. "Did you call her an evil witch again? Because I thought we squashed that little theory of yours."

"No," I answered flatly as I turned the page of my book.

I thought about how heartbroken she had been that day I told her the harsh words. That same day, as Baer worked as a middleman to our bond, he shared a secret with me that I was pretty sure that even his own mate didn't know yet. Or maybe she did, but she didn't speak it out loud.

It was that secret that revealed just how far I had jumped in the conclusion of Sasha and the so-called future we thought we would share. A future far different than the one most fated pairs look forward to.

"Well then, why is she so upset? She hadn't left your side all week. But the minute you wake up and have a one-on-one conversation she has to leave. Suddenly she has to be outside basking in the sun with a sour look on her face." He pressed, the humor in his tone hiding the clear annoyance of being some self-appointed middleman.

"I criticized her for not fighting and putting herself in a vulnerable position that required me to be her savior,' I said. My tone was deep even as I saw his eye twitch from the corner of my own.

"Did anyone ever teach you not to kick someone while they're down? What the hell is wrong with you, Dude?"

"What's wrong with me?" I looked back up at him skeptically. "She could have died! She refused to fight and let her fear get the better of her instead of having it fuel her survival instinct like it was intended for."

"Yeah, she could have died, but she didn't. Just like you could have died, and she knows that. While you were unconscious, she was beating herself up for putting you in this predicament. She is fully aware of what freezing up could have cost her. Which brings us right back to the first question. Has anyone ever taught you not to kick someone while they're down?"

I growled and turned my gaze back to the book. The words and images on the page blurred as I stared at it. My focus retreating to my thoughts as Baer's words settled around me.

"What are you finding in that book anyway?" Baer asked after a moment of watching me pretend to read.

I looked up at him, then back to the page as it came into focus.

"Seems to be a history book for this city. Or, rather, the island this city used to dwell on. Apparently it was a hub for everyone who lived around the sea. It also was home to some of the brightest witches and shifters, which is part of why they have the crystal technology we see."

Baer looked over at the light shining from the ceiling, then back to me. "That does make sense. They do resemble some of those crystals your mom showed us when we were kids. Does the book give a name?"

I shook my head. "Annoyingly no. It's very vague about the name of the city and its island. Just mostly seems to focus on the history of the people who lived here. Seems that magic saturates its entire existence. ‘A city built by gods' is the title."

Baer leaned forward and stared down at the book. "Hold on," he frowned. "Why is this all in English? Nothing in this place so far has been in English."

I shook my head. "It would seem something or someone in that library wanted me to find and read this book. It fell off the shelf and when I inspected it I found that it was already translated."

Baer looked at the book with more reluctance. "You sure it was to help us?"

I gave a shrug and turned the page. "I have yet to find anything that would hinder us in the book."

He still seemed suspicious as he watched me turn the page again. I sighed and sat the book down.

"If I find anything that even hints to me that it would be a danger, you know I'll get rid of it. But with the book translated out, I could study it and learn this mismatched language and anything else about this place for us to share outside of the Forgotten Realm. Maybe even identify the city. It's a history that we've all forgotten, and it's linked to our ancestors. The daughters and sons of the original witches."

Baer shook his head. "Just because you can link your family tree all the way back to that time doesn't mean the rest of us can. The first three witches may have been mothers to their line of witches, but there were others who picked up the talents of magic outside of the three bloodlines. And I doubt they had anything to do with this book."

I gave a laugh. It wasn't common knowledge what he said, but it wasn't untrue. Even today in the modern era, we had normal humans step into our world as they discover the magic within them. Just as some humans came to our world as shifters by curse or by bite.

"Regardless of bloodlines," I said, lifting the book back up to read. "It's all of our history to learn."

Baer let out a sigh and stood up with the half-eaten fruit forgotten in his hand.

"I can't argue with that," he looked towards the door, then back to me once more. "What are you going to say to her now?"

I followed his gaze to the door, a slight hiss leaving my lips as the movement twinged the wound on my back.

"I won't say much more than what I already told her. If she is willing to hear me out and listen to what I've said, then I won't need to say a thing. But I won't apologize for telling her to fight like I know she can. She's far better than what she's shown since coming here, and I know she is more than capable of overcoming any obstacles that are thrown her way."

Baer regarded me for a moment, respect glinting in his dark eyes. He gave a nod and his smile returned.

"Just don't go making her cry anymore. I don't know how much longer I can protect you from Rory if you do."

He laughed to himself as he left the room. He turned away from the front door to move deeper into parts of the building I couldn't see from my position on the bed. I could still hear him walking around, his footsteps echoing off the stone floors of the building.

From what I could tell going off of the sound alone, he had gone to another room just on the other side of the wall to my left.

I turned my attention back to the book. The pages fanning out in my hand as I shifted my body to a more comfortable angle as best I could. A flash of color on one of the pages caught my attention then, and I ran my fingers over the pages until I found just what page had caught my eye.

It showed a shadowy figure drawn out on the page as he stood next to three female figures with a loom and thread. I immediately recognized the women as The Fates, the very goddesses who were responsible for all mateships, including my own.

I frowned as I tried to understand the picture. I had never seen an image depicting The Fates with another god at their sides. At least not anything within the books that held a genuine history of magic.

I ran my fingers over the page to read the words below the hand drawn image, my brows pulling tighter the more I read.

"The four fates set out to lead the mortals along their paths in life, the sisters placing their full efforts into balance amongst all the children of the gods. Both humans and non-humans, they gave choices and wisdom along with warnings as they deemed necessary." I read to myself. I continued to read about their brother.

Their brother, on the other hand, found more joy in leading the mortals to their darkest fates. He gave choices that all led the mortal to a singular doom, often impeding his sisters' work and causing unnecessary strife amongst the mortals.

Angered by his interference, The Fates turned to their mother, the primordial goddess who decorated the sky with her stars each night. They told their mother of their brother's interference and the senseless damage he caused in his actions.

The primordial goddess regarded her daughter's complaints before sending yet another of her children to speak to their brother. Hypnos, the god of sleep, appeared to his brother during his work as he led a human to the underworld.

There, the god placed his brother under a spell of deep sleep. The dark fate drifted into myth and legends, though no mention of his end would be shared to the common public. And as he rested, his sisters felt their loom creak and groan, their eyes paling with visions of a future far off. When sleep would wane and darkness would flourish, just as it had during the time their brother walked beside them.

I looked back up at the picture. The four siblings looked joyful in this sunny scene, as the sisters wove the destiny of the world on their loom. Even their brother shared a smile that hid the darkness he apparently had thrived so well within.

I sat the book back down at the sound of the front door opening. Sasha's eyes found mine as quickly as I looked up to see her, a stubborn tilt of her chin telling me she still wasn't quite ready to admit I was right.

To my relief, she still walked over to me as Aurora disappeared out of my view. I could guess where she was headed without listening to the footsteps, but I didn't care to give her all that much attention. Not when Sasha walked towards me.

"I'm sorry," she said, her arms crossed over her chest. "I can't promise you that I won't still hesitate. It's been hell since coming to this realm. As beautiful as it is, the things that I've felt happening to me without much explanation have affected me. I can't deny it and I don't want to deny it." She took a deep breath and let go of herself, her arms dropping to her side as she kneeled down beside the bed, her nose rubbing gently against mine.

My eyes fluttered shut at the feel of her, her sweet scent filling my nose with how close she was. Desire began to boil in my blood, and the sensations seemed to stir my wolf in his sleep.

"What I can promise you is that even after hesitation, I will come back swinging. I will fight my battles and show the world that I'm not one to be taken lightly. After all, I am a warrior princess."

I shook my head then, lifting myself up as best I could without nearly killing myself from the pain.

"I think I undersold your power a bit before," I said to her, her brows drawn together as she stared back at me.

"What do you mean?"

My hands reached out to her face, my body flinching from the movement. She rested her own hand over mine and watched me with concern.

"I'm fine," I assured her. "What I mean is, you aren't a princess. Not anymore. By this point, with that understanding of yourself and the way you are holding yourself with strength in front of me." I smiled at her, my thumb brushing over her cheek. "You're a gods damned warrior queen, Sasha. An Alpha Queen."

I watched her brows rise for a moment before her face softened and she leaned in close to press her lips to mine.

I could feel her joy and appreciation through the bond, her own desire and the longing to deepen the kiss to a fire we both craved. However, my injury wouldn't permit us to push that far, so we both settled on a kiss and the intimacy of the bond itself.

"Will you lay down next to me?"

She nodded and carefully climbed into the bed as I slowly shifted my body over to make room for her. I growled at the pain as my body revolted against the movement, but I pushed against that. I could feel my wolf and hers touching as we pressed together on the small bed. Her nearness seeming to ease the sting of the pain just enough for it to be bearable.

"Are you still okay?" she asked me gently.

I nodded and lifted my arm to drape over her as she curled against my side.

"I'm fine," I said. "So long as you're by my side, I don't think I'll ever truly not be okay."

She smiled and pressed her lips to mine again before settling into the bed and closing her eyes.

Behind her, I stared out the window at the setting sun and the growing shadows, and the image of the dark fate and the prophecy of his sisters' loom ebbed into my mind.