“I don’t think that’s exactly how Fate works,” I said, shaking my head. “Eudoxia’s aunt, who is an oracle, told me once that we had choices, and you can choose wrong. To keep things on track you have to listen to your heart. And right before I took Lili’s life, a moment of doubt stayed my hand, but I deliberately chose not to listen. I actually don’t think I was coherent enough—I was too upset by the images of Lili killing everyone she’d ever met—but in the end that’s no excuse.” I dropped my gaze to the ground. “I think… I made the wrong choice. I believe that’s why Lili disappeared completely. Fate has erased her from existence. All of this was supposed to happen, but not right now, and I think it’s because none of us are ready for this. I set something into motion that we may not fully recover from.”
“I don’t believe that,” Eudoxia stated, crossing her arms. “I am ready. I have been ready for eons.”
“It doesn’t matter if you’re personally ready,” I said. “I’m talking about all supernaturals not being ready for such a huge change in leadership.” I turned to meet the Vamp Queen’s silver-edged stare. “The turmoil I just unleashed will be felt in every Sect. I saw it. Lili was supposed to have completed something before she died. Something major. And when I killed her, Fate was forced to shift again.” I glanced around the room and met each pair of eyes. “I know you all felt it.”
“I felt it,” Danny admitted. “It was as if someone punched me in the stomach and took all my breath away for a solid minute.”
“What was it?” the Princess asked. “What was Lili supposed to do?”
“She was supposed to birth a child.” I closed my eyes for a brief moment.
“I don’t understand.” Rourke said. “What was so special about the child?”
I turned to my mate, my emotions rising to the forefront. “When Lilith willingly gave her power to Lili, Fate tried to intervene. I saw it happen. It was awful, and one of the vital peace-keepers of Fate was killed in the process. Lilith and her daughter were too strong. And the only way Fate could right this wrong was to set something else in motion. A soul for a soul. A child would have to be reborn to Lili, an egg implanted for the one who was lost.”
“Who was this child to become?” Eudoxia demanded. “What kind of power are we talking about?”
“One of the Three Hags,” I answered in a hushed tone. “To be born into the world again. The one who was killed trying to stop Lilith in order to keep Fate on the right path for all of us.”
There was a collective breath taken in around the room.
Danny spoke as he started to pace. “Naomi told us that story about meeting one of the Hags in the flesh. That Hag spared her life and told her she would meet you one day. They are very powerful deities. The keepers of our knowledge, as far as I know. This is incredible news.”
I shuddered, and the vision I couldn’t erase clouded my eyes once more. “Yes, apparently the Hags are the gatekeepers of Fate, but they only interfere when they are forced to, according to the brief glimpses I was given. But they’ve been separated for too long and they are very angry with me. I felt their wrath.” I flinched, thinking about the ripple effect this was going to have. “They’re going to seek retribution, and when they do, we’re all going to feel it.”
“How can we change this?” the Princess asked, moving forward.“There must be a way to fix it.”
I shook my head. “I have no idea. I only saw what they chose to show me and the last vision I had before I took Lili’s heart was carnage. Everywhere. The supernatural world had been turned upside down.”
“If the three of us are part of the next Coalition,” the Vamp Queen interjected, “then we should become powerful enough to change this in time. Or at least guide the path of Fate to a more desirable outcome.”
I bit my lip. “I think we are part of the next Coalition, but as I said, it’s not supposed to begin for another hundred years. I don’t think we’re strong enough yet to rule and we have no idea who the other two are who make up the Five. By killing Lili before she birthed her child, we’ve interfered in a way I’m not sure we can right. From what I gathered, from the brief snippets I was given, and from what little I understand, Fate has one true path. But that path holds many intersections and side roads. You can veer from the path, as you make wrong choices, but you’re not supposed to be able to alter the true path. I have no idea if I’ve detoured us or tampered with something critical—something that was not meant to change.”
“How do you think Fate might seek its retribution?” the Princess asked.
“I have no idea,” I said. “I just saw a flash of carnage. Blood, killing, death, and destruction. And anger. I felt the Hags’ anger.” I shook my head, glancing around the group. “I should’ve listened to my heart, but my mind was determined to mete out justice for all the wrongdoings Lili had perpetrated.”
“Well,” Ray snorted. “Death and carnage don’t paint a very pretty picture—and I’m not one to know anything about Fate—but I do know I’m bonded to Jessica for a reason. It’s not just you three who have to fight this, it’s all of us.” He motioned around him. “We’re all in this together. If I’d been given the same choice as you, I would’ve sucked Lili’s soul out in a red-hot minute, no regrets. That woman was pure evil down to her toes. But we can’t look backward, the only thing to do that makes any sense is move forward.”
I nodded at Ray, acknowledging him. Then I glanced around the huge arena. All the demons were long gone. Selene sat quietly on the edge of the circle, her face showing no emotion. The Prince of Hell stood stoic, arms crossed. Rourke’s face was impassive, but I knew what was going on behind those beautiful green eyes. He was just as worried about this as I was. Raw emotion ran through my veins and I felt his connection, and surprisingly I felt something from the Vampire Queen.
She had taken my blood, and now it seemed we’d forged some kind of a connection between us.
But it wasn’t like the others.
Instead of emotions, I felt a stark line of power running between us. I glanced at the Princess. Her body was still regenerating, but her strength had grown tenfold. My connection to her wasn’t as strong as the one to Eudoxia, because we hadn’t exchanged blood, but something definitely tethered the three of us together. Once we found the other two supernaturals who would join us on the Coalition, I knew we would all share power once again.