She nods, her gaze drifting absently over the shop. “I opened Fortunes and Truth not too long after you were born.”
My heart drums in excitement at this admission. As a child, it drove me crazy that she wouldn't tell me where she went when she left home several months out of the year. I imagined she went on these epic, exciting adventures, and I knew if I could manage to convince her to tell me what she was doing, I was sure I could weasel my way into tagging along. Knowing what I know now about Seboia, I'd have to say that child me would have been severely disappointed.
“You’ve been here the entire time I have, haven't you? Why didn’t you show yourself?”
“You needed to discover some things for yourself before I could reveal myself,” she says in that blasé tone all Seers speak.
“And have I?”
Humming, she bobs her head. “More or less.”
“Feels a lot like less,” I grumble to myself, feeling a pinch of hurt knowing she's been here the entire time I have without even so much as a hello. But that pinch of hurt is instantly forgotten when I make a startling connection.
Practically vibrating in my chair, I lean over the table with an eager smile. “So if you’re here and I'm here, that means I’m meant to be in Seboia. It means I'm on the right track?”
She smirks. “Perhaps.”
Slouching in my chair, I drop my head back and groan. “Gods!”
“Hmm… fitting.”
“It's like pulling teeth with you!” I shout, tossing my hands up. “I'm so sick of being handed these tiny breadcrumbs whenever you deem it necessary. Just tell me what I need to know.”
“I have told you what you need to know. If I tell you any more, it may change the future,” she says, unconcerned by my mini tantrum. “You need to trust yourself.”
She makes it sound so obvious, like it should be easy to believe in myself just as ardently as she does. But it's not that simple. Not when I've been the cause of so much death and pain. Why my family is forever torn apart because of my actions.
“Trust in myself,” I say bitterly. “How can I trust myself after everything I've done?”
Sighing, Zenith reaches for my hands again. “That was not your fault. There was nothing you could’ve done to change the outcome. These events in your life, although horrible and tragic, had to come to pass for you to be where you are today.”
Staring into those brown eyes boring into my own, I can see a glimmer of the power hidden beneath, that vast knowledge she wields without recourse. There's never a moment that Zenith doesn’t know where I am, what I’m doing, or where I should be, occasionally maneuvering me as if I’m a chess piece on a board in this game of war. It can be frustrating, but I'm not bitter towards her for it. It must be done and it's through no fault of her own. It’s simply the lot we've both been handed in life. But occasionally, I do wonder…
Did she maneuver me there? Did she in some ultimate, cosmic plan allow those males to take me? Did she know that I would one day lose control and destroy my family and home all in the same instant?
I've always been too afraid to ask. Too afraid to know that my aunt, whom I love so dearly, would willingly break me so thoroughly, just so she could remold me into this Stars-chosen shield. But as I peer into those all-seeing eyes that I used to believe could prevent anything, could see anything, I finally feel a spark of courage.
“Did you know?” I ask quietly, my voice void of emotion. “Did you know those males were waiting for me that day?”
Clutching my fingers to near breaking, she squeezes her eyes shut and shakes her head. “No, it's one of the few times the Stars did not allow me to see. I suspect they knew I would not have sat idly by and allowed that to happen.”
A flash of lifeless, golden eyes appears before me and I ask in a guttural voice, “What about Faygar?”
Releasing my hands, she sighs, weary and sad as she sips her tea. “What happened with your brother was … different. I did not foresee that happening, and I don't think the Stars did, either. Fate changed that day. It realigned to something I never could have predicted.”
“To what?”
Her saddened gaze clears, brightening with an eager hope. “A much clearer path.”
Unsure how I feel about Faygar’s death creating such optimism, I clear my throat and veer the discussion to a more bearable topic.
“And has Queen Adelphia met this dappy Zenith?”
She smiles, her eyes glinting with mischief. “She’s seen this face, but not the mask. I require a much different one when handling her.”
“You say handling. I say meddling,” I reply in a teasing tone, even though we both know I'm not. Slinging my feet up on the table, I clasp my hands over my stomach. “Then you’ve met Darius.”
Frowning at my dirty boots soiling her black tablecloth, she flicks an onyx and gold glittering finger and a stream of power pierces my shins, flinging my legs back onto the floor. “Many times, as have you.”
Muttering a curse, I rub away the needlelike pricks piercing my shins as I consider pressing her about mine and Darius’ strange bond. It’s intense and volatile, almost carnal in its desperate need to break down all my barriers. So unlike any of the other bonds I’ve formed. It's confusing and unnerving that it exists at all. I never thought I could form a connection with another being such as the one we have, and I sure as fuck never thought one could be created without either of us initiating it. I have so many questions and not a clue how to find the answers. Which is unusual for me. I'm much more knowledgeable than most, thanks in large part to the female sitting across from me, and I usually handle situations such as this easily enough. This should be a nonissue for me. But ever since arriving in Seboia, I realize how little I actually know, and how much more I need to learn.
With the way Zenith watches me, her eyes full of mischief and a smug smirk, it's clear she knows what I'm thinking. It’s almost like she’s daring me to ask. But I never know with her. On one hand, Seers are mysterious and evasive by nature. If she doesn't want to answer, she won't. On the other hand, her insight could prove invaluable, given the situation. And this is a situation with which I desperately need help.
“Darius and I have formed a bond,” I say, feeling anxious she won’t give me answers, and just as anxious that she will. “But neither one of us created it. Tristan seems to think it may be preordained.”
Zenith nods sagely. “Tristan is a wise soul. You know he wouldn’t have said such a thing without careful consideration.” Placing my teacup and saucer on the tray, she slides it to the side, then focuses her inscrutable gaze on me. “Why don't you ask me what you really want to know?”
I hesitate, rifling through the dozens of questions tumbling within my mind. My aunt is giving me a rare opportunity. I know if I don't ask the right question the correct way, she won't answer. It’s like a game where she's the only one who knows the rules. And anyone who plays, must abide by the rules.
“Do Darius and I have a bond like my mother and father?”
Her smile widens, telling me I’ve asked the correct one, and a surge of excitement bubbles within my chest.
“It is similar, but no, it is not the same. Neither is it similar to any of the other bonds you have formed. This one is ….special,” she says delicately. She pauses for a moment, then her uncanny eyes sharpen. “I need you to listen to me very carefully, Lena, and remember this, because there will be a time in the near future that you'll wish not to, but you must. Gods, man, immortal, fae, we all make mistakes, but the Stars do not. Accept the bond.” I open my mouth to speak, but it snaps shut when she purses her lips and shakes her head. “Don't question me any further on this, but do know that this bond is meant to be. As for Darius…”
Her eyes glaze over and the blackness of her pupils churn, whirling outward to swallow up all the white as if a storm sweeping up all light. It suddenly stills, revealing the ancient fragments of starlight hidden beneath. She blinks, and when she lifts her lids once again, the whites of her eyes have reappeared and the starlight has disappeared.
Smiling warmly, she says, “I have known Darius since the day he was born. I opened this shop so I could watch over him.”
