Surely Caleb had been caught up in the moment when making his statement the previous night. Except . . . the statement had been all vampire. Possessive and positive.
Her heart wanted to hear the declaration, while her mind knew better. The visions that came with her prophet marking had never lied, nor had they ever sugarcoated reality. She’d omitted part of her nightmares from Caleb the previous night, and he could never know the truth.
At least not until she figured out a way to outmaneuver a fate that declared either Janie or Lily would die. Lily had thought she would simply sacrifice herself for her friend, but destiny was never that simple, now was it?
The Realm Rebel was a man who loved once and completely. If Lily allowed their tryst to go any further, he’d declare the love they both had felt for centuries. Her death would kill him, and she couldn’t allow that. She also couldn’t let him shield her from the king’s wrath if she did the impossible.
If she’d been whole and uninfected by the virus the previous night, when Caleb had bitten her, he would’ve mated her. But the virus had prevented that.
Sorrow wound through her, deeper than her skin, and she allowed herself to accept it.
Suddenly, she found herself in the darkened forest.
Wait a minute. She was awake.
“Awake, asleep . . . Fate can find you anywhere.” The ageless voice came to her in a high pitch more frightening than a deep growl. “Now is not the time to turn from your destiny, Prophet.”
Lily glanced down at her bare feet on the rough trail. Dirt squished between her toes and marred her pedicure. The darkness even found her toes. Swallowing, she glanced around at the jumble of silent trees on either side. They stood so closely together, she couldn’t differentiate one from the next. “Fate can’t want Janie to die.”
“Janet Isabella Kayrs was marked long before birth to destroy the vampire race. Why do you think all of the species with prophecies have warned of her coming?” the voice hissed.
Fear tasted like dirt, while anger heated Lily’s ears. She whirled on the trail to face more darkness. “Enough of this, coward. If you’re Fate, show yourself.” Lifting her chin, she took a stand she’d never imagined against the forces she’d blindly followed for centuries.
The air shimmered, and a woman materialized in front of Lily. Long ebony hair, silver eyes, a light from within.
Fear exploded in Lily’s stomach. Even so, she lifted her chin. “From the creepy voice, I was expecting a man. An old one.”
The woman shimmered and smiled. “You know it always comes down to us women, right?”
Now that was a true statement. “Are you Fate?” Could Fate actually have a face? A body? More importantly, if Fate were making these unreasonable demands, could Fate be killed?
The woman lifted an eyebrow. “You can’t kill Fate.”
“Are you positive about that?” Lily forced a smile and kept her thoughts clear. If the creature in front of her could read minds, Lily could shield.
“Yes. I’m fate, destiny, and the future . . . and I can’t be killed.” The woman gestured to the right, and a path glimmered through the trees. “Let me show you a future.”
Lily turned and saw Janie surrounded by headstones in a cemetery high on a cliff. “What in the world?” As if she could hear, Janie turned, and Lily gasped.
Bright and blue, the mark of the prophecy glowed from Janie’s neck.
Lily swallowed. Well, Janie becoming a prophet made a type of sense, even though she was human and wouldn’t live long unless she mated an immortal. But the only way Janie could become a prophet would be if—
“If one of the current prophets dies,” Fate said, her high-pitched voice at odds with her stunning features. “If you die.”
Lily took a deep breath and looked closer. It was Lily’s marking on Janie’s neck. “So be it.”
Fate chuckled. “Read the headstones.”
Wonderful. So the demanding Fate wanted Lily to see her name on a piece of granite? Like that would frighten her. “Fine.” Lily peered closer, her stomach clenching. Cara Kayrs. Emma Kayrs. Dage Kayrs. Talen Kayrs. One by one, the names of her friends and loved ones came into focus. Caleb Donovan. At the sight of his name, at the very thought of the powerful vampire being taken down, a sharp pain pierced Lily’s breast. “I don’t understand.”
Fate nodded. “I know. Forces beyond us have controlled Janie Kayrs since birth, and she’ll bring down the Realm. It’s the destiny she’ll fulfill if she lives. If you die.”
Lily shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”
Fate shrugged a creamy shoulder, and the forest to the left was bathed in white light. “Your only other choice.”
Lily didn’t want to look, but she turned anyway to see herself holding a blond toddler with multicolored eyes. A little boy—Caleb’s child. Her arms ached with the need to reach for him. “Wh-what is this?”
“Your child. There’s a plague coming, one foreseen by many, and only this child will be able to combat it. We’ll still lose many, but without his brilliance, we’ll lose all. If he isn’t born, those you love will die.”
None of this made any sense. “Why?” Lily whispered. “Why do either Janie or I have to die? I don’t understand. Why can’t we both live?” Love for the little boy burst through Lily. She wanted him with everything she was. Caleb’s little boy.
Fate grabbed Lily’s arm, her nails sinking deep. “Janie needs to be a prophet to meet her destiny and destroy the vampire and witch nations. She must kill you to do so—that’s your marking she’s wearing.”
“Why are you showing me this?” Lily whispered.
“I know you’ll sacrifice yourself for Janie. But will you sacrifice him?” Fate pointed at the adorable little boy.
Pain nearly doubled Lily over. “He’ll save the planet?”
“Yes. Your son will be gifted beyond measure with a brilliant scientific mind and will save thousands upon thousands. If he’s born.”
The forest went dark again, and the babe disappeared.
“No,” Lily cried, trying to run down the hidden path to reach the boy. Her boy. A branch slapped her in the chest and stopped her. She turned just in time to see Janie look her way, blue eyes empty and cold.
Then the trees faded.
Lily shook herself into reality, still sitting on the floor in front of the fire. She glanced down at the nail marks in her arm.
Fate had drawn blood.
Slowly, with the grace Lily had honed over the years, she stood, her knees shaking but holding her. Fate had given her two choices, and both involved death.
Lily glanced out the windows toward the fathomless ocean. She’d married out of duty, and on the day she’d been widowed, she’d been claimed by Fate. As a prophet who worked for the Realm, she’d sacrificed for destiny. For years, alone, she’d served Fate without fail.
Sometimes the line in the sand involved a yoga mat and tennis shoes. Maybe Fate could hear Lily, maybe not. Either way, it was time to draw that line, so Lily spoke slowly and clearly. “You’ve underestimated me, bitch.”
Chapter Eight
Caleb tried to settle his large boots under the conference table without knocking into the middle support. They’d drawn the blinds in the small conference room, and the darkness was making him twitchy. He was a soldier, not a businessperson. “I hate teleconferencing.”
Seated to Caleb’s right, Dage rolled his eyes and finished punching in a code on a keyboard, an ever-present grape energy drink at his elbow. “Will you please stop your whining?”
“I’m not whining.” Caleb hunched his shoulders.