Prowled Darkness (Dante's Circle, #7)(25)

Eliana squeezed the other woman’s hand. “I understand. I do.”

“I know you do. You’re one of us, even if you’re mated to a lion.” The other woman winked. “Fate doesn’t usually provide us a true half outside our realm. Again, you are unique. But you are still one of us, Eliana. As for your questions. You will come back whole and exactly as you were before the wound. Though you will gain a feather that is the history of that rebirth. Thorne?” She called out. “Show her your arms, darling.” She slid up her own sleeve and Eliana’s eyes widened. “I’ve only been killed twice, so I don’t have as many extra fathers as some.”

The colors on Ripley’s arms were decadent and she did indeed have more feathers than Eliana did. But when she turned to see Throne’s arms, she couldn’t help but gasp.

The man’s entire arms were covered in feathers. They reached up to his shoulders where the sleeves of his robe were bunched up, and she had a feeling the feathers covered far more than just his arms.

“I’m a warrior, child,” Thorne said simply, though there wasn’t anything simple about death. “I’m a good warrior now, though I wasn’t when I was younger, when I was still learning.” He met Ripley’s gaze, and Eliana felt as though she were intruding at the love she witnessed there. “I have died for those I love countless times because it was—is—my duty. I will always fight for those in my realm and those I care for. No matter the cost.”

Eliana’s eyes filled with tears, and Malik moved to sit next to her. She leaned into his hold and reached out to grip Pen’s little foot.

“That brings me to something that I should have said before this,” Ripley said softly. “Jonah, dear, do you mind leaving us for a moment?”

Jonah stood where he was, and Eliana frowned. “Why does he have to leave?”

“Because, as the Queen, I can read feathers. No one else can because if that were the case, anyone could find out what would be our final death. I need to tell you yours so you can protect it, but it’s best if others don’t know.”

Jonah let out a growl then but sighed. “I will leave.”

“You don’t have to,” Eliana said suddenly. “I…I don’t know why I know this, but you need to stay.” She frowned. “Why do I know this?”

Ripley pressed her lips together. “It is because you are from the Foreseer line, Eliana.”

Thorne let out a curse.

“What does that mean?” Eliana leaned closer to Malik, needing his warmth.

“It means that one day when you are comfortable in your skin, your sense of knowing will deepen. At least, that is the case for those of us born into this realm. But with that line comes a sense of responsibility that no one else faces.” Ripley let out a breath. “Thorne told you he died for those he loved, but Eliana, you can never do that.”

Eliana leaned forward but didn’t let Malik’s touch leave her. “What do you mean?”

“You can only die to save yourself. If you were to die to save someone you love such as Malik or Penelope, you might not come back. Your line doesn’t have a true cause of death, but one of unknowing because you are knowing. If you die for those you love, you could remain in ash, never to return.”

Eliana’s heart sped up, and Malik held her closer, kissing her temple. “I…I don’t know what to think of that.”

Ripley gripped her hand. “I’m sorry, Eliana. It’s not ideal, but it is your curse. All of us hold one, and we learn to live with it. I hope one day soon you will be able to, as well.”

Eliana’s mind whirled as they continued to talk for another hour or so, but soon she grew tired. Penelope had already fallen asleep in Malik’s arms. They said their goodbyes to Ripley and Thorne with reassurances that they would return soon.

By the time they made it back to the lion realm, night had fallen and she needed to feed her daughter and deal with the normal routine of life. Because if she thought about death and a future in a realm where she didn’t know when and if an attack would come, she wouldn’t be able to breathe.

She sat in her rocking chair and put Penelope to her breast. Her daughter ate while Eliana rocked, trying to focus her mind on the here and now, instead of what was to come…or what could never come.

Malik prowled into the room and sat on the floor beside her. When he leaned his head on her knee, she ran her free hand through his hair, petting him like the cat he was.

She had her family, and though the others had told her she couldn’t die for them, Eliana knew she would do it anyway. If the time came where she had to sacrifice herself for her baby, for her mate, she would. Because it wasn’t a true sacrifice if she knew she would come back.

“You’re not going to die for me,” Malik said simply into the darkness. “We won’t put ourselves into that situation.”

She continued to pet him. “We both know it’s not us that puts ourselves in that situation.”

He leaned closer. “You’re mine, Eliana. I’m not going to lose you.”

She was his, as he was hers, but none of that could stop the sense of knowing that washed over her. The sense that her knowing would soon become unknown.

And that was far scarier than any form of fate and mating.