The Centaur Queen (The Dark Queens #7)(48)

“Why would you do this?” she asked haltingly.

Cocking my head, I studied her back. She sounded thoughtful, curious, and I couldn’t help but smile softly at her. Something about her made me think of myself.

“Free the Gorgon, you mean?”

She gestured with her arms. “Were you anyone else, I would think you a fool. But you are not a fool, centauress. So why?”

“Have you spoken with Atropos, then?” Atropos was the Fate of what came next.

“No.” She blinked. “Clotho, actually.”

“The past?”

Lachesis tipped her head in acknowledgement, pursing her lips tightly as though conflicted about whether to speak or not. I glanced over my shoulder, at a still sleeping Petra. He had always been such a light sleeper. This was Lachesis’ doing.

Turning back to her, I shrugged. “You keep my male locked in dream. You wished this meeting.”

She sniffed, before rolling her eyes. “You’re a rather clever centaur.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“It’s different, certainly. I cannot figure you out. We had your challenges set. I knew what was coming. And then... it all changed.” She snapped her fingers. “Just like that. It is not often that I find myself surprised by the actions of others. But you astonish me exceedingly. The past is set, and the future never sure. But the present is. Do you understand?”

“Perhaps. But the heart and the mind can alter the course of destiny.”

“You do not have to choose this path, centauress.”

I wet my lips, heart pounding. I knew she was right. But she was wrong, also. From the moment I’d accepted Petra as mine, I’d known the choice was irrevocable for me. The consequences of my action weren’t lost on me.

“Would you rather I not?”

Looking off toward the ocean in the distance, Lachesis said nothing for several seconds. “I know what has happened and the many paths that can be taken in the future.” She looked back at me squarely, and now her eyes weren’t just milky, but glowed with a radiant lambent flame from within.

I trembled.

“I would be a liar if I said I do not wish you to succeed, for I do. And yet I find myself in a rather uncomfortable position, at present. It is rare that I take to a supplicant as I’ve taken to you. I watched you all through those preposterous games the gods put on. I saw the way Harpy was drawn to you, the pearls of wisdom she gained, and the knowledge she gleaned in your presence.”

I often thought of Harpy.

“How is she?” I asked, and Lachesis grinned.

I held up my hand, waving off my words. “Never mind. I’ll discover on my own someday. I have no more boons to give.”

A soft snort spilled from her before she took a long, deep breath. “The price you’ll pay will be enough to warrant an answer, I suppose.”

I glanced back at Petra, hoping he slept, hoping he heard none of this, hoping he didn’t suspect for even a moment what I planned to do. If he did, he’d never let me do it. Honorable and stubborn goat that he was, he’d fight me, and I didn’t want him to do that. He had another destiny.

“Harpy lives in a land outside of this one, in a world of scattered darkness and ghosts. We are all safe from her.”

I swallowed hard, aching for my friend’s terrible destiny. “It seems cruel that such an innocent should suffer in that way.”

Lachesis’ lips tipped up, but her voice was glum as she said, “Even the noblest sacrifices often come at great cost to the bearer.”

I shifted my eyes to the ground, knowing her words weren’t just about Harpy. “I won’t falter.”

“I don’t doubt it. We will give you only two, Tymanon. Consider whether this sacrifice is truly worth it.”

“Why are you so insistent on denying me this?”

She frowned. “Because I like you, creature. Despite myself, I like you. And the cost seems far too much of a burden to pay. Surely, he doesn’t deserve it.”

It was obvious to me that Lachesis had never known love, had never felt what I did. This wasn’t obsession masked as something noble, or even just desire. I truly loved my Petra and wished only to see him happy.

I’d gone through every single scenario in my head, and always the outcome led me directly here. There was only one way to help him, and this was it.

I shook my head, shifting my gaze to hers. My smile was grim. “I will see this through.”

“Then we shall talk more on this later. Wake your Petra. My sisters come.”

She vanished, and I turned, heading toward where he lay. But I stopped, staring at the golden apple dangling like a temptation before me.

Biting my lip, I looked down at him and whispered, “Someday you’ll forgive me for this. Someday you’ll understand I had no choice.”

Then snatching down the apple, I tucked it quickly into my pouch before patting it shut. The key to Petra’s happiness was within my grasp. Now, I only had to be brave enough to take that final leap.

Closing my eyes, I called the shift to me and breathed a heavy sigh of relief when I felt myself return to my natural form.

Slipping on my braces, bow, and quiver full of arrows, I finally woke him.

“Petra, it is time.”

The heaviness of slumber was gone from him. Immediately, he opened his eyes and looked around once before turning back to me. His full lips had turned down and there was a touch of confusion burning in his eyes.