Page 84 of Kept

“There were always multiple paths,” he said. “Millions of rivers flowing all at once. I’ve seen every path you might have chosen. In the end, you chose this one.”

“What if I hadn’t chosen this?” Anger rose, and I let it flood my voice. “If I’d had a child with Varick, would you have done everything in your power to see it sacrificed to the Rift?”

“I would have done whatever I had to do to protect the realm,” he replied. “And its savior.”

“By letting an innocent child die.”

“We are all fated to die, Given.” His voice softened. “You ask what I would have done. That’s the wrong question. Ask yourself what you did.” Power swelled around him, transforming him from an ordinary young man into a quiet, devastating force. “You crossed the Rift. You wed Laurent. You saved Varick. You would never conceive a child to kill it, so you didn’t. You fell in love with two imperfect men. You accepted their flaws and forgave their stubbornness and betrayal. Those are all choices. You could have made different ones, and then all the rivers around you would have flowed differently.” He took my hand. “It’s a waste of time to reflect on what might have been. Every choice you made led to this moment, and that’s all that matters. You chose this path, even though it ends at the Rift. ”

I stared into his eyes that were as beautiful and terrible as Doru’s. “Is that why you’re here? To make sure I finish the journey?”

“No.” He squeezed my hand. “I’m here to thank you. All of Ter Isir is in your debt, Given of Eldenvalla. You will not be forgotten.”

My throat burned. “Will you walk the rest of the way with me?”

“To the very end.”

We turned together and moved forward again. The Rift was a short distance that felt miles away. Numbness spread through me, and I might have stumbled if not for Jordan’s warm hand in mine. I clung to it, focusing all my attention on that heat.

Fire in your hand.

He warmed but didn’t burn.

“I’m afraid,” I whispered, tears running down my face. I hadn’t noticed them until that moment.

“We are all afraid,” he said, and the wild, untamed power that dwelt within him spoke too. Its voice was deep and ancient, and I knew I couldn’t look at it. So I kept my gaze straight ahead and simply listened as it murmured, “Who stares down death and doesn’t feel the terror of the unknown? But here is a secret. At the end of our journeys, we all become courageous.”

We reached the edge of the Rift.

Jordan held my hand.

We looked at each other.

At the end of our journeys, we all become courageous.

I turned and stared over my shoulder. Lar Katerin was somewhere in the distance, the city’s snow-covered roofs sparkling under snow.

“I’m glad I got to see it,” I said softly.

“Was it what you imagined?”

“No,” I said. “It was better.”

I turned back to him. “Why did they ring bells in Vai Seren?”

“In the last days, the elves did everything they could to keep the demons from their minds. They thought the bells would drive the demons back to the Shade.”

“You’ve seen this?”

His smile was gentle. “I’ve seen everything.”

“Will I die?”

“Yes.”

“And I’ll be reborn?”

His blue eyes held mine. “No mortal knows what comes after, Given.”

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