Page 22 of Between Imminent Fates

Spring had barely begun to bloom in Missouri where Nina lived, but on Oahu, it was perpetually green. She rarely saw it from Nero’s basement archives. Having already scrubbed her own, and visited Caius’ for the same conclusion, she had had little hope Nero’s documents would be any different.

The dusty tomes in the archive of the Hawaiian sovereign’s home had proven fruitful, and shockingly well preserved for historical documents in an island climate.

A cracked spine settled on the tabletop before her. Pages brittle with age were gently turned with as much reverence as she could manage. She poured over the content. Little had been written about the topic she needed to research, and what was documented in this book was far more whimsical than informational.

Her attention snagged on a snippet of text written hundreds of years ago, its author unknown. Nina squinted to decipher the meaning while she hummed in concentration. The dark ink had gradually lightened over time, making it barely visible against the withered paper.

The volumes around her had been compiled by a hundred different authors during a hundred different immortal lives. Each voice was unique, and every historian had their own style.

Some were fact-oriented while others were biased in their individual preferences or experiences. Firsthand reports sat next to legends handed down through generations. Only a small subset of the texts were written on abstract ideas or concepts rarely explored.

Nina was after the latter.

She traced a finger underneath the old Raethi writing. While her comprehension was rusty, she could still understand the concepts well enough. Two hours into it, she realized that the text proved far less valuable than she’d originally thought.

Her eyes began to blur after the third volume, and she reclined in her seat to heave a heavy sigh. Distantly, she was aware of the incoming footsteps, their owner intent on intruding on her study session.

Key.

“Enjoying your time on Oahu, Nina?”

Grimacing at the far-too enthusiastic sound of the foreseer’s voice, Nina made a noncommittal noise. “I’d enjoy more of it if I actually found what I needed.”

“Valid.” Across the table, Key slid into the wooden library chair with a squeak. “Nothing yet?”

“Very little. What I have found is more fanciful than based in reality. I’m hoping something in this archive will prove beneficial, but if you’ve already searched them, I’ll happily cease and desist.”

“I’ve rarely had occasion to look through them,” came Key’s sober answer. “Your research must be your own.” Then, she changed topics. “What’ve you heard from Isaiah?”

“From the little he’s shared on his own investigations, I know he’s found some success with his.” She shook her head, closing the tome in front of her. “But certainly not enough for his purposes.”

Key’s eyes, typically alight with only flashes of white, suddenly illuminated in a bright white glow. “The time draws near. We must confirm our plan should we succeed.”

“Don’t I know it.”

Muttering beneath her breath, Nina’s spine connected with the wooden chair back. She was exhausted. It’d felt like every piece of content she’d read said the same thing, even when she knew—or suspected—the opposite.

“Everything I’ve found about Links states there are some abilities they simply can’t connect.”

“But it happens,” Key argued. “I’veseenit.”

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Nina argued, “We’re talking about power that’s unreachable by any other ability. Mirrors, Blunts, Amps, Shields: none of those have been able to touch it.”

“We have to find a way.”

“I know we do, Key!” She allowed her frustration into her voice, grasping at straws. “If anything, perhaps it’s possible to wield the pure essence of that power, but never when deep-seated inside their host.”

“Then we bring them closer to the surface. We skirt the line.”

“That’s a huge risk. No one living knows what would happen—or how close we can get—before it goestoo far.At that point, the Link could either stabilize or weaken them.”

The words fell like bricks between them. Despite Key’s prophecy, neither of them knew what they were doing. Her visions never explainedhowa task was accomplished, only that it was.

Key glanced over her shoulder. “Eden’s coming.”

It was as much a warning as it was an announcement. In her exhaustion, Nina hadn’t noticed the woman slowly approaching, nor the bond that tugged in her chest. A tired smile made its way to her lips as her fledgling appeared in the door to their right, beaming.

“Sire!”

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